Cymbeline

Theater in its purest form is an exercise in magical simplicity. Much of what passes for theater today is far closer to the craft of spectacle, which is wonderful in its own right but should not be confused with the art of transforming a relative empty space into another breathing world through the efforts of actors, a director, and a script. Cymbeline is one of those most miraculous of manifestations; armed only with six very talented actors, the immortal words of the Shakespeare and a handful of props and set pieces, they have summoned the muses and created one of the most memorable stage productions of 2011. Read more »

Greek mythology, camp, and Douglas Carter Beane have made what feels like a less-than-ecstatic reunion in Lysistrata Jones. Those with fond memories of Xanadu are likely to feel something is missing from this current effort, but comparisons aside, Lysistrata has some charms of her own. Read more »

The Experiment

The creators of Nightmare, one of New York City’s most acclaimed haunted houses, have pushed passed the Halloween season and are now extending their icy grip on "the most wonderful time of the year" with their latest, twisted exploration, The Experiment. Those looking to deck the halls, sing heart-warming carols, and contribute to the general sentiment of peace on earth and good will to men need not apply, but anyone willing to look Santa straight in his more sinister eye should be pleased by the demented vision to be seen there. Read more »

Other Desert Cities

There is no reason to beat around the bush when it comes to describing John Robin Baitz's play, Other Desert Cities, which recently opened on Broadway after a sold-out Off-Broadway run at Lincoln Center last winter. To me, it is a great play, a term I don't get to use often, and the best new play I can recall in quite some time. It was riveting, mesmerizing, totally involving, along with being quite funny and relevant. Beautifully written by Baitz, Other Desert Cities grabs the audience from the beginning and never lets go. Read more »

Seminar

Walking away from a theater with genuine joy and excitement for what you have just seen is an all-too-rare and cherished occasion. Between its solid cast, able directing, tight script, and high production quality, Seminar provides just that kind of experience. Looking for any significant holes in this taut piece of private study would prove difficult, and while the play's exploration is not a vast one, it covers the ground it treads thoroughly. Read more »

My friend and I found ourselves discussing Jesse Eisenberg's new play, Asuncion, for a good half hour after we recently saw it. That says something for the play; while slight and not fully realized, I found Asuncion to be amusing, fairly entertaining, and, obviously, based on our post-play conversation, thought-provoking. And, yes, this is the same Jesse Eisenberg who is better known as an actor and was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in The Social Network. With Asuncion, Eisenberg shows he has some talent as a playwright. Nevertheless, Asuncion is not quite funny enough for a flat-out comedy and not dramatic or powerful enough for a fully satisfying drama. Still, I'm glad I saw it. Read more »

Godspell

Godspell is fighting to prove its relevance while trying to shake off the haunting suspicion of being terribly dated. Energy and dedication are on the side of the ten-person cast of youngsters, but whether youth is any match for a catchy score laden with creaky old Bible stories is a question that hangs in the balance.

All forms of trick and gimmick are employed in this mighty effort to bring Stephen Schwartz’s 1971 classic into the 21st century, from trampolines to confetti guns to on-stage instruments to countless topical jokes and a barrage of celebrity impersonations; even a baptismal version of the proverbial kitchen sink makes way it into the show. Read more »

Queen of the Mist
Transport Group Theater Company, NYC

Queen of the Mist is the best musical drama I have seen in decades.

A seasoned critic was once quoted as warning a fresh young reviewer, "You'll run out of adjectives. We all do." Words and phrases such as "superb," "excellent," "skillful," "clever," "sophisticated," "tour-de-force," "role of a lifetime," and "artful" may not be the freshest terms of praise, but they are the ones I would apply to every aspect of this unique musical. Read more »

The Mountaintop makes use of his name, it makes use of some of his words, and it makes use of his story, but the play is ultimately devoid of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself in any genuine sense. It borders on the edge of exploitation; if there was a sincere purpose behind this telling of King’s last night on earth, it seems that it was lost somewhere between its confused, aimless script and shameless stunt casting.

Samuel L. Jackson, ever effective in films when he keeps within his badass range, is well outside his abilities in the role of Martin Luther King Jr. His struggle to find comfort on the Broadway stage is reminiscent of his awkward presence as Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels, only less entertaining. Read more »

Comedies that aren’t funny are an unpleasant proposition, particularly when there’s more than one to be endured in a single evening.  In a baseball analogy, Relatively Speaking would rack up two stone-faced strikeouts and a base hit worth a couple chuckles and some thought. One would hope that when three respected writers such as Ethan Coen, Elaine May and Woody Allen combine forces to mount a collection of one-acts, directed by John Turturro, that there should be an expected level of quality, but instead of the words of proven masters we are presented with the misguided scribbling of rank amateurs. Read more »

David Henry Hwang: Chinglish

Chinglish is the word coined for those humorously bad Chinese-to-English mistranslations found on signs, in electronics manuals, etc. That sort of thing is hardly exclusive to China (there are plenty of examples from around the world here), but thanks to the first-world economic implosion, China is where the stakes are highest now. The new play by Chinese-American playwright David Henry Hwang (his first on Broadway in 13 years) is built around both this crucial transition and mistranslation. Bring your opera glasses, because being able to read supertitles has never been more important.

Our hero lead schlub, Daniel Cavanaugh (Gary Wilmes), opens the play alone, explaining to an unseen conference audience the secret of his business success in China. As his business is signs, this talk includes memorably mistranslated examples, most prominently "Fuck the certain price of goods," which makes perfect sense once it's explained that when Chinese script was modernized and simplified, the ideograms for "dry" and "to do" became the same. Read more »

Tom X. Chao: Callous Cad

Cheerful Insanity consists of two plays, both directed by John Harlacher and presented in repertory at the downtown performance space called Here. I attended these plays knowing next to nothing about what I was to behold in the downstairs performance space. I am not quite sure of the “cheerful,” but there was “insanity” galore. Read more »

C.S. Hanson: Charles Winn Speaks

In Charles Winn Speaks, actor Christopher Kipiniak certainly speaks and speaks and speaks. The play consists of four acts, played with no intermission: two long monologs, followed a scene with another character, followed by a brief concluding monolog. In short, Charles Winn does a whole lotta speaking, and for the most part, engagingly so. Read more »

James Haigney: The Woman Standing on the Moon

In Revelations 12.1, a pregnant woman is standing on the moon, about to give birth while a red dragon waits nearby to devour her newborn. In a similar way, so goes The Woman Standing on the Moon, a new play by James Haigney. Just as the Book of Revelations is worth reading, the play is decidedly worth seeing, bearing in mind that neither the biblical dream story nor this play are what one might call "feel-good" experiences.  Read more »

White Horse Theater Company

Suddenly Last Summer is considered to be Tennessee Williams's most poetic play. Williams's carefully crafted words are heard primarily in two long monologues within the play, around which the action takes place. The 1959 film version is a staple of Turner Classic Movies, and I was curious to attend a version based on the original stage script, apparently mounted in honor of the hundredth anniversary of Williams's birth. Read more »

Follies

Marquis Theatre, NYC

As far as musical theatre goes, there are few shows as epic as Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece Follies. Originally opening at the Winter Garden in 1971, since its closing it has created a cult of dedicated followers who eagerly attend every revival hoping to catch a glimmer of fading ecstasy. The current production at the Marquis may not be able to scale such overwhelming expectations, but it certainly makes a respectable and entertaining attempt.

Jan Maxwell plays a sexy Phyllis of great power and seething restraint, pulling off the unlikely trick of making "Could I Leave You?" the show stopper that "Losing My Mind" would normally be. Read more »

Stephen Sondheim: Follies

Among musical theater enthusiasts, there are few musicals as revered and discussed as Follies, the legendary 1971 musical featuring a magnificent Stephen Sondheim score and a book by James Goldman. The original production ran for only 522 performances, and audiences did not always respond, but it is regarded by its fans as an opulent, brilliant, and never-to-be-duplicated production of a groundbreaking musical. I saw that original, and I have always felt I may have been a bit too young to fully appreciate it. Since then, among others, I have seen the 1987 London production, a well-regarded mounting at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, a scaled-down Broadway revival ten years ago, and a concert version that was part of the Encores series several years ago. Fans of the show flock to each new production, always hoping that this will be the “perfect Follies” we have long awaited. All the versions I have seen had their attributes and their standout performances, and all have had elements open for legitimate debate and criticism. Has any musical ever inspired as much passion, differing opinions, and intrigue as Follies? Read more »