Liz Duffy Adams' affectionate look at Aphra Behn's rise to public prominence, despite prejudice against her gender, comes off as a sort of farcical love letter to an ink-stained ancestor tha…
Given the power, glory, and fun the Boston Babydolls supply with their burlesque routines -- pasties and nipple tassels whirl with furious aplomb -- the lack of spooky payoff in "The Wrathsk…
A symptom of our times: two books by self-described critics that aren't particularly critical. Informed, lucid, thoughtful, and explanatory, yes "- strongly evaluative, no
It is encouraging that the list of recommendations for October isn't filled with musicals. Are straight plays back? I wouldn't count on it in this economic climate. So let's bask in the chan…
In "Delusion," veteran performance artist Laurie Anderson generates a muted melancholy, sometimes poetic, sometimes poignant, that makes the piece a consistently compelling if not always suc…
It could be that the brilliance of Alberto Moravia's cool diagnostic vision -- sleek, clear, cruel, and existential no matter how emotional the conflict -- puts us off. His male protagonists…
What drives serious writing about film? "When Movies Mattered" suggests an answer: it helps for a critic to take a side, not as consumer advocate, hipster crank, or box office predictor, but…
The American Repertory Theater's juggling/removal of the operatic elements in "Porgy and Bess" is clumsy, but the goal is to create a compelling entertainment for contemporary audiences, smo…
Director Gus Kikkonen and cast come up with a bright, literate presentation of William Shakespeare's play "Measure for Measure," a potentially dark comedy pregnant with power.
Every September proffers an explosion of productions; as usual, my eclectic picks, driven by my prejudice for the new. There are few world premieres among the openers this season, aside from…
9/11 has inspired a number of movies and TV documentaries, but theater works about the event are rare. What are dramatists and theater companies afraid of?
Thought to be lost, the only existing print of NATHAN THE WISE was discovered in Moscow in 1996. The Coolidge Corner Theater is screening a tinted and beautifully restored version of the fil…