The current offering from The Director’s Company at the Duke on 42nd Street is a world premiere penned by Australian playwright Wendy Beckett entitled “A Better Place.” It turns out to be an urban synonym for the old suburban aphorism “the grass is always greener.” Only in this case, rather than a healthier lawn, it is a larger apartment in…
The only barrier between immersing oneself in Ramesh Meyyappan’s brilliant “Butterfly” is attempting to connect the wordless well-choreographed “dance” of love, betrayal, and redemption with its namesake “Madame Butterfly” or with the interesting connections to the lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov. One needs to grapple with the piece itself and accept it as a unique piece of experimental theatre replete with stunning…
The Jerusalem of 1192 in Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s “Nathan the Wise,” currently running at Classic Stage Company, is not unlike the Jerusalem of the present: still a divided city with the three major world religions vying for supremacy and claiming with pride a unique claim on being the “sole purveyors of divine revelation.” The Templar (Stark Sands) admonishes Nathan (F….
“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…
The New Group proudly presents “The Sensuality Party” as part of its 2015-2016 season. This New York premiere of a new play by Justin Kuritzkes was developed through The New Group’s New Group/New Works play development program. Directed by Danya Taymor, this production will play 18 performances only at college campuses across all five boroughs of New York City, with venues including Brooklyn College, LaGuardia Community College, Gallatin School (New York University), Baruch College, Lehman…
“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…