Most, if not all, of my colleagues did not like “Bad Cinderella.” However, the performance I recently attended was sold out and that often undervalued pundit known as “the audience” could not have been more appreciative of what they experienced on the stage of the Imperial Theatre. It is important for us theatre critics to remember that often unheralded phenomenon…
Currently running at the Public’s Newman Theater, “The Harder They Come” is based on the 1972 film by the same name produced and directed by Perry Henzell and co-written with Trevor Rhone. The first paragraph of David Katz’s guest essay added to the Library of Congress National Registry in 2020 summarizes the film perfectly. “The Harder They Come” is a landmark of Caribbean…
I am an LGBTQ+ able-bodied and hearing person walking into the lobby of one of my favorite venues: The Public Theater. There is a notice on the door to mask up before entering. I am early and after masking up and picking up my ticket, I lean up against one of the columns in the lobby and check out my…
Unlike the typical one-thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle where the completed puzzle matches the image on the cover, “The Collaboration’s” dénouement and resolution are nothing like the playwright’s supposed intention when writing the script. Anthony McCarten sets us up for a scuba diving expedition. The playwright teases us into a deep-sea dive into the wreckage that is the lives of two disparate…
World and North American Premieres, Original Commissions, and Works Spanning Theater, Opera, Music, And Dance Comprise Park Avenue Armory’s 2023 Season The North American debut of British dramatist Alexander Zeldin’s LOVE, an emotionally poignant play depicting the lives of families placed in temporary public housing. Uniquely lived-in performances and design immerse audiences within a story that calls attention to…
Years after August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” was first produced on Broadway in 1990, Black playwrights have continued to grapple with this enduring question which defines the struggle between Bernice (an indomitable and passionate Danielle Brooks) and her brother Boy Willie (a broken but resilient John David Washington) in Wilson’s epic drama: “Is it possible to build one’s future without…
There are two paths to “disappearance” in David Cale’s engaging “Sandra” currently running at the Vineyard Theatre. The audience discovers that Ethan Martin’s path has been well thought out. Sandra Jones’ (Marjan Neshat) path on the other hand is completely reactive, random, and riddled with danger. Two paths diverge in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and the choices made by both on…
If you are not yet in a Holiday mood, perhaps a trip to Bucks County Playhouse where “Million Dollar Quartet Christmas” is now playing, may ignite your spirit. What can be more inspiring than hearing seasonal favorites sung by Jerry Lee Lewis (an exuberant Jason Cohen), Carl Perkins (a calming Sam Sherwood), Johnny Cash (an engaging Tyler Michael Breeding) and…
There is an abundance of medical and anatomical references in “Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & The Pool” currently running at Lincoln Center Theater’s Vivian Beaumont Theater. Mr. Birbiglia’s affinity for medicine is often part of or the central theme in his stand-up comedy gigs around the nation. His particular interest in his own health is also pivotal to his…
If Will Arbery’s “Evanston Salt Costs Climbing were an absurdist play, its non-sense narrative might make some sense. However, this is not a “Waiting for Godot” for post-pandemic Evanston, Illinois, or a pre-recession America. Peter (a foul-mouthed and depressive Jeb Kreager) and Basil’s (an equally foul-mouthed but agreeable Ken Leung) world borders on meaningless and the play’s characters are experiencing…