“Cagney, you’re playing the lead now. Got to carry the picture. Don’t screw it up. Now get back on set. Oh, and Cagney – give me more of that grapefruit stuff!” (Jack Warner in “Cagney”) Although “Cagney” has been playing since 2009 and has ostensibly been updated, expanded, and revised, the musical still needs some tweaking to bring it to…
Rehearsals began the week of March 31st for the world premiere limited engagement of “A Better Place,” a new work by playwright Wendy Beckett (“Anaïs Nin: One of Her Lives,” “A Charity Case”) and directed by Evan Bergman (“Jericho”), beginning performances Wednesday, May 4 and opening Sunday, May 15 at The Duke on 42nd Street, a NEW 42ND STREET® project…
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…
“Extraordinary… Nothing like you have ever seen before and nothing you are likely ever to see again.” – Theatre Reviews Limited Adam Rapp’s “Wolf in the River,” an impressionistic glimpse into the poetry of broken people, will now run through May 16. Written and directed by Adam Rapp, featuring members of The Bats, The Flea’s resident acting company. In “Wolf…
“You did the only thing you could,/and the only thing you should./When you go for what you want, when you think about yourself,/when you do what’s best for you,/everyone benefits” – Peter to Ray On the eve before the qualifying trial for the Olympics, Ray (Alex Breaux) stands by the pool at his club listening to his brother Peter (Lucas…
Since its first production in 2013, Aaron Posner’s “Stupid Fu**ing Bird” – “sort of” adapted from Chekhov’s alluded to classic – cannot begin until a willing audience member takes Con’s (Christopher Sears) challenge and yells out, “Start the fu**ing play.” One wonders what would happen if the playwright had summoned enough courage to allow the audience – purportedly an essential…
“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…
“You think I care that you’re judging me? I have a job, okay? /I work. At least I can go home and order food and pay for it. /I’m solvent.” (Delivery Guy) Time after time, in Town Hall Meetings, Primary Election exit polls, and Caucuses in the 2016 Race for the President, the main concern of the electorate seems to…
“Quiet please. It’s Jane Austen. Sit still and pay attention so you don’t miss anything. She’s tough to understand sometimes.” None of these admonitions or warnings are relevant when watching Bedlam’s production of Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility” adapted for the stage by Kate Hamill and currently playing at The Gym at Judson in Manhattan. Bedlam’s stage version of this iconic…
Playwright Lucy Prebble attempts to cover an expansive range of themes in the North American premiere of her play “The Effect” at the Barrow Street Theatre. Although this choice gives her play a range of diverse and interesting conflicts, it fails to give the play a cohesive core leaving the audience to wonder what Ms. Prebble was trying to accomplish….