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end Fortune City files

Archived after 12/6/05:

 

An American Original

Elizabeth Bishop 101

"Freak Winds" Is Funny and Frightening

Fahrenheit 451

Children of a Lesser God

The Music Teacher

Romping through the Plastic Roses

Eye on Steppenwolf

[title of show] Is an Adolescent Adventure

Et tu, Jones?

Alba Lite
Michael John LaChiusa's "Bernarda Alba" is Garcia Lorca's feminist play "lite." The women in this chamber musical lust after sex, not freedom. By Lucy Komisar.

The Irish Repertory Pays Tribute to a Yankee Doodle Boy
In the program notes to "George M. Cohan Tonight!" writer and director Chip Deffaa says, "At first I planned to write a book about [George M Cohan] but his life was so theatrical, his songs so rich and rousing and varied, I felt his story is better told on stage." A wise decision. But equally fortunate was Deffaa's choice of triple threat Jon Peterson to play the multi-talented Cohan. By Paulanne Simmons.

33 to Nothing
The sad truth is that "33 to Nothing" has all the earmarks of a work of love. It's pretty obvious that Grant James Varjas, who wrote the play with music, "33 to Nothing", now at the Bottle Factory Theater for a limited engagement, knows a lot about rock bands. At best, it's a psychodrama with music. By Paulanne Simmons.

 

Post-Modern Hedda
In 1890 Henrik Ibsen wrote "Hedda Gabler," a play about a bored, neurotic woman who ruins the life of the people who surround her and then takes her own. It is a solid piece of drama with a preternaturally modern theme. For some reason, Andrew Upton saw fit to update the play with "spare dialogue and diminished exposition." Then The Sydney Theatre Company took this version and, under the direction of Robyn Nevin, turned it into something that seems to be a cross between a sitcom and a soap opera. By Paulanne Simmons.

 

A Fresh, New Look at "The Miser"
"The Miser" ("L'Avare"), The Jean Cocteau Repertory' s newest show at the Bouwerie Lane Theatre, with its convoluted plot involving mistaken identity, shipwreck and unlikely reunions, may be the most Shakespearean of Moliere's plays. As translated by Charles Heron Wall and directed by Dan Zisson, the comedy has a modern ring that even Shakespeare at its best seldom achieves.

"Barefoot" BF (Before Feminism)
"Barefoot in the Park" is a dated comedy with feminist message. As a comedy, Neil Simon's play is just sitcom, but as sociology, it's fascinating. It inadvertently illustrates the ills of old-style marriage. By Lucy Komisar.

"Side Show" Makes the Weird Wonderful
The Gallery Players in Brooklyn have revived "Side Show," the 1997 musical about conjoined twins Daisy and Violet Hilton, and it shines. By Paulanne Simmons.

Oedipus Pimp
In celebration of Black History month, the New York Theatre Workshop is presenting Aeschylus -- in a high-voltage Hip-hop variation that makes the ancient tale as lively and accessible for grey panthers as for high schoolers. Make some room, "Rent." Here comes a phat rappin' cousin with impeccable credentials! By Glenda Frank.

 

Fanny Hill Is Irresistible
Going against the wave of films and plays depicting abusive, self-destructive and plain weird relationships, Ed Dixon's new musical, "Fanny Hill," now at the York Theatre, carries the old-fashioned message that sex can be fun. Based on John Cleland's 1749 "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," Fanny Hill is a tongue-in-cheek rollick that director James Brennan keeps fresh in every sense of the word. By Paulanne Simmons.

Rabbit Hole
David Lindsay-Abaire's "Rabbit Hole," about the grief of losing a child, is a look into what appears to be a bottomless abyss of permanent, all-encompassing mourning. It's also an obvious message about how slipping into isolation only makes things worse. And about how loss ought to be understood in the continuum of previous loss and new life. These are not original observations, but under the clear, unsentimental direction of Daniel Sullivan, they do not appear trite. He unfolds a drama, not a melodrama. By Lucy Komisar.

Laughing Around Town is back!
Three shows Larry Litt saw in February pointed to a direction that Americans should be very nervous about. The assorted and very diverse themes were ancient Roman history in "The Art of Love," contemporary women's susceptability to advertising and fashion dictates in "Angry Young Women in Low Rise Jeans with High-Class Issues," and self-reflection in "The Accidental Pervert."

"Paradise" Lost
David Foley's "Paradise" is a play about three couples: one is gay, one is jewish and one is constantly bickering. There is a faithless husband, his unhappy wife and their innocent daughter acting out their own story upstage, and a pedophile priest who tells bad jokes. You can't help but feel you've been to the play before, and this is a problem. By Paulanne Simmons.

I Would Like To Thank My Agent
If Diane had lived during the Renaissance, she would have brandished a mean sword; scowled mightily with her hand placed threateningly on her dagger; smiled widely and bowed low; or gazed beatifically to heaven and crossed herself. In short, she would have done anything to cut her client the best deal in town. But Diane the Super-Agent (Julie White) lives in the here-and-now. Diane lives in "The Little Dog Laughed," by Douglas Carter Beane, which is as sharp-fanged and belly-laugh funny as his "As Bees in Honey Drown." By Glenda Frank.

 

Co-op Crazies
"The Right Kind of People," Charles Grodin's new play, now in its New York premiere at Primary Stages, is the kind of comedy that plays best in big cities, most specifically, New York. The action, which revolves around the shenanigans of a Fifth Avenue co-op board, certainly rings true to anyone who has ever had to deal with this particular breed of people. By Paulanne Simmons.

The Emperor Jones Goes Greek
Arthur Adair had a good idea on paper, says Paulanne Simmons, in casting Eugene O'Neill's "The Emperor Jones" in a Greek mold.

 

Apartment 3A Mixes Romance, Comedy and Magic
In Jeff Daniels' new play, "Apartment 3A," Annie Wilson (Amy Landecker) a PBS fundraiser, moves into a new apartment after finding her former boyfriend committing an act of infidelity on her grandmother's table. On the very day she takes the apartment, she meets a mysterious widower named Donald (Joseph Collins) who seems to have powers far beyond mortal men. If over-the-top love scenes, sparkling dialogue and a touch of wonder have not yet lost their appeal, "Apartment 3A" will certainly be a hit. By Paulanne Simmons.

Huck and Holden
The title of Rajiv Joseph's new play, now in its world premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre, is "Huck & Holden," but it might have been "Huck, Holden & Navin." Indeed, if "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is the Great American Buildingsroman of the 19th century and "The Catcher in the Rye" is the classic coming-of-age story of the 20th century, then Navin's adventures in America might well represent a typical journey of self-discovery for the 21st century. By Paulanne Simmons.

An (Irish) American Tragedy
Eugene O'Neill's "A Touch of the Poet" is a powerful play in a gem of a production at Studio 54. Set outside Boston on July 27, 1828, it traces the final descent of Major Cornelius Melody and the rise of his headstrong daughter, Sara. It is a tragedy about the immigrant experience, a tale about Irish nobility – not about kings but about the transcendent dream passed from father to child, and the price of that dream. By Glenda Frank.

 

The Revenger's Tragedy
Ask a Boy Scout if the family is sacred, he'll say "of course." Then ask a dramatist the same question. He'll say "of course, the family is as sacred as the mysterious forces within all our lusty, vengeful hearts." This is the paradoxical twist of Red Bull's wildly funny, sardonically attractive show, The Revenger's Tragedy. By Larry Litt.

Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
"Dog Sees God," Bert V. Royal's first play, is billed as an "unauthorized" parody. It is his take on Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts gallery – ten years later. Paulanne Simmons' take on the production is a great big "Good Grief!".

In a Red State, 1920
Small theatre companies dedicated to rescuing lost masterpieces are vital links in the New York theatre chain. Their productions offer many surprises, like the recent staging of Susan Glaspell's "Inheritors," which premiered in 1921 and is rarely revived. Some of us -- theatre writers and historians who are familiar with Glaspell's "Trifles" and "The Verge" -- have assumed that her other plays simply don't play well. The recently formed Susan Glaspell Society and Director Yvonne Conybeare at the Metropolitan Playhouse are providing compelling evidence that we need to take a fresh look at Glaspell's work. By Glenda Frank.

Ms. Wasserstein's latest play
There are very few scenes in "Third," Wendy Wasserstein's latest play, where Dianne Wiest -- as Professor Laurie Jameson -- does not smile, glance benevolently, look maternal And her course on new interpretations of Shakespeare is lively and provocative. Even Woodson Bull, III, nicknamed Third, a new student and a jock – he's on the wrestling team and plans to become a real-life Jerry McGuire – is excited. But surprise of surprises, Prof. Jameson is as close to a feminist villain as contemporary drama and her creator, Wendy Wasserstein, permits. By Glenda Frank.

….four one-legged men! Written and performed by Gary Corbin
There's nothing more harrowing than watching a person tell the absolute unfiltered, unexpurgated truth about their life's struggles. The event opens all kinds of doors in an audience that have nothing to do with the show in front of their eyes. Only a master storyteller can keep an audience focused on the subject and object of the oration. It's rare, when it happens to you, you remember. Gary Corbin's stellar one man performance is that kind of performance. If he performs this series again. Don't miss it. By Larry Litt

The Quality of Mercy
At the core of "Mercy at the Doorstep," Gip Hoppe's new play directed by Jim Simpson, lie several questions: What is mercy? Is it bestowed by God or man? Can it be forced on someone who doesn't want it? Does it sometimes cloak something more sinister? By Paulanne Simmons.

A Walk on the Wild Side
Whether you're a lifelong New Yorker, a temporary resident or a tourist on a short visit, "Accomplice" is a Big Apple experience you'll want to savor. This original piece of entertainment created by the brother and sister team Tom Salamon and Betsy Suffott is part interactive theater, part site-specific performance art and part walking tour of lower Manhattan. It is the most thoroughly entertaining ways to spend an afternoon in New York City one can imagine. By Paulanne Simmons.

Guardians: Provocative or Pornographic?
The two most sordid scandals to come out of the Iraq War may well be the Abu Ghraib debacle and the publication of fake torture photos in The Daily Mirror. Playwright Peter Morris use both stories in his two-character monologue, "Guardians." By Paulanne Simmons.

Titanic
A recent presentation of Christopher Durang's "Titanic" is proof that something's going awfully right at New York City's public universities. By Brandon Judell.

A Fine & Private Place
The titular fine and private place in Erik Haagensen and Richard Isen's musical premiering at York Theatre Company's home in St. Peter's at Citigroup Center is the imaginary Yorkchester Cemetery in the North Bronx. It is here that two couples, one live and one dead, meet. By Paulanne Simmons.

Adrienne Barbeau Breathes Life into "The Property Known as Garland"
Not a melodramatic soap opera about the decline and death of the late great Garland, but rather a funny and moving evening with the star. By Paulanne Simmons.

"Defying Hitler" Offers a Glimpse of History and a Man's Soul
Based on the memoirs of Sebastian Haffner, German journalist, historian and political commentator who grew up in Berlin between the two world wars, "Defying Hitler" weaves Haffner's personal story into world history. By Paulanne Simmons.

"Cooking for Kings"
From early childhood most people learn to equate food with love. But few take the metaphor to the same extremes as legendary French chef Antonin Careme, whose life story is told in Ian Kelly's one-man-show "Cooking for Kings."

Being Ernest Is Still Important
Poet, dramatist and novelist Oscar Wilde is known for many things: his flamboyance, his aestheticism, his homosexuality. But his most enduring and endearing legacy may be his masterpiece "The Importance of Being Ernest." Paulanne Simmons reviews the production at Brooklyn Academy of Music and deems it "just about as perfect as it gets."

J.A.P. Chronicles, the Musical
If there's one lesson in "J.A. P. Chronicles, the Musical," it's that not all Jewish American Princesses are alike. There are seven of them in Isabel Rose's new musical, based on her novel of the same name.

Wall
"Wall" is a shocking, searing account of the barrier now being built in Israel, an ugly monstrosity that is physically separating Arab from Jew. The governmentââ‚ÂÂÂÃÃÃ