“It’s not always the way it is in plays. Not all faggots bump themselves off at the end of the story!” – Michael in “The Boys in the Band” by Mart Crowley (1968) It must be said that it is refreshing to find a young, talented member of the LGBTQ community using their voice to bring awareness to a valid…
Big Jim’s (James Kiberd) Baptist Mega-Church is expanding. More space is need for its growing congregation. That conservative congregation also seems to need a television studio and a gym with a basketball court for outreach and youth ministries. One of the church’s young recruits is Connor Stephens the teenager the church “took in and helped him and his mama get…
Created by Paula Vogel and Rebecca Taichman, “Indecent” could not have opened at the Vineyard Theatre at a more auspicious time. In the midst of an increasingly frenzied discussion about what is and what is not decent in contemporary American society and culture, this remarkable and stunning play – based on true events surrounding the 1923 Broadway debut of Sholem…
“I like being able to define my species. And so I guess for the Seagull I don’t know anything, I’m an outside observer, but I think They found the beauty in being outside They made a place where they could define themselves.” Aisha/Nar The thirty-something Jewish Bohemians in “The Place We Built,” currently running at the Flea Theater, who in…
“After great pain, a formal feeling comes -/The Nerves sit ceremonious, like Tombs-/The stiff Heart questions was it He, that bore, And Yesterday, or Centuries before?” (Emily Dickinson, #341) Educators and academics have been trying to determine why schools fail for decades and have yet to identify successfully a formula for preventing the pandemic failure of education – particularly in…
Casino rule number one: the house always wins! That is certainly the case in Vera’s (Mia Katigbak) house where her daughters Twee (Tina Chilip) and Momo (Tiffany Villarin) are encouraged to abide by their mother’s rules whether they are playing Gin Rummy, Mahjong, Monopoly, or the game of life. And it is life’s game – the vicissitudes of human existence…
“I wouldn’t want to be Frankenstein.” (Adam to Jenny in “Boy”) The Keen Company’s Mission is to create “theater that provokes identification, reflection, and emotional connection – enduring stories fearlessly told.” In order to fulfill that mission, there must be a master storyteller who knows how to create characters with conflicts (problems) that are not only engaging but connectable. The…
In the final show of the York Theatre Company’s Musicals in Mufti Winter 2016 Series, “Starting Here, Starting Now” passes the test of time with high marks as it explores the trials and tribulations of love, relationships, and self- discovery with a diverse compilation of lesser known songs by the familiar team of Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire. The…
Stephen Petronio Company returns to The Joyce Theater with the second season of “Bloodlines,” a multiyear project that embraces significant works by trailblazers of American postmodern dance. The 2016 season features Trisha Brown’s “Glacial Decoy” (1979), Mr. Petronio’s “MiddleSexGorge” (1990), and the world premiere of Petronio’s “Big Daddy (Deluxe).” Trisha Brown’s landmark “Glacial Decoy” (1979) was her first work for…
“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…