Theater

2734 results
Page 232
Stover, Farmer: The eyes have it. (Photo: Elan Gepner.)

Quintessence Theatre's "Measure For Measure'

A Bard for the 21st Century

The new Quintessence Theatre Group seeks to update the classics for a mass audience. With Measure For Measure, they're off to a good start, even if its strengths lie more in strong acting than in novel concepts.
Jim Rutter

Jim Rutter

Articles 4 minute read
Larsen: Newton-John's shadow.

"Xanadu' in Wilmington

The good old days of disco

Xanadu, a knockoff of a 1980 movie about a goddess who helps a bunch of California kids open a disco, lacks a discernible point, other than a chance to hear some good disco music once again. That point alone may suffice.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Monterbrand (right) with Cameron Knight: How to act like a dictator.  (Photo: N. Howatt.)

Brecht's 'Arturo Ui' in Delaware (1st review)

Brecht dissects Hitler (with a little help from Looney Tunes)

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, Bertolt Brecht's 1941 Hitler parable set within a fictionalized Chicago underworld, is easily resistible. But once we hear the all-American “Looney Tunes” soundtrack of our childhood, our defenses are disarmed.

Norman Roessler

Articles 4 minute read
Hodge, Shotkin, Ford: Performance anxiety. (Photo: Mark Garvin.)

1812's "Evening Without Woody Allen'

Don't play it again, Woody

Woody Allen's published stories from the 1970s can make you laugh out loud. So why shouldn't acting them out before an audience produce the same effect? For several good reasons, actually.
Dan Rottenberg

Dan Rottenberg

Articles 3 minute read

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Parsons (right) with Jeff Still: Wrongheaded.

Tracy Letts's "August: Osage County' on tour (2nd review)

Is this a comedy? Really?

The traveling cast played August: Osage County mostly as a comedy. But on Broadway, the cast expressed strong emotions when confronting suicide, addictions, infidelity, child molestation and incest. Wouldn't you, if this were your family?
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
William Zielinski as Ian: A second chance?

"Shining City' post-mortem (4th review)

Shining City post-mortem: Of human redemption, right here on Earth

Conor McPherson's Shining City portrays a world of souls in torment. Why then the upbeat title? SaraKay Smullens, a family therapist, finds a message of hope in McPherson's desperation.
SaraKay Smullens

SaraKay Smullens

Articles 5 minute read
Radway as Prince Hal: In search of a father figure. (Photo: Marl Garvin.)

Lantern Theater's "Henry IV, Part I' (2nd review)

Shakespeare's royals, up close and personal

Lantern's Henry IV, Part I is well acted, but the most impressive thing about this production is the immediacy and the royalty of the set in such a small and intimate space.
Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen

Articles 3 minute read
Parsons: On the attack.

Tracy Letts's "August: Osage County' on tour (1st review)

The family that preys together….

At a time when so many American plays build their plots around political and social issues, Tracy Letts's family free-for-all, August: Osage County, is a refreshing change of pace. And this touring cast is more realistic and consequently even more devastating than the original 2007 Broadway ensemble.

Neal Zoren

Articles 4 minute read
Not just another actor.

August Wilson's "Fences' in New York

The trouble with Denzel Washington

When a big movie star like Denzel Washington plays an often-unlikable character, the audience is determined to love the character regardless. So blame the audience for degrading August Wilson's complex Fences into a sit-com.
Toby Zinman

Toby Zinman

Articles 5 minute read
Gallagher: Cardboard cutouts, raging power.

"American Idiot' on Broadway

Adolescence after 9/11 (but before Bernie Madoff)

Is American Idiot just another punk rock jukebox musical fouling the Great White Way? Or is it an earnest and even passionate attempt to recapture a moment a few years ago when the concept of “coming of age” changed irretrievably? American Idiot. Musical based on the album by Green Day; Michael Mayer directed. St. James Theatre, 244 West 46th St., New York. (800) 432-7250 or americanidiotonbroadway.com.
Wendy Rosenfield

Wendy Rosenfield

Articles 4 minute read