Politically charged and culturally relevant plays face a significant hurdle on the revival circuit – historical context. Popular social commentary is ever changing and playwrights that take up causes are, in part, dependent upon their audience knowing the historical and cultural backdrop for their message. Therein lies the problem for the Keen Company’s revival of […]
I am not a public crier. Of the hundreds of movies and theatrical productions that I have seen in my 26 years on this planet, I can count on one hand the number of times that I cried in a theatre. So, you can imagine my bewilderment when I found myself wiping tears away with […]
Every once in a while, in the middle of writing a review, we’ll be overcome with a feeling of déjà vu. Whether it’s the Sorkin loyalty on our TV branch or My Cinema’s longstanding affection for Soderbergh, sometimes we find ourselves praising a single artist so much that we start to worry about sounding objective. […]
The Footlight Club’s production of Tracy Letts’ August: Osage County, staged at Eliot Hall in Jamaica Plain, leans more heavily towards the exhausting, grinding facet of living through a dysfunctional family’s foibles than towards the uneasy, occasionally violent expression these foibles give way to. The audience is led through the darkly funny strangeness constantly burbling […]
Last week, two excellent productions opened in Toronto that each told the story of a fascinating musical theatre artist through songs they composed themselves. The first was On the Rocks, a limited engagement cabaret-style showcase of Canadian musical theatre great Louise Pitre. Accompanied by the superb Diane Leah at the piano, Pitre took to […]
I am a Manhattanite. If I make it north of 14th Street, I am probably on my way to see a show or am playing tour guide to visiting friends. God forbid I have to cross water to get somewhere. However, last Saturday night, I headed to Bushwick in Brooklyn for the first time, which […]
Season Ranking: #2 Lady Windermere’s Fan is the best production at this year’s Shaw Festival that is great mostly because of what the company has done with it. Oscar Wilde’s script is fun and full of giddy twists but it’s inventive director Peter Hinton (with an MVP assist from set designer Teresa Przybylski) who […]
Season Ranking: #5 Don’t take the title of this article the wrong way- Old Hat is just fine when it comes to Guys & Dolls. In fact, it’s the only way to do it. A musical so firmly rooted in its time and style shouldn’t really be tampered with. It should just be performed […]