"Born Yesterday' at the Walnut

From Billie Dawn to Bernie Madoff

Billie Dawn, the heroine of Garson Kanin's 1946 comedy Born Yesterday, is a “smart stupid person” whose faults are easily remedied by education. Today we face a tougher problem: “stupid smart people” who turn their millions over to avuncular swindlers like Bernie Madoff. Oh, for the good old days of transparent villains.

Dan Rottenberg

Mar 23, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Tale of Two Cities' at People's Light

From page to stage

A Tale of Two Cities at People's Light is a modest but effective dramatization that skillfully strips the Dickens novel to its essentials. A capable cast brings dozens of Dickens characters vividly to life, aided by imaginative direction and set design.

Bill Murphy

Mar 17, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Iron Kisses' at Act II Playhouse

Just enough light to get home

James Still's Iron Kisses— the kind that come with locked lips— details a small-town family's reaction to an only son's homosexuality. Well acted, with its two actors taking multiple roles, and skillfully directed by Harriet Power, this play transcends its well-worn genre and offers an affecting evening of theater.

Robert Zaller

Mar 17, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

O'Neill Festival in Chicago

O'Neill rediscovered— but only in Chicago

Chicago's Goodman Theatre is nearing the end of a two-month, eight-play festival that concentrates on O'Neill's early works”“ the oeuvre that made his reputation as America's leading playwright. Philadelphia and New York should be so lucky.

Steve Cohen

Mar 10, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

Kaufman's '33 Variations' on Broadway

Beethoven meets Jane Fonda

Moisés Kaufman's 33 Variations is about obsessions: Beethoven's with the little waltz Diabelli wrote and Kaufman's with Beethoven's “Diabelli” Variations, which are generally considered Beethoven's supreme contribution to the piano repertoire. Unfortunately, Kaufman's characters feel underdeveloped, existing more as vehicles for the play's themes than as interesting, complex people.

Toby Zinman

Mar 10, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Scorched' at the Wilma

War and its unintended consequences

In its best moments, Wajdi Mouawad's often-brilliant meditation on the seemingly endless cycle of ethnic and civil warfare is a prime example of the Wilma Theater doing what the Wilma Theater does best. But Scorched is a work that appeals to the intellect rather than the emotions.

Dan Rottenberg

Mar 06, 2009 · Articles · 7 minute read

"Guys and Dolls' revived on Broadway

Where's the action? No, where's the oomph?

Guys and Dolls, that beloved musical fable of Broadway, is back on Broadway again— enjoyable but oddly disappointing: kind of flat, kind of oomph-deficient. Under director Des McAnuff, this is a very busy, gaudy production, without a human center.

Toby Zinman

Mar 03, 2009 · Articles · 4 minute read

"Honor and the River' at Walnut Studio 3

Is there a school psychologist in the house?

There is still something to be said for a play about a teenager who's strong enough to acknowledge his weaknesses and doesn't give a fig about peer pressure. But Honor and the River takes much too long to develop, and its dramatic turning points struck me as contrived or silly.

Dan Rottenberg

Mar 01, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Blackbird' by Theatre Exile (3rd review)

Rules of the heart, rewritten

Scottish playwright David Harrower's narrowly constructed Blackbird puts two former lovers in a tight place from which neither can escape. The truth, as he suggests, doesn't always set one free, but sometimes only leaves people more hopelessly apart.

Robert Zaller

Feb 17, 2009 · Articles · 3 minute read

"Sizwe Bansi' vs. "The Rant' (2nd Reviews)

Two moral dilemmas, but only one resonates

Athol Fugard's Sizwe Bansi is Dead struck me as an outdated work of literary history. The moral dilemmas in Andrew Case's The Rant, by contrast, are awesome in their current relevance.

Jim Rutter

Feb 14, 2009 · Articles · 5 minute read