Next to Normal presents a topical depiction of living with and loving someone who has a mental illness. Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt were almost ahead of their time, especially since many recent shootings have rocked communities out of their complacency regarding mental illness and what it means to be alive. Next Door Center for […]
Venus in fur. Ven-us in fur. These words are purred by our gorgeous leading lady, Vanda, played by the seductive and mysterious Andrea Syglowski, with growing anticipation. Syglowski expertly casts a spell over Chris Kipiniak’s stuffy Thomas and audience alike during a spell-binding performance of David Ives’ Venus in Fur. David Ives, known for his […]
I was looking over the screenplay of Brokeback Mountain the other day, which was adapted by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana from E. Annie Proulx’s shattering short story, and I got to thinking what an overlooked writer McMurtry has been. Oh yes, he’s won the Pulitzer, and made writing about Texas and the modern west […]
Once upon a time, Brian went to see a fringe theatre production on a rainy Saturday; he was tired and grumpy. He was four shows into a long stretch of reviewing, and he just wanted to sleep. However, Imaginary beasts delights, surprises, and thrills with their 2014 Annual Winter Panto, Rumplestiltskin, or All That Glitters. […]
As You Like It is my absolute favourite Shakespearean comedy. It’s both sweepingly romantic and wryly realistic about love and marriage. It’s fantastically witty but also deeply melancholy. It has as much to say about friendship as it does about romance. It’s philosophical, fun, touching and generally a pretty easy slam dunk of a show. […]
Male dominance, obsessive egocentrism, and ruthless competitiveness have always been a part of Hollywood’s paradigm. Whether comically or dramatically stated in numerous Hollywood features…
The Cohen brothers have become something of near Hollywood myth; a mysterious duo who seemingly always release masterful works that over the years have garnered themselves a cult-fandom that far exceeds that of any other contemporary. The Cohens are known for many things which include humor, their characters, unpredictability, and always slightly obscure but always […]
The Lyric Stage Company’s production of Working did not make my “Must See – January.” That was my mistake. I omitted it from the list because: a) none of the actors jumped out at me by name (though Ilyse Robbins, the director, certainly did – See 2013 My Theatre Award Nominees: Boston); b) the musical […]