Whoever decided to have Rapunzel use her hair to lasso criminals in the Wild West most certainly has the mindset for children’s theatre. It’s the premise of WhatFun! Theatre’s aptly named ‘Rapunzel in the Wild West’ an interactive children’s musical where the audience is encouraged to boo, cheer, and lament, all in the name of family-friendly fun. Rapunzel is a…
It is Fringe season, and the lower East side of Manhattan is buzzing with the NY International Fringe Festival now celebrating a 19th year with a new theatrical kaleidoscope. As in years past, audiences, reviewers and staff search for the golden ticket, the reward of finding a few shows that might have a glimmer of hope for a future, or…
“Elaine Stritch Still Here” is a new musical constructed in cabaret format, paying homage to the theatrical paragon, being presented as part of the NY International Fringe Festival. The legendary Ms. Stritch, played marvelously by Jay Malsky, with the accomplished Keith Rubin as Rob Bowman, her friend and musical director at the piano, deserve a much better venue that might…
Harrie Dobby’s play “The Gap” purports to be about what individuals must sacrifice to be happy; however, that enduring and rich question seems to get lost in the gaps in time and place in this otherwise charming play about two seemingly star-crossed lovers who meet in Southeast Asia in the midst of their backpacking adventures across the globe. Lisa (Abigail…
“It’s like all sandwiched together. And so they tesser to this other planet and Ms. Whatsit turns into this weird horse with wings kind of thing, and the earth from where they look far off is half under the power of this Black Thing.” (Peggy to Salinger) Margaret (Peggy) Salinger, daughter of J. D. Salinger, is a character in Anisa…
“Unstuck” – Written by Lucy Thurber and Directed by Laura Savia The audience does not know exactly how stuck Pete (played with delicious undercurrents of sadness by Alfredo Narcisco) is until his girlfriend Deirdre (played with restorative emotional strength by KK Moggie) comes home and finds Pete sleeping on the couch instead of getting out of the house as he…
Picture this: You’re stuck on a train at 1 AM with three drunken brothers. They’re arguing over the death of their father, their alcoholic breaths fumigating the train, as they argue about personal family issues as loudly as possible. At first, the conversation is hilarious, but as it picks up and becomes more violent, what was once entertaining, is now…
“So you’re a comfort to me. lf there was somebody who was like that for you, somebody who was like you the way you used ta be before you were the way you are now, we could probably draw a straight line through the three of us and sec where we’re goin.” (Dad) That affirmation by Donna’s (played with explosive…
“Manuel versus the Statue of Liberty” is a powerful new musical that takes considerable risks in exposing the flaws in the United States Immigration System (USCIS). Noemi de la Puente’s engaging book personalizes the “nightmare” of USCIS as a knock-down-drag-out boxing match between a young illegal Manuel (played with a powerful grace by Gil Perez-Abraham) and the Statue of Liberty…
“Communism, like General Motors, is people.” The above is an important reminder shared by a psychology professor to this reviewer many years ago. A reminder that people should always be more important than politics or social, political, and economic ideologies. Unfortunately, that truth seems difficult for humankind to grasp or achieve globally. After the Holocaust, humanity vowed to never let…