The plays in Summer Shorts 2018 - Festival of New American Short Plays have often had a theme running through all the offerings in one evening, however they were concealed or obscured. This …
Having added the 200-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre in 2009 to the outdoor Hill Theater with a capacity of 1,089, the season which began on June 14 now runs until November 18. It currently s…
If "The After-Dinner Joke"'s 66 scenes seem cinematic, that is due to the fact that it originally was a teleplay commissioned by BBC for the series "Plays for Today" examining public issues.…
n what easily could have become a one-man show, playwright Strand has cleverly created dramatic tension by first introducing us to a second character and later a third. Set during the 2012-2…
Charlotte Moore's version streamlines the plot somewhat from Lerner's original by eliminating Daisy's fiancé for whom she wants to quit smoking as well as a subplot with Greek shipping magn…
Add to this list Mike Lew's new witty and clever "Teenage Dick" (being given its world premiere by Ma-Yi Theater Company in association with the Public Theater), both an update and a parody …
Sixtyish Eric Miller is an angry white man, hating Catholics, Blacks, homosexuals, women, and other groups. He has also become very nationalistic. He not only wants to tell the world, he thi…
Using a tremendously talented and versatile cast of nine actors (three black male actors, three black female actors, as well as three white performers) playing from three roles to 12, the st…
Unlike the musicals "Rent" (an update on Puccini's "La Boheme"), and "Miss Saigon' (inspired by Puccini's "Madame Butterfly") both of which had all new music by other composers for their con…
With Miles Malleson's 1925 "Conflict," being given its New York premiere, the Mint has uncovered a brilliant political and social drama which has tremendous relevance for today with its diss…
Harmon's new play resembles "Admissions," his last New York offering seen at Lincoln Center this March, in that it debates a topic from many sides but then fails to give us the author's poin…
Jackie Sibblies Drury is a unique new voice in the American theater. Her use of metatheater is all her own. "Fairview" has a great deal to say about race in America and the angle you see thi…
Although the advance publicity for Ben Josephson's "The Property" refers to it as a comedy, there is nothing funny about it, neither jokes nor comic situations. In fact, the heroine's desper…
In the recent Metropolitan Opera production of Verdi's "Otello," Otello was white which left no reason for his jealousy if he was identical to all the Venetians around him. In the current Sh…
Director Lucy Gram uses six actors to play 11 roles which has worked for such companies as Bedlam and Fiasco. However, here the four actresses play both men and women, three of them never ch…
The chance to see Anton Chekhov's first produced play, "Ivanov," not only in the original Russian (with English surtitles) but in modern dress proves to be a revelation. Staged by Russia's S…
Her newest work, "Fruit Trilogy," an evening of three one acts, "Pomegranate," "Avocado" and "Coconut," has all of the strengths and weaknesses of her previous stage plays which include goin…
Though it wouldn't be fair to reveal it here for audiences about to see the play, the "secret" actually turns out to be one that has been widely known for some time as it is all over the Int…
The letters alternate with the musical portions played by Ji on piano, Ari Evan on cello and Stephanie Zyzak on violin in various combinations which are beautiful but it is never clear in wh…
While "Brokeback Mountain" impresses in its sincerity, it does not move which is a serious problem considering the romantic and tragic plot. Director Jacopo Spirei's cast is in fine form as …
While "The Beast in the Jungle" is a musical for our time it contains a message that was dear to the heart of writer Henry James, that of the unlived life. Ultimately very moving when the st…
Standing in the way of the show's success is the workshop-like production. Some of Pellegrino's melodies are pleasant but musical director Michael Wittenberg's piano playing drowns out many …
We learn a great deal about hospice, possibly more than one might want to know in a play. While most death watch plays like Edward Albee's "All Over" and Scott McPherson's "Marvin's Room," t…
Played as older than either Viola or Sebastian, Elizabeth Heflin is charmingly eccentric as the strong cougar who becomes lovesick and yielding at the sight of Cesario and then Sebastian. In…
Unlike many of the recent New York stagings, Eyre's production makes it clear that the thrust of this four act play is an attempt for the Tyrones to exorcise their demons in one alcoholic in…