Thursday, December 1, 2011
Every August, Lorna Luft calls her agents to remind them that it's time to start booking her into a year-end production of the stage version of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas."
SOURCE: Backstage at 03:38AMMonday, November 21, 2011
Twelve speculative backstage scenes depicting Elizabeth Taylor, Lena Horne, and Greta Garbo as deeply self-involved, neurotic, foulmouthed harridans don't add up to much insight, just to a…
SOURCE: Backstage at 02:11AMSunday, November 20, 2011
Sean McNall's finely nuanced performance in the title role, abetted by Grant Goodman's strong account of Richard's nemesis, lead this uncommonly clear-eyed production of Shakespeare's pro…
SOURCE: Backstage at 08:41AMSunday, October 30, 2011
Joel Rooks understudied Frank Gorshin in the 2002 Broadway production of Rupert Holmes' solo bio-play about George Burns. Nearly a decade later, his performance is as studied as the produc…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:26AMWednesday, October 12, 2011
A lovely, evocative title, a memorable central performance, strong design credits, plus impassioned advocacy of a worthy cause advance dramatic interest to a point, but don't completely sa…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:57AMThe rich milieu of South Central Los Angeles in the 1940s is well served by the music and overall look of the production, but the acting is uneven, the plot somewhat predictable—or t…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:55AMMonday, October 10, 2011
Yet another one-woman show about Marilyn Monroe offers no new information or insight despite the author's quirky attempts to offer a different take on his subject and a game performance by…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:05AMFriday, October 7, 2011
A sprightly and effective cast of eight, a couple dozen charming and apt songs and topflight direction and choreography comprise an enjoyable look at a not-always-enjoyable institution.
SOURCE: Backstage at 06:18AMSaturday, September 10, 2011
Two superb central performances plus stunning yet subtle visual and sound design transform Deirdre Kinahan's radio play into a stageworthy evocation of a long-past dark secret and a misfir…
SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AMThursday, September 8, 2011
Non-Irish audience members will have to slog through some odd lingo and pronunciations, but it's well worth it for this impassioned and touching monologue about one woman's lower-middle-cl…
SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AMFriday, August 19, 2011
A downer of a subject—self-mutilation and suicide—is further rendered stultifying by unleavened drama vérité, relentlessly downbeat songs, and an attempt to give six …
SOURCE: Backstage at 03:10AMJohn Paul Karliak's breezily insightful take on his two mothers is that rarest of solo autobiographical shows, celebrating what his parents did for him rather than to him.
SOURCE: Backstage at 01:48AMThursday, August 18, 2011
A high level of writing and acting, compassionate direction, and a live string trio playing traditional Scottish songs combine to create an original and involving look at three generations…
SOURCE: Backstage at 03:27AMThursday, July 14, 2011
Despite a clever setup, some nice acting, and well-earned laughs, this multi-scene look at contemporary American life, priorities, and real estate could use updating to include more-curren…
SOURCE: Backstage at 04:49AMTuesday, July 12, 2011
A runaway subplot that overwhelms a promising premise and some good casting is the chief problem in producer-playwright Joe Beck's virtually laugh-free farce.
SOURCE: Backstage at 04:06AMThursday, July 7, 2011
Logistics eclipse Shakespeare in this self-described "panoramic theater" presentation, but the summer evening ferry ride to faux France (Governors Island), replete with fireflies, is worth…
SOURCE: Backstage at 03:29AMWednesday, June 22, 2011
While it's always a treat to hear a Bessie Smith song set, and Miche Braden has the chops to deliver this one believably, Angelo Parra's biographical musical unfolds too sketchily.
SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AMTuesday, June 7, 2011
While effectively evoking another time and place (Arkansas, summer of 1953), playwright Dale Whisman's central wayfaring stranger lacks the credible menace and believable power necessary t…
SOURCE: Backstage at 04:34AMWednesday, May 25, 2011
Paige is currently appearing in the star-studded Kennedy Center revival of "Follies" in Washington, D.C. Surprisingly, Paige has done relatively little work in America until recently.
SOURCE: Backstage at 11:00AMWednesday, May 18, 2011
Despite a clearly committed solo performance, the staging of this 95-minute bioplay about art collector Peggy Guggenheim is cramped and literally artless.
SOURCE: Backstage at 01:30AMTuesday, May 10, 2011
All that's missing from John Strasberg's play inspired by Chekhov's "The Cherry Orchard" are sets, most props, a uniformly competent cast, and relatable characters. But it is "modern."
SOURCE: Backstage at 06:01AMFriday, May 6, 2011
A solo attempt to make silk-purse poetry out of sow's-ear content is further marred by incessant arm and hand movements, rushed delivery, and a shortage of memorization.
SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AMWednesday, April 20, 2011
This joint effort of a playwright and a historian about the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire is both sketchy in its history and lacking in dramatic tension.
SOURCE: Backstage at 03:36AMWednesday, April 13, 2011
This high-gloss production nicely nails the author-director's absurdist punch lines but is less than convincing when it comes to illuminating the play's underlying premise.
SOURCE: Backstage at 07:00AM 
