470 stories by "Jacob Malizio"
The result is a slender but amusing 90-minute evening of Broadway entertainment. Is it art? Maybe not. But why argue?
The post Art appeared first on Did They Like It?.
As Art's three buddies set up their impending conflict, we know exactly where they're heading. This production eventually rewards our patience, even if we sometimes wish for quicker brushstr…
In this respect, "Art" is a poor man's "Glengarry Glenross." Here are plays that are often revived because stars want to appear in them so they can deliver these showy acting-class scenes.
T…
As both the heart and the court jester for the show, Corden is superb, a perfectly calibrated level of hysterical, sincere and crisp. One blistering monologue sees him ranting, in the voice …
It was hard to know if it was the play or the cast that prevented me from connecting with the characters on a level beyond smug satire.
The post Brilliant or Blank? 'Art' Frames Love-Hate Br…
Legendary comic Jeff Ross returns home for his long-awaited Broadway debut in TAKE A BANANA FOR THE RIDE " a hilarious, heartfelt one-man show about laughing through the pain, the importance…
"Take a Banana" is, however, a willfully upbeat show; whenever it gets too dark, Ross detonates another joke. In his banana-yellow suit (by Toni-Leslie James), he takes us on a tour of his f…
This deeply personal, moving, and undeniably funny show is first and foremost a love letter to the chaotic people (and pets) that made Ross who he is. The experience of losing them is what h…
Here, though, laughs are not the final goal. Vicious comedy may be Ross's superpower, but this show aims to reveal his secret identity as the nicest of guys: an über-mensch.
The post Take a…
Death does not become him. Frankly, it's a bore, as is his fixation on his own health, which went bad from the get-go.
The post The Roastmaster General Packs Little Sizzle appeared first on …
It doesn't take long before the evening begins to feel like an interminable evening with an elderly relative who insists on making you look through their photo albums. Ross can be a very fun…
For all of its appeal, the 90-minute attraction somehow seems a smidge overlong; perhaps Ross' dog stories might be curtailed. Fans familiar with Ross' skill at insult humor likely will pref…
Here and throughout, Mr. Ross is, for the most part, careful to balance his gushing with the gleefully impolite humor that is his bread and butter.
The post An Insult Comic Making His Broadw…
But he threads, or at least punctuates, each of these downer stories with one-liners, some of them funny, some of them just in bad taste. (About his baldness, he says: "I know I look like Br…
Thus, it is pleasantly surprising that Ross's new solo show Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride is very silly, disarmingly sweet, and engagingly straightforward. To have built a reputation…
Despite being slightly downscaled for the road " most notably in a set that feels a little flimsy " this is a fine iteration of "Mamma Mia!" It certainly is sprightlier than it was the last …
The story-telling magic of ABBA's timeless songs propels this enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship, creating an unforgettable show. A large cast, non-stop laughs and explosive da…
This is not a dark Brechtian take on a well-known musical, nor a queer reclamation of mainstream pop culture"but I'm not sure anyone needs that from Mamma Mia!, a show that knows what it is …
Yet "Mamma Mia!" remains what it always was: a feast for your pleasure centers. It's a show that almost invites us to roll our eyes at it " until that moment or two later when we're inevitab…
Unlike most of the jukebox musicals that have tried to replicate its formula, Mamma Mia! keeps its balance: It draws you just enough in while maintaining an amused sense of itself. It never …
The current "Mamma Mia!" remains under the control of its original director, Phyllida Lloyd; production designer, Mark Thompson; and other creatives. Frankly, the show looks so tacky that it…
The title still carries that big old exclamation point, but the fantasy is more than a little long in the tooth. Maybe it should be styled with a question mark, or just an ellipsis. Mamma mi…
It's been over 25 years since Mamma! Mia first took to the stage, and it's abundantly clear that the fervor surrounding it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. And it's easy to see why: The sh…
But the fact that it's become such a beloved property anyway, spawning two (possibly three) movies and endless themed karaoke parties, feels like hope that art that's imperfect yet earnest "…
Okay, you millions (billions?) of ABBA"Mamma Mia! devotees, your fave-rave musical gift is back on Broadway in a first local revival at, appropriately, the Winter Garden. It would be a pleas…
