For those who need reminders, this musical has a long history, both behind and in front of it. (Stay with me here) It all began as an East European play, apparently, but for most of is, it started as a beguiling 1940 movie called “The Shop Around The Corner,” starring Jimmy Stewart and Maureen Sullivan as sparring co-workers at a…
“With Blue – uncertain stumbling Buzz – Between the light – and me – And then the Windows failed – and then I could not see to see.” (Emily Dickenson, “I heard a Fly buzz” – No. 465) Anne (Kathryn Erbe) was “scared of [her father André] when [she] was little.” In the present – as he battles his advanced Alzheimer’s – André is more childlike, requesting Anne sing him…
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…
“You Are Now the Owner of This Suitcase” is a modern day folktale, comprised of 21 scenes, with contributions from seven different playwrights, with an objective to meld a multiplicity of styles into one voice. It goes hand in hand with the mission of the producing company, Theatre 167, to create, cultivate and support new works by artists of wide…
“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…
“And I understood that truth seeks us out – then walks beside us like a shadow, and one day it merges with us. Until it does, we are not truly whole.” (Billy to Miss Murphy) Steve Martin and Edie Brickell’s “Bright Star” is a welcomed infusion of optimism into the veins of the Broadway stage and a delightful breath of…
Liberia’s Civil Wars created havoc in the fragile West African Nation from 1980 until 2003. The political upheaval often eclipsed the myriad of humanitarian crises generated by the fighting in the region including massacres of civilians, unlawful prison camps, refugee crises, and the capture, captivity, and rape of local women. Danai Gurira’s “Eclipsed” focuses narrowly on the lives of five…
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…