“Neither need you tell me,” said Candide, “that we must take care of our garden.” “You are in the right,” said Pangloss; “for when man was put into the garden of Eden, it was with an intent to dress it: and this proves that man was not born to be idle.” “Work then without disputing,” said Martin; “it is the…
“And anyway–it is an excellent time to be gay. I sorta like gay people better!” (Emily to Ben) If Emily (Jenna Gavigan) has her bioinformatics grad student finger on the national pulse when it comes to discerning whether the LGBT community has reached mainstream status, then it is a mystery why her boyfriend Ben (Jake Epstein) of four years has…
“Guilt isn’t always a rational thing, Clio realized. Guilt is a weight that will crush you whether you deserve it or not.” ― Maureen Johnson, “Girl at Sea” Barry Malawer’s “Dead Dog Park” was first produced in 2012 at the The Philipstown Depot Theatre in Garrison, NY. He wrote the play – his third – after carrying around a newspaper…
“Chronic remorse, as all the moralists are agreed, is a most undesirable sentiment. If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time. On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.” ― Aldous Huxley, “Brave New World”…
“Turning and turning in the widening gyre/The falcon cannot hear the falconer;/Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,/The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned.” (W. B. Yeats, “The Second Coming’) In Terry Johnson’s “Insignificance,” currently running in Room 505 at “Langham Place” in New York City (the first staging…
Dan O’Brien’s “The Body of an American,” currently running at Primary Stages at the Cherry Lane Theatre, is oddly reminiscent of Robert M. Pirsig’s 1974 novel “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values.” Discussions between the play’s characters – the main characters Dan (Michael Crane) and Paul (Michael Cumpsty) – and secondary characters (also played by…
If the cacophony on stage during the Vineyard Theatre’s “Dot” even remotely characterizes the “noise” inside Dotty’s head, it is easy to understand the severity of her Alzheimer’s disease and just how far it has progressed. Colman Domingo’s new play tackles the horrific details of one family’s struggle to cope with the deterioration of their mother and how her mental…
No matter how diligently humankind attempts to “reap angels,” the presumed effects of “The Fall” not only carry forward into the present but subvert any attempt for a successful journey “on to perfection” (John Wesley). “Angel Reapers” – currently running at the Pershing Square Signature Center – is a theological and psychological tour de force that exposes the underbelly of…
“The world is accident prone, no use attempting correction. After all, the loss of one fool makes room for another.” – Mme. Le Mode In the 1980s, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC is dedicated and Americans are ready to put the Vietnam War behind them. Interest rates reach an all-time high and Americans cash in on high-yielding Certificates…
“Here’s to the chaos/The heartache and strain/Three cheers for agony/A toast to the pain/Hats off to everything that leaves a scar/For reminding me who my friends are” (“The Reminder Song” by Shaina Taub) “Old Hats,” the captivating theater piece created and performed by Bill Irwin and David Shiner, is back at the Signature Theater after a sold out successful run…