Thursday, March 28, 2013
Hey everyone! The Critical Condition is closed, but you can keep up with all my writing and filmmaking, plus contact me at markgblankenship.com.
SOURCE: The Critical Condition at 11:57AMTuesday, March 26, 2013
Inside her role in Christopher Durang’s new comedy — Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing look at actors and how they create their roles So how did Maggie Smi…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:16PMFriday, March 22, 2013
From time to time, TDF Stages will highlight exciting Off and Off-Off Broadway theatre companies with exclusive “getting to know you” videos. Today, we’re featuring The Bri…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:00PMTuesday, March 19, 2013
Target Margin battles ghosts and expectations in “The (*) Inn” The play asks impossible questions. Is this Jewish family feeling stress about an arranged marriage, or are their p…
SOURCE: TDF at 02:57PMFriday, March 15, 2013
How Keala Settle makes herself guffaw Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles It might be the most memorable moment in Ha…
SOURCE: TDF at 02:49PMThursday, March 14, 2013
The director of “Ann” reveals his staging secrets Phone calls are not inherently interesting on stage, especially when we only see one person talking. If the writing and acting a…
SOURCE: TDF at 03:35PMMonday, March 11, 2013
The gossip queen is a unique expert on the Broadway season If you’re looking for an expert on this spring’s Broadway plays, then start with Liz Smith. Not because she wrote the s…
SOURCE: TDF at 11:52AMFriday, March 8, 2013
A TDF gala celebrates an essential man in TKTS history We all know TKTS is a place to buy discounted theatre tickets, but in the 40 years since it was created, it’s also become an emot…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:35PMMonday, March 4, 2013
From time to time, TDF Stages will highlight exciting Off and Off-Off Broadway theatre companies with exclusive “getting to know you” videos. Today, we’re featuring The Amo…
SOURCE: TDF at 11:04AMMonday, February 25, 2013
Lotteries and luck create a unique artistic vision — Artistically speaking, the FRIGID New York Festival—which runs through March 3 at the The Kraine, the Red Room, and Under St.…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:43PMFriday, February 22, 2013
How “Bunnicula” became family-friendly fabulousness Are you surprised that Charles Busch has adapted the beloved children’s book Bunnicula into a family-friendly musical? T…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:32PMThursday, February 21, 2013
TDF’s Stage Doors program reaches students across the city Recently, TDF made clowns out of local teachers and teaching artists, but in the best possible way. They were gathered…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:00PMWednesday, February 20, 2013
The Tony Award-winner brings a fairy godmother to life Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing series about actors and how they create their roles The Broadway premiere of R…
SOURCE: TDF at 02:43PMFriday, February 15, 2013
Why “All The Rage” needs to seem improvised All the Rage is a traditional play: It’s scripted and rehearsed, and give or take a few details, it’s roughly the same eve…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:25PMFriday, February 8, 2013
“Isaac’s Eye” plays with history and lies You think you understand where the stage is. You think the play is only happening in front of you. Then an actor writes on the wal…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:07PMMonday, February 4, 2013
How improv comedy gives “5 Lesbians…” its crackling energy You could say that Marjorie is the key to understanding 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, even though her character doesn&#…
SOURCE: TDF at 11:05AMFriday, January 25, 2013
The secrets of “Picnic’s” set design Madge disappears in the house, and the next time we see her, she’s sitting in an upstairs window, primping. A couple of me…
SOURCE: TDF at 10:46AMTuesday, January 22, 2013
How the director stages both worlds at once Water By the Spoonful is mostly realistic, but sometimes, it hovers just above the actual world. Sometimes, when people struggle with addiction, t…
SOURCE: TDF at 03:24PMMonday, January 14, 2013
The tension and terror of “Bethany” at Women’s Project Theater If you accept the prevailing wisdom about new play development in this country, then the silent scenes in Bet…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:37PMThursday, January 10, 2013
Taylor Trensch’s body tells a gay kid’s story in “Bare: The Musical” Welcome to Building Character, TDF Stages’ ongoing series about actors and how they create …
SOURCE: TDF at 11:37AMFriday, January 4, 2013
In Broadway’s “The Other Place,” Sharr White controls our sense of reality One of the most audacious scenes in The Other Place is completely realistic—just two people…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:11PMMonday, December 17, 2012
Amy Herzog on the intentional mysteries in “The Great God Pan” Full disclosure: I love Amy Herzog’s play The Great God Pan, which is now in previews at Playwrights Horizons…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:15PMFriday, December 14, 2012
If you’re looking to buy gifts for theatre lovers, then you can’t go wrong with a great theatre book. Whether they’re behind-the-scenes photo collections or collections of …
SOURCE: TDF at 10:28AMWednesday, December 12, 2012
Broadway is still hopping during Christmas week, but many Broadway shows have an unusual performance schedule. To find out when your Broadway favorites are playing from December 24 to Decemb…
SOURCE: TDF at 03:31PMWednesday, December 5, 2012
Mastering the language in “My Name is Asher Lev” They rise from the script like elegant mountains—the monologues that drive My Name is Asher Lev. An actor has to climb them…
SOURCE: TDF at 11:50AMWednesday, November 28, 2012
Inside the new Broadway dramedy The Broadway premiere of a new play is always a major event, but sometimes, it can feel refreshingly modest for the artists involved. Take Dead Accounts, the …
SOURCE: TDF at 10:33AMMonday, November 26, 2012
Inside a crucial moment of the August Wilson revival At first, it’s just an entertaining bit of music, and then you realize it has changed the play. In the first act of August Wilson&#…
SOURCE: TDF at 03:43PMMonday, November 19, 2012
Hello TDF Readers, I am thrilled to announce the debut of TDF’s Theatre Dictionary, your video guide to theatre lingo. Here’s how the new site works: (1) We make videos about the…
SOURCE: TDF at 02:09PMThursday, November 15, 2012
Murder Ballad turns viciousness into sexy entertainment It’s right there in the title. By the end of Murder Ballad, someone’s going to die. But that crime isn’t what define…
SOURCE: TDF at 01:21PMMonday, November 12, 2012
Justin Sayre’s The Meeting* tackles the serious and the frivolous in gay culture — Is there a universal gay culture? Is there an aesthetic sensibility that unites gay people acro…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:54PMWednesday, November 7, 2012
After Sandy, “A Twist of Water” has new resonance For the next few weeks, almost everything that happens in New York will be refracted through Hurricane Sandy’s lens. A rid…
SOURCE: TDF at 12:38PM 
