Friday, November 4, 2011
Other Desert Cities, at Broadway's Booth TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****I've been hooked on a few nighttime soap operas over the years, most notably Dallas and Falcon Cr…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 01:15PMTuesday, November 1, 2011
Chinglish, at Broadway's Longacre TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****During the year I lived in Israel, my halting attempts to speak Hebrew resulted in lots of linguistic misad…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:20AMSaturday, October 29, 2011
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, at the Public TheaterGratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****I've never seen anything quite like The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs. A mono…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:30AMMonday, October 24, 2011
Clybourne Park, at Trinity Repertory CompanyGratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****How we talk about race - or avoid talking about it - is at the heart of Clybourne Park, a penetrating w…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:45PMThursday, October 20, 2011
Relatively Speaking, at Broadway's Brooks Atkinson Theatre Gratuitous Violins rating: ** out of ****I was looking forward to the three one-act comedies that make up Relatively Speaking for t…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMThursday, October 13, 2011
The Mountaintop, at Broadway's Jacobs TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****When he was governor of New York, I once heard Mario Cuomo read a story to students at an elementary …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 12:30PMThursday, October 6, 2011
When I found out yesterday - reading a news bulletin on my iMac - that Apple cofounder Steve Jobs had died, it hit me hard.It's not just that Jobs passed away much too young, at age 56 of pa…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:15AMSunday, October 2, 2011
Circle Mirror Transformation, at the Gamm TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****At the beginning of Circle Mirror Transformation, which takes place in an acting class at a communi…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 11:15AMFriday, September 30, 2011
Anything Goes, at Broadway's Sondheim TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: *** out of ****Set aboard an ocean liner sailing from New York to London, the Tony-winning Broadway revival of Anythin…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 05:00PMMonday, September 26, 2011
After spending a week obsessively checking the forecast on my iPhone, Sunday turned out to be a beautiful sunny day in New York City - perfect weather for attending the 25th annual - and my …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 07:30PMThursday, September 22, 2011
Candide, at Boston's Huntington Theatre Company Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****I know that everyone goes to the theatre with their own expectations but for me, above all, I lov…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:30AMMonday, September 19, 2011
My 2011-2012 New York theatre season starts this weekend!I'm even more excited than usual because my first trip of the fall coincides with Sunday's Broadway Flea Market sponsored by Broadway…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:15AMSunday, September 11, 2011
The events of Sept. 11, 2001, were a bit distant to me, geographically speaking.I'd never spent much time in New York City and although I'd often visited friends in Washington, D.C., I had n…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 01:00AMThursday, September 8, 2011
Today is Steve on Broadway's birthday!Many of you reading this know Steve and even some of you who've never had the pleasure have heard me kvell over him and what a wonderful friend he's bee…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 12:05AMThursday, September 1, 2011
Has there ever been an actual Broadway baby? I mean, a real live infant in a Broadway show.
I was so taken with seeing a baby in Porgy and Bess at the American Repertory Theater. Simply ado…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 12:30PMTuesday, August 30, 2011
Porgy and Bess, at the American Repertory Theater
Gratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****
I've mentioned that Porgy and Bess was never high on the list of musicals I hoped to see some…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:00AMWednesday, August 24, 2011
I was so sad to hear that Steve Jobs is resigning as CEO of Apple, above all for what it may mean about his health. Jobs, 56, has been fighting pancreatic cancer for years and had a liver tr…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:00PMThursday, August 18, 2011
I love season announcement season but this year I just didn't have the energy to blog about what's coming up theatre-wise in the Providence/Boston area for 2011-2012. Now that tickets have g…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:45AMWednesday, August 10, 2011
I've never seen Porgy and Bess. I'm not even sure I've ever heard any of the songs. So the objections raised by Stephen Sondheim to changes in the upcoming production go over my head.
In fa…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:00PMMonday, August 8, 2011
I finally managed to post the last review of my 2010-2011 theatre season - a month after the show closed but who's counting.
So, just a few observations:
I made progress toward my goal of s…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMWednesday, August 3, 2011
The actress Marlo Thomas and the musical Funny Girl are both headed back to Broadway. The former will appear this fall in Relatively Speaking and the latter in 2012 featuring Lauren Ambrose …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 08:29PMThursday, July 28, 2011
Chicago, at Broadway's Ambassador TheatreGratuitous Violins rating ***1/2 out of ****When I visit New York City I'm hesitant to use one of my theatre slots on a long-running show because the…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:40AMMonday, July 18, 2011
I felt like crying when I read that Borders planned to liquidate its inventory and close its remaining stores.I'm old enough to remember the days when all you had were tiny Walden's and B. D…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 08:10PMSunday, July 17, 2011
Every year there's a summer blockbuster that I end up catching months later on DVD and wish I'd seen it at the movies.I didn't want that to happen with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:20PMTuesday, July 12, 2011
The Motherf**ker with the Hat, at Broadway's Schoenfeld Theatre Gratuitous Violins rating: *1/2 out of ****A few years ago I saw a Broadway play that I didn't think I'd like. I had an open s…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMSunday, July 10, 2011
The Illusion, at the Signature Theatre off-BroadwayGratuitous Violins rating **1/2 out of ****After being blown away by 7 1/2 hours of Angels in America during my April trip to New York City…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 11:15AMTuesday, July 5, 2011
The Normal Heart, at Broadway's Golden TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: **** out of ****I saw The Normal Heart and I wept.Larry Kramer's 1985 work, this year's Tony winner for Best Revival …
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 10:00AMSaturday, July 2, 2011
The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World, at Playwrights Horizons off-BroadwayGratuitous Violins rating: ***1/2 out of ****Unfortunately, shows are closing faster than I can write reviews. The la…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 01:10PMFriday, July 1, 2011
Born Yesterday, at Broadway's Cort TheatreGratuitous Violins rating: **1/2 out of ****I saw Born Yesterday during its final weekend on Broadway but for posterity's sake, I figured I'd post a…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 09:45PMWednesday, June 29, 2011
Despite a lifetime of reading about the civil-rights movement, nothing prepared me for how I'd feel on Friday night during an actual civil-rights victory. I was in New York City when the sta…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 07:44PMSaturday, June 18, 2011
I can't believe Clarence Clemons has passed away, at age 69.I didn't really get into music until college but it was a great time to become a fan of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, w…
SOURCE: Gratuitous Violins at 11:12PM 
