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Reviews, Cabaret Reviews and Film
Reviews are in their own sections
Mrs. Stern Wanders the Prussian State Library
The stakes are high. It is 1933 and Mrs. Stern is charged with treason,
a capital offense in the Third Reich. The newly established bureau for
political crimes is expanding exponentially. Mrs. Stern, known to us more
familiarly as Hannah Arendt -- one of the most influential political
theorists of the 20th century, who coined the phrase “the banality
of evil” at Adolph Eichmann’s trial -- has only her wits to
save her. The ninety minute play, directed by Ari Laura Kreith of Luna
Stages, is essentially a confrontation between the prisoner and the young
officer. By Glenda Frank.
Yellow Face
In “Yellow Face” a twist about anti-Asian racism turns a fiction
into reality. The under-story of David Henry Hwang’s play is more
important than the obvious story line. By Lucy Komisar.
McNeil
Lucy Komisar imagines what it would be like to invoke AI to write a review
about a play that has a writer using AI to pen his script.
Yellow Face
There’s an interesting and moving play somewhere in David Henry
Hwang’s "Yellow Face," but it is drowned in so many authorial
ticks and turnarounds it would take a sleuth with Holmesian ability to
find it. The comedy/farce/drama was originally produced in 2007 at the
Public Theater, directed by Leigh Silverman. Now the play has opened at
Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre, again directed by Silverman. By
Paulanne Simmons.
Vladimir
Good propaganda is subtle. You don’t know it’s propaganda.
Erika Sheffer’s play “Vladimir” is as subtle as a sledgehammer.
She hates the new state of Russia with a passion. Her play “Vladimir,”
presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club, is a pastiche of the attacks
the West has launched against Russia since the American neocons led by
Dick Cheney post-Glasnost decided (first quietly, now openly) to conquer
and divide it into weak mini-states, as if she were throwing mud at the
characters and hoping some of it would stick. By Lucy Komisar.
"Sump’n Like Wings"
Written soon after Oklahoma became a state in 1925, "Sump’n
Like Wings" by Rollie Lynn Riggs, which is not political in any way,
is about an anonymous family and a forgotten time, which may be the way
many folks in the flyover states may think the rest of the country see
them, who struggle to partake in the prosperity enjoyed by many who had
ventured out west at the turn of 19th century. This kind of quiet tale
speaks to the subtle enduring appeal of Mint productions and artistic
director Jonathan Bank’s perpetual search for lost plays, revealing
times past that speak to a contemporary audience. Bank has built a faithful
following over the thirty years the Mint has been bringing the past to
the stage just blocks away from Times Square. By Eric Uhlfelder.
"Lakeplay"
Drew Valins' play "Lakeplay" is a mixtape of romantic love with
comic touches plus mystery and psychological horror, set in a lakefront
cabin during the chilly months of early COVID. By Beate Hien Bennett.
"Dickhead"
In his kooky, spooky new play "Dickhead," Gil Kofman introduces
an ensemble of characters who have a few toes in reality and the rest
of them out there in cyber-fantasyland. Its unpredictability and
offbeat characters had Paul Berss always engaged and entertained.
"The Marriage" by Witold Gombrowicz
As the world has been roiling in ever expanding wars and people are fighting
for their very existence, this rarely performed play by Witold Gombrowicz
(1904-1969) about a young soldier returning home from war resonates with
immediacy. By Beate Hein Bennett.
The Goldberg-Variations
In "The Goldberg-Variations," now having its American premiere
at Theater for the New City, George Tabori’s “variations”
on the complex yet familiar condition humaine in Manfred Bormann’s
sharp staging is a welcome serious theatrical event for which Crystal
Field and TNC should be gratefully acknowledged. By Beate Hein Bennett.
KS6: Small Forward
The Belarus Free Theatre, founded and led by Natalia Kaliada and Nicolai
Khalezin, exemplifies the voice of protest while in forced exile in London,
but it also shows the possibility of theater artists creating a network
of support for those suffering the consequences of their protest actions
inside and outside Belarus, even extending their assistance to Ukrainian
and Russian dissenters and their families. An example of their commitment
to the cause is the present production of “KS6: Small Forward,”
a multimedia event that is centered on the biography of the Belarusian
basketball star Katsiaryna Snytsina, now living in exile in London, of
how she evolved from living the exclusive international life of a sports
star to becoming a prominent voice of protest against the brutal regime
of Putin friend, President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, a country
that borders Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania and Russia. By Beate Hein Bennett.
"Honor"
Roberta Pikser tell us that "Honor" at the Gene Frankel Theatre
suggests that such a thing as honor is all but impossible, at least in
a corporate setting, or perhaps that the concept is so totally subjective,
that no one really knows what it is.
JOB
Max Wolf Friedlich’s “JOB” is a riveting psychological
detective story that blurs the lines between truth and deception, sanity
and madness. And evil. This taut two-hander, subtly directed by Michael
Herwitz, keeps the audience on edge. By Lucy Komisar.
The Roommate
In “The Roommate,” by playwright Jen Silverman, we are thrust
into a mismatched living arrangement that teeters on the precipice of
absurdity, leaving audiences questioning the credibility of its characters
and narrative. Directed by Jack O’Brien, this production features
the formidable talents of Patti LuPone as Robyn and Mia Farrow, splendid
as Sharon, yet even their seasoned performances struggle against a script
and mood that often feel more suited for a sitcom than a stage play. By
Lucy Komisar.
The Outsiders
This is TV stuff. It starts out hokey and it ends hokey. The actors are
talented. Also good dancers to choreography by Rick Kuperman and Jeff
Kuperman. They deserved a better script. But teens will like it. By Lucy
Komisar.
Hell's Kitchen
With a book by Kristoffer Dias and music and lyrics by singer Alicia Keys,
this is presented as Keys' own story. At least that her "songs and
experiences growing up in NY inspire a story made for Broadway."
It turns out "inspire" can be interpreted many ways. By Lucy
Komisar.
Stereophonic
“Stereophonic” confronts the often-glossed-over misogyny of
the rock world. Behind many records, there may be stories of exploitation,
abuse, and shattered dreams. It’s a sobering counterpoint to the
nostalgia often associated with the era. By Lucy Komisar.
Water for Elephants
“Water for Elephants,” book by Rick Elice, music and lyrics
by Pigpen Theatre Company, transports audiences to the rough glamour of
a Depression-era traveling circus. Based on Sara Gruen’s novel,
this musical adaptation is a charming, if somewhat hokey spectacle that
relies on stunning choreography and circus acts. By Lucy Komisar.
Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club
Rebecca Frecknall’s “Cabaret” shifts the focus from
political to sexual decadence and prioritizes shock value over nuance,
reminding how quickly a society can descend into self-centered moral bankruptcy
and remain blind to encroaching fascism. There is more to politics than
what you do with your sexual parts. By Lucy Komisar.
Theatre Will Not Prepare You For Death
Olga Lvoff and co-director Elena Che have created a piece of theatrical
poetry with this production. Taking their cue from the playwright’s
inspiration of a dream and her interest in “magical realism,”
they have guided five actors and five dancers in full Tibetan head masks
into a coherent ensemble moving seamlessly between realistic moments of
family squabbles and the imaginary world of the dead as described in the
Tibetan Book of the Dead. Six performances over four days are not enough
for this fine production which deserves a longer or another run. By Beate
Hein Bennett.
Once Upon a Mattress
In the latest Broadway revival of “Once Upon a Mattress,”
Sutton Foster reigns supreme, solidifying her place in the pantheon of
American musical theater greats. By Lucy Komisar.
"Job"
"Job," Max Wolf Friedlich‘s new drama, which has transferred
to the Helen Hayes Theater on Broadway, from the Connolly Theatre, where
it moved after its Off-Broadway premiere at the SoHo Playhouse, begins
with the distraught Jane (Sydney Lemmon) aiming a gun at Loyd (Peter Friedman),
her therapist. Jane has recently been fired from her job with a Bay Area
tech company after a hysterical outburst that went viral, and the company
wants Loyd to decide whether she is fit to return to her old job. There
is a good play hiding somewhere in Friedlich‘s work, writes Paulanne
Simmons.
Issue #9
This musical, written and directed by Briana Bartenieff with music by
J.H. Greenwell, tackles a subject that has brought grief and sickness
to young women and their families: losing weight and body-shaming. The
evening was, for the most part, quite engrossing, and writer Bartenieff
did not sugar-coat her serious subject: the tragedy of self-hatred and
the unrelenting pressure to conform to a certain image. By Paul Berss.
The World According to Micki Grant
It takes dedication, persistence, and enduring quality to give a thoroughly
enjoyable and valuable history lesson to a New York audience that tends
to look for the new original talent in the perennially ephemeral art of
theater. Leave it to Woodie King Jr. and Elizabeth Van Dyke to unearth
the generally forgotten but once celebrated black theater artists of past
generations. With “The World According to Micki Grant” they
have resurrected Micki Grant, an irrepressible personality, poet/ lyricist,
and performer who succeeded to break through the white walls of Broadway,
the “Great White Way” in the early 70s into the 80s after
which the Broadway curtains tended to remain once again closed to much
black theater.
An Enemy of the People
This play by Ibsen “En folkefiende,” written in 1882, was
perhaps the West’s first environmental political play. Amy Herzog’s
smart adaptation over a century later fits America today perfectly. It
is about the utter corruption of a society where making money by powerful
interests takes easy precedence over the health, even the death, of citizens.
Lucy Komisar calls it one of the most important theatrical events of the
season.
Uncle Vanya
Chekhov’s play was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre,
directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. It has gone way downhill to Lincoln
Center’s production, says Lucy Komisar.
"Sally & Tom"
Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Sally & Tom” subtly but brilliantly
dissects the story of Jefferson and with it the founding mythology of
the United States. By Lucy Komisar.
"In Crocodile's Lair"
In JC Augustine's animal fantasy, The leadership of competing animal gangs,
call them packs or herds if you like, all have the same enemy. You know
them. What to do about the demonic humans who are established in the vicious
but food laden surface world? Larry Litt writes that the show is over-the-top
staged fun in that subaltern way that makes him think that queer theater
is high comedy. He says, If it comes around again, don’t miss it.
“Bring Them Back, a Dark Comedy”
David Willinger wrote “Bring Them Back, a Dark Comedy.” It
is a semi-autobiographical paean to all the people that he has lost to
death in the course of his life time. He invokes in his “meta-comedy”
(as he calls it) the most recent shared experience of COVID, but also
AIDS, the other “plague” that ravaged New York City in the
80s and 90s. By Beate Hein Bennett.
The Heart of Rock and Roll
Paulanne Simmons writes, "Let me confess. Before entering the James
Earl Jones Theatre on May 7, I had never heard of Huey Lewis or the News.
But after seeing the musical, The Heart of Rock and Roll, inspired by
the band, Huey Lewis and The News, and featuring songs from their
catalog, I was impressed by the music, the dance, and the talent and enthusiasm
of the cast."
In the Common Hour
Trend setting director Ildiko Nemeth deliciously and daringly thrusts
disparately alienated characters into a smokehouse of desparately hanging
flanks of meat. For me it was like experiencing the intimate and personal
gender bending battles one has when seeking a place to let off steam.
Only this smokehouse is actually a roadhouse in the great Western American
desert where we find little comfort for the forlorn. By Larry Littany
Litt.
The Great Jones Rep revives their "Medea"
Zishan Ugurlu and the Great Jones Repertory Company have re-conceived
a beautiful work of theater, originally directed by Andrei Serban with
music by ELizabeth Swados, that connects us to the long tragic human history
of collective displacement and betrayal by connecting one of the oldest
works of theater with the immediate traumas of our own time. One could
only hope that it stays in the repertoire of La Mama ETC to be revived
after this too short run.
In the Common Hour
When, in our lives, if ever, do we assess the path we find ourselves on?
Is that confrontation, if it happens, an awakening, or is it part of an
ongoing dream? Ildiko Nemeth’s new multi-media work takes place
inside the projection of a painting of a Southwest motel, isolated in
the desert, where seven strangers find themselves and play out the roles
that exemplify each others’ insecurities, secret desires, and confrontations.
At bottom, the play, written by Marie Glancy O’Shea, asks us to
consider the meaning of our lives: Is life a carnival, a walk in the woods,
a discovery, a torture, or a charade? Is there love, or only betrayal?
Or is it all these things at once? At the end of the performance, we must
really confront ourselves, whether in our dreams or in our realities.
By Roberta Pikser.
"The Wiz" returns
Whether you’re a fan of the original 1939 film or the original 1975
Broadway musical, you’ll most probably enjoy the new revival of
William F Brown (book) and Charlie Smalls’ (music and lyrics) The
Wiz, directed by Schele Williams. By Paulanne Simmons.
Doubt, a Parable
Roundabout is presenting a very fine revival of John Patrick Shanley’s
play, which opened in 2004, but is set forty years earlier in 1964. It
deals with complex themes of suspicion, faith, and morality surrounding
the possibility of child sexual abuse. By Lucy Komisar.
Corruption
“Corruption” is the most important play in New York this season.
In a mesmerizing true crime narrative, it documents the takeover of the
UK by sleazy media, bought or cowed political leaders and even top paid-off
law enforcement officials. No, this is not fiction. By Lucy Komisar.
Orson's Shadow
Austin Pendleton’s play "Orson's Shadow" is theatre about
theatre. He explores the vexing problems for a performer who had attained
fame at a young age and now must contend with aging and being eclipsed
by younger talents. It's a script built around famous theatre personalities
(and one not at all famous): Orson Welles, Laurence Olivier (before “Sir”),
Vivien Leigh, young Joan Plowright, acerbic critic Kenneth Tynan, and
Sean, a young theatre hanger-on who serves as a down-to-earth foible who
knows nothing about theatre (or any other) history. By Beate Hein Bennett.
American Rot
“American Rot” by Kate Taney Billingsley, directed by Estelle
Parsons, is a masterful dramatic compendium of collective pain and the
production a powerful rendering of the collective ills within American
society and history. By Beate Hein Bennett.
Pharaoh
Trust Theater for the New City to give space to surprises and small gems
of theater art, in this case an amazing fusion of a modern retelling of
the Jewish Passover story, the Exodus from Egypt, with Kathakali, the
ancient South Indian performance art from the Kerala region. However,
the playwright/actor/rabbi Misha Shulman turns the narration on its head
and tells the story through Pharaoh and the catastrophe of the Ten Plagues
that befall Egypt. By Beate Hein Bennett.
Days of Wine and Roses
Lucy Komisar says, the acting is excellent. And you will love the voices.
Two Views of "The Ally"
Paulanne Simmons writes, "For the most part, I don’t like plays
about 'iissues.' I’m also not fond of plays that are based on the
beliefs of the characters rather than their actions. But somehow Itamar
Moses’s The Ally, now making its premiere at The Public Theater,
blew all those opinions away." Lucy Komisar adds, "If you don’t
have the time to read or listen to every argument about the Israeli-Palestinian
question, spend an evening at the Public Theater production of 'The Ally'
(ie America’s ally, Israel) and you will get it all. In an entertaining
and succinct fashion."
Make Me Gorgeous!
Theatre thrives on synergy, and nowhere is it on better display than in
“Make Me Gorgeous” by writer/director “Donnie”
(Donald Horn) at Playhouse 46. The inspiration for the one-person play
was Kenneth/Kate Marlowe, one of those indomitable, overlooked LGBTQ trailblazers,
a bundle of irrepressible creativity who remade themselves over and over.
Marlowe is resurrected by Darius Rose, aka the charismatic Jackie Cox,
one of the top five contenders on the 12th season of RuPaul’s Drag
Race. In less accomplished hands, “Make Me Gorgeous” could
have been simply a history lesson, but the show is filled with extraordinary
performances. And then there are the stunning costumes. By Glenda Frank.
A "Henry V" in the raw
A young ensemble, with high octane “raw” energy, fast moving
lips and words tumbling out, performs William Shakespeare’s “Henry
V” (1599). The production is in all respects “raw,”
meaning minimalist and practically unrehearsed. Hold on to your hats,
says Beate Hein Bennett.
Bronx Opera Company
Larry Litt reviews Bronx Opera Company in Rossini's "Il Signor Bruschino"
and Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" and decides it's worth getting
on their mailing list so you can discover real opera without spending
a months salary on tickets.
This is not a time of peace
Each of us harbors private demons but there are also demons embedded in
our public and national psyches. All swirl about, at times loudly and
other times quietly gnawing at us. Until we collapse or explode! Deb Margolin’s
play "This is not a time of peace" deconstructs these “epigenetic”
(as she calls it) demons in a powerful mash-up in the lives of two generations,
that of a father-daughter relationship and a daughter’s troubled
marital relationship. By Beate Hein Bennett.
This is not a time of peace
In the center of the stage is a bed – the marital bed where Aline’s
husband (Simon Feil) falls asleep when she talks, and the rough and tumble
adulterous bed, where no one falls asleep. “This Is Not a Time of
Peace” by Deb Margolin, founding member of Split Britches Theatre
Company, now playing on Theatre Row, is about guilt: Alina’s guilt
for betraying her husband whom she claims to love, and her father’s
supposed betrayal of his country. By Glenda Frank
Deadly Stages
“Deadly Stages” is a delicious comic bon bon, a gender-bending
homage to the movies of the 1940s and 50s, now playing on Theatre Row.
This back stage, murder-mystery stars Marc Castle, co-writer with
director Mark Finley, as the charming Veronica Traymore, an aging
theatre legend who has been cast in a new play with a temperamental
young film actor. The plot is familiar. The delight is in the performances.
By Glenda Frank.
Russian Troll Farm
Lucy Komisar writes, "If I was writing this review as a drama, where
I could make things up, I would say “Congratulations to the Deep
State (aka CIA & Co), which has moved from propaganda films into propaganda
theater. However, Langley guys, you need some theatrical help."
Prayer for the French Republic
Through the lens of one Jewish family in Paris, “Prayer for the
French Republic” delves into the thorny issues of identity, racism,
and anti-Semitism. And to what country you belong. Seen from an intimately
human perspective, these divisive political debates couldn’t be
more pointed or timely. The work by Joshua Harmon premiered off-Broadway
two years ago and reopened on Broadway last month. By Lucy Komisar.
Jonah
“Jonah” by Rachel Bonds is about a woman who may be an author
and a dysfunctional family. The realistic opening scenes show us a blooming
romance at an exclusive boarding school between Ana, the protagonist,
and Jonah, who is still mourning his mother’s death. Hagan Oliveras
as Jonah is vulnerable and very endearing. Their discussions are tender
and funny, but they also raise troublesome questions about Ana’s
behavior, which the play does not immediately address. Later we find out
why. Ana has a fondness for inventing stories, and the romance with Jonah
may have been a fantasy. By Glenda Frank.
"Appropriate"
The most interesting character in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ "Appropriate,"
now making its Broadway debut, never appears onstage. He is the pater
familias of the Lafayettes, whose death has brought his children together
at the family estate, an Arkansas plantation that could have come out
of a Tennessee Williams play.By Paulanne Simmons.
"Crime and Punishment" for the stage
It’s too bad this adaptation has done its run here in New York City.
It’s worth a bring back for the ever experimental and successful
Phoenix Theater. By Larry Litt.
Two views of "Our Class" at BAM
Lucy Komisar writes, “'Our Class' by Tadeusz Slobodzianek, one of
Poland’s most important playwrights, is a powerful and dramatic
exploration of the impact of anti-Semitism and betrayal in a Polish village
during and after World War II. Paulanne Simmons adds, "Our Class
makes considerable demands on both the cast and the audience. It is three
hours long. The cast holds up its end magnificently. Those in the audience
must be willing to be at various times puzzled, overwhelmed and horrified.
They will not be bored."
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