Wednesday, May 31, 2023

King James by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Whether you are a basketball fan or not, Rajiv Joseph’s "King James" is an intriguing depiction of an unlikely friendship over 12 years. Under Kenny Leon’s polished direction, Glenn Davi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:08PM
Monday, May 29, 2023

Bernarda’s Daughters by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

The six-member cast creates a believable ensemble though their roles are not all clearly defined. While the play reveals much about the Haitian community living in Brooklyn, as 'Bernarda’s…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:07PM
Sunday, May 28, 2023

GAS by Scotty Bennett

"GAS" by Charles Cissel explores the “never-never land” of a war without end. It is a time when the characters examine the unreality of the experience. It occurs within an ill-defined di…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:33PM
Saturday, May 27, 2023

The Fears by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

The world premiere of Emma Sheanshang’s "The Fears" is a hilarious and poignant satire on self-help groups and the sort of people who take their emotional temperature all day long – lite…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:47PM

Evelyn Brown (A Diary) by Tony Marinelli

While the painstaking entry upon entry yearn to be something of import, we can’t help but feel it takes a certain steadfastness and desperate commitment to make the banal seem so extraordi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:15AM
Thursday, May 25, 2023

Primary Trust by Joel Benjamin

Eboni Booth’s "Primary Trust" at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s Laura Pels Theatre is a genial, gentle tale of a genial, gentle young man and his difficulty negotiating the speed bumps…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:49PM
Wednesday, May 24, 2023

REFLECTIONS ON OLIVER!, REVIVALS, AND BROADWAY ECONOMICS by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

Oliver! is darker than most so-called family musicals—mixing elation and heartbreak as casually as life itself does—but it touches us more than most family musicals. And Encores’ prod…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:53PM
Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Sorry for Your Loss by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

As directed by the astute Josh Sharp, Kayne begins his show as a stand-up act, but warns us “This is a comedy show. BUT it is also sad. There will be long stretches where you will not be l…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:41PM
Sunday, May 21, 2023

Misconceptions by Joel Benjamin

Abortion, pro or con?  The Blessed Unrest theater company has taken on this thorny issue. Steven Wangh’s "Misconceptions"—an ironically perfect title—unfolds in the form of a series o…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:19PM
Saturday, May 20, 2023

Samuel Clemens: Tales of Mark Twain by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

All of this is told by Baer in Twain’s humorous and inimitable style filled with anecdotes both true and untrue. As we are told from the author himself, “I have never been a man to allow…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:12PM

Romeo and Juliet (NAATCO/Two River Theater) by Tony Marinelli

And the production is loaded with action. Except for the tender love scenes, the play moves at almost breakneck speed. Where most modern productions of Shakespeare tend toward languor, this …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:18PM
Thursday, May 18, 2023

Hidden by Scotty Bennett

The play is structured as a mystery and that is being revealed with sensitivity and care. As each element is shown, a clearer picture of what is at stake emerges. A discussion in Act II abou…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:37PM
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

New York, New York by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

"New York, New York" is a big, jazzy show in the style of golden age musicals we have not seen for a while. While it removes the abusive relationship between Jimmy and Francine from the film…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:06PM
Sunday, May 14, 2023

On The Town with Chip Deffaa: At “New York, New York,” “Some Like It Hot,” and Seth Sikes & Nicholas King’s Nightclub Act by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

In the last few weeks I feel like I’ve been stepping back in time—in a nice way.   I’ve enjoyed seeing the new Broadway musicals "New York, New York" (set in 1946-47) and (with some …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:41PM

Muses by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

However, both every scene as written by Maldonado and directed by Theatre East’s artistic director Judson Jones is staged as though it were the climax. It is one thing to enact a play up t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:34PM

shadow/land by Joel Benjamin

"shadow/land" by Erika Dickerson-Despenza is a play about the August 2005 disaster, Hurricane Katrina. It is the first episode of a ten-part magnum opus. "shadow/land," though, is more than …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:18AM
Saturday, May 13, 2023

Being Chaka by Christopher "caz" Caswell

There’s no shortage of race-related storytelling in today’s theater and film arenas, and it takes a special entry to become seen among the offerings. "Being Chaka" is one such play; thou…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:03AM
Thursday, May 11, 2023

Iolanthe (MasterVoices) by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

MasterVoices concluded its 2022-23 season with a lovely concert staging performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s rarely seen comic opera "Iolanthe (or The Peer and the Peri)" staged and cond…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:23PM

Robin & Me: My Little Spark of Madness by Joel Benjamin

Under the direction of Chad Austin, Droxler uncannily becomes not only Williams (and all of Williams cinematic characters who each serve up different helpful advice), but also his father Ed;…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:26AM
Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Khan!!!The Musical, A Parody Trek-tacular by Scotty Bennett

The music is well-done, with the songs fully integrated into the storyline and lyrics that help define essential elements of the character's nature and are filled with inside Star Trek refer…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:21PM
Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Eighteen-Year-Old Actor with Autism Honored by Only Make Believe Charity by Admin

Collet Reyes has been a part of the Only Make Believe charity since he was eight years old. Living with a developmental disability and being diagnosed on the Autism spectrum, Reyes has worke…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:46PM

On the Town with Chip Deffaa: “As You Like It” On Stage and “Banded Together” In the Movies by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

Each was an individual; I liked hearing all of the different voices and accents and inflections. Each one brought his or her own personality to the work.   But—and this is a compliment--…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:43PM

Good Night, Oscar by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Sean Hayes, up till now best known for his Emmy Award-winning performance as Jack McFarland on "Will and Grace," gives a titanic performance as humorist, raconteur and pianist Oscar Levant o…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 08:22PM
Sunday, May 7, 2023

Bliss Street by Scotty Bennett

The main issue with this show is the lack of clarity in the book. Who is the play about, the father or the son? Act I is primarily a story about Paul Sub and his business ventures leading up…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:15PM

New York City Center Encores!: Oliver! by Joel Benjamin

When Mary-Mitchell Campbell’s baton brought out the first notes of the "Oliver!" overture from the Encores! Orchestra, the memorable tunes just flowed and didn’t stop until more than two…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:17PM
Friday, May 5, 2023

Hong Kong Mississippi by Tony Marinelli

From the moment he walks out with a stuffed “Disneyfied” dragon to tell us a fairy tale his mother told him when he was little, we are enraptured by Pinky, an 11-year-old Chinese boy gro…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:15PM

Summer, 1976 by Joel Benjamin

Auburn (Pulitzer Prize winner for Proof) has a knack for writing complex female characters.  That knack hasn’t failed him in "Summer, 1976."  Diane, the lustrous Laura Linney, is an aloo…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:47AM
Wednesday, May 3, 2023

The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Directors Noah Brody and Emily Young, both of the Fiasco Theater, have neatly trimmed the dialogue and some of the minor characters so that the play comes in at two hours and 15 minutes. How…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:25PM
Monday, May 1, 2023

Peter Pan Goes Wrong by Joel Benjamin

The Company soon loses its way as bunk beds self-destruct, lines get mangled, Peter Pan flails about in failed attempts to fly and crocodiles and mermaids parade about on skateboards. If thi…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:48PM

Prima Facie by Joseph Pisano

The mesmerizing Jodie Comer, making her Broadway debut in the Olivier Award-winning best new play after starring in the genre-subverting BBC show Killing Eve, portrays Tessa (for which Comer…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:50PM

The Thanksgiving Play by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Larissa Fasthorse’s "The Thanksgiving Play" gives a good tweaking to those who are so hung up on political correctness that they dare not make a decision. On the other hand, the play remin…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:38AM

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