"Clybourne Park' at the Arden (1st review)

Black and white, then and now

Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park is in some respects a sequel to A Raisin in the Sun, set in the same Chicago neighborhood 50 years later. But you don't need knowledge of that play to appreciate this excellent drama about how racial attitudes have changed over the past 50 years, and how they haven't.

Steve Cohen

Feb 04, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (4th review)

Scottsboro, we have a problem

What do the Scottsboro boys have in common with Sacco, Vanzetti, Alfred Dreyfus and Neil Ferber? All were innocent victims of the justice system— and none of them was nearly as interesting as the heroes and villains of their respective cases.

Dan Rottenberg

Feb 01, 2012 · Articles · 6 minute read

Margaret Edson's "Wit' on Broadway

Triumph over cancer (with a little help from John Donne)

When a professor of metaphysical poetry encounters the ultimate metaphysical challenge, the result is a dazzling and unforgettably heroic struggle.

Carol Rocamora

Jan 31, 2012 · Articles · 4 minute read

Headland's "Bachelorette,' by Luna

Lost generation, still losing

At a pre-wedding party, three single women fast approaching 30 chase down their sour grapes with pot, pills, and champagne. Notwithstanding its lack of plot, Bachelorette scores some perceptive points about the “happiness gap” suffered by young professional women who lack traditional families.

Jim Rutter

Jan 31, 2012 · Articles · 3 minute read

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (3rd review)

This time, the boys get a break

The Scottsboro Boys, a reminder of not so distant racial attitudes, deserves more exposure than it received on Broadway in 2010. In its focus on miscarriages of justice, it resembles Kander and Ebb's hit Chicago. But Scottsboro packs more substance.

Steve Cohen

Jan 31, 2012 · Articles · 2 minute read

Kevin Spacey's "Richard III' in Brooklyn

Slithering to the throne

Anyone who complains about Kevin Spacey's larger-than-life, over-the-top performance as Richard III is just plain jealous. What makes Spacey's Richard so fascinating is the way he seduces the audience along with his amorous conquests onstage.

Carol Rocamora

Jan 28, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (2nd review)

An idea that's off the rails

What's that you say? You can't get into snappy tap dances and rousing cakewalks about racism and lynching? Hey, where's your sense of humor?

Jackie Schifalacqua

Jan 28, 2012 · Articles · 2 minute read

Kander & Ebb's "Scottsboro Boys' by PTC (1st review)

The memory of injustice, or: Let's put on a (very different) show

This first-rate production of an ingenious musical appropriately recalls an American racial nightmare of the 1930s. Unfortunately, in its preoccupation with laughing at racism it overlooks or, worse, lampoons some of the real heroes of that Alabama tragedy.

Marshall A. Ledger

Jan 28, 2012 · Articles · 6 minute read

"Porgy and Bess' on Broadway

Porgy, we hardly knew ye

Can you improve on a classic like Porgy and Bess, let alone Shakespeare or Chekhov? Diane Paulus thought she could make Gershwin's classic more relevant to modern audiences. The result is a merely entertaining show, bereft of the passion and grandeur of the 1935 original.

Carol Rocamora

Jan 21, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read

"Memphis' and the real dawn of rock 'n' roll

Blacks, whites and rock ‘n' roll: Memphis vs. the real ‘Bandstand'

As rock 'n' roll musicals go, Memphis seems unnecessary. The subject of racial integration among music lovers was well covered ten years ago in Hairspray. A far more intriguing tale— how Bob Horn's “Bandstand” brought black music to white Philadelphia audiences in the early '50s— has yet to be celebrated on stage.

Steve Cohen

Jan 21, 2012 · Articles · 5 minute read