‘The Devil’s Music’ at People’s Light

The night before Bessie Smith died

Miche Braden offers a dazzling performance as Bessie Smith, the singer known as “the Empress of the Blues.”

Bill Murphy

Oct 22, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Life lessons from ‘4,000 Miles’ (2nd review)

Grandparents, grandchildren
and nine life lessons from 4,000 Miles

Vera and her grandson Leo are each lost in a journey of aloneness but determined to somehow survive without complaint. In less than two hours 4,000 Miles brings us nine truths too rarely found in theatrical experiences.

SaraKay Smullens

Oct 22, 2013 · Articles · 3 minute read

Amy Herzog’s ‘4,000 Miles’ (1st review)

Grandmother and grandson:
An unequal matchup

As superbly portrayed by Beth Dixon, Vera is the sort of sharp and witty old lady we’d all love to have in our family. Her foul-mouthed, immature grandson is another story.

Steve Cohen

Oct 22, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Joshua Harmon’s ‘Bad Jews’ in New York

What’s a modern Jew to do?

Joshua Harmon’s Bad Jews is a hilarious comedy turned dead serious about the Jewish identity crisis in today’s younger generation. If you’re secure in your own religious identity, then beware: Bad Jews will unsettle your certainties.

Carol Rocamora

Oct 22, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

Michael Hollinger’s ‘Red Herring’ at Villanova

In case you missed the ’50s

Michael Hollinger’s Red Herring cleverly juggles a spy drama, romance, a spoof of film noir and a critique of American politics in the ’50s.

Steve Cohen

Oct 17, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Royal National Theatre’s new ‘Othello’

Iraq and Afghanistan, anyone? Or: Othello, Iago and the culture of war

Nicholas Hytner’s new London production of Othello resonates richly in new ideas and insights into Shakespeare’s tragedy. Here the intriguing emphasis is on what military culture does to men and women alike.

Carol Rocamora

Oct 15, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

‘Bunny Bunny’: The real Gilda Radner (2nd review)

Gilda Radner confronts the darkness

In Bunny Bunny, Alan Zweibel has written a love poem about his allegedly unconsummated love for Gilda Radner. The title is an incantation that the TV comedienne recited as a child to protect her from the dark. The play tries to protect the audience in much the same way.

Naomi Orwin

Oct 15, 2013 · Articles · 4 minute read

‘Bunny Bunny’: The real Gilda Radner (1st review)

The Gilda we didn’t know, until now

This "sort-of romantic comedy" about the relationship between two pillars of “Saturday Night Live” is lately revived mostly for cancer awareness events. The current version dispenses with cheap laughs and gives us a deeply insecure— and consequently very human— Gilda Radner.

Steve Cohen

Oct 13, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read

Nudity as speech: ‘Arguendo’ in New York

Who says lawyers are dull?

Can Supreme Court transcripts and legal briefs— even about nude dancing— make exciting theater? Ask the cutting-edge Elevator Repair Service troupe, which thrives on bringing text on stage in uniquely improbable ways. In Arguendo, the result is a zany satire that’s simultaneously entertaining and intellectually stimulating.

Carol Rocamora

Oct 08, 2013 · Articles · 5 minute read

Gioia de Cari’s ‘Truth Values’ at Annenberg

Pity the woman with brains

Women continue to battle stereotypes to break into science and math. Gioia de Cari claims male chauvinism drove her out of MIT. But her one-woman show suggests that perhaps she really preferred a career on the stage.

Ilene Raymond Rush

Oct 06, 2013 · Articles · 2 minute read