605 stories by "Joel Benjamin"
The joy of Stoppard's writing comes to the fore as the second act characters debate what happened in the first act, too often getting it all wrong, misinterpreting the evidence or jumping to…
Hapless Rostom (a perfectly cast Michael Propster who wears his emotions close to the surface) is low man on the totem pole in a nameless construction company and is removed from his comfort…
"Trump Lear" turns out to be a gem, a brilliant gem with many facets that shine an intensely comic light on Trump. It's a brutally honest x-ray as only a comedy can be, a sardonic, scary, fu…
Shannon and Brendan are first seen in her simply decorated apartment in 1994 on her 41st birthday just before Brendan's departure for Phoenix to join his significant other Ted (who doesn't a…
Richard Strauss' surprisingly lighthearted score was first staged as a ballet in 1924 to a libretto he also wrote. Strauss is, of course, best known for his serious, dark operas ("Salome…
In eighteen short sections, Pendleton and his dancers evoke images of the western deserts of the U.S., using whatever means necessary, be it skateboards, puppetry, classical Indian dance, ac…
Johnson's choreographic ethic borders on the minimalistic, repeating some basic movements, particularly certain arm gestures, in all of the works. In two of the three ballets, it works, …
Soon little rends in the fabric of normalcy became apparent.  Bits of dialogue are repeated senselessly and the five revelers keep returning to the same positions (three on a couch, o…
Martita Goshen's love of horses, one in particular, and nature in general, is a driving force in "Sanctuary," her gentle and genteel dance recently performed by her troupe, Earthworks at the…
Loaded with many characters and incidents, "Terezin" focuses on two sisters, Alexi (Natasa Petrovic) and Violet (Sasha K. Gordon) who, along with their father, Kurt (Sam Gibbs, playing his c…
Two likeable people, James (Michael Jinks) and Claire (Bebe Sanders) meet online, have dinner in a local pub owned by Steve (Andrew McDonald) and take the Underground home. That's about it. …
By eliminating most of the extended fantasy elements of the play, they reduced the storyline to the domestic turbulence of two couples and a deservedly ugly portrait of Roy Cohn. Add in a vi…
Betts' "Invincible" has been compared to Alan Ayckbourn's work. Although there are similarities, particularly in Betts' ear for capturing the jargon of his characters and his feel for so…
Featuring an energetic, game cast headed by bigger-than-life Ashley D. Kelley as the title character, "Bella" follows this "big booty Tupelo girl," as she travels (under an assumed last name…
"A Hunger Artist" takes morbid subject matter and turns it into a metaphorical look at obsession and human suffering. By focusing on one hunger artist, Luxenberg and Levin manage to make…
The ostensible theme of Sperling's series of performances at the Baryshnikov Arts Center was climate change. Had spectators not read that in the program they would have come away from Sp…
Wearing pale, simple but elegant costumes with small colorful patches around the hips (designed by Sue Julien and Brenner) the dancers in "Soul River/Blues" entered singly at first up a diag…
Company member, Omar Román De Jesús choreographed the third world premiere, "Daniel," to a multiple-sourced score. He took his eight dancers through a dramatic visit to those on the a…
The opening scenes augurs well, hinting at the deeper emotional motivation for Salome's future behavior, her decision to avoid romantic involvement. As the lights gradually rise to reveal …
The adept cast is led by Zainab Jah in the title role. In the one detail in which Parks' play matches "The Elephant Man," Ms. Jah, a shapely, lovely actress, transforms herself into Venus r…
There was a mysterious coolness about "Close-Up" which, according to a program note by Ms. Cornfield, was meant to delve into the personalities of her five dancers, doing this by assigning v…
All but one of Zall's works were solos and all were based on famous literary figures: "George Sand" (ruminating on her lost love, Chopin), "Mary Tyrone" (from "Long Day's Journey Into Night…
The final work, "On Foot" was choreographed by Hollander and seven company members. It featured a Middle East-tinged score by Kinan Azmeh and Anouar Brahem and sensational visual art, mostl…
"Corvidae," Colin Connor's contribution to the program, was staged to the relentless first movement of a Philip Glass Violin Concerto. The title refers to the scientific name of the family …
At the end of this "Happy Days," it's difficult not to be heartbroken by Ms. Wiest's Winnie, particularly when she gets a rare glance at her significant other, Willie, who manages to crawl o…
