314 stories from sceneonstage.com
You needn't be familiar with 20th Century Russian " Soviet Union, that is " history in order to appreciate D. W. Gregory's "Memoirs of a Forgotten Man."Â While a sense of that history wil…
The theme of the mysterious stranger who arrives on the scene and changes people's lives has long been a staple of American fiction, never more than it was in the 1950s. That decade produced…
Let us clarify up front: the title of Jacqueline Novak's 90-minute theater piece is not an invocation to prayer. Rather, it refers to a position oft identified with the performance of oral s…
The best element of the musical "I Spy a Spy," running through September 21 at the Theatre at St. Clements, is its music. Sohee Youn's diverse score is mostly easy-to-take rock and jazz, pep…
The Stratford Festival in Ontario routinely employs the talents of two Theatre geniuses, separated in their endeavors by four centuries. The earlier is, of course, William Shakespeare, aroun…
The Broadway theater season, which ends in late April, culminates with the American Theatre Wing's Antoinette Perry Awards " the Tonys. For the 2018-19 season 42 nominators considered 34 eli…
A lot of stuff in plays happens offstage. Not just unsavory events, but things that are easier to tell than to show. (The plot of the play reviewed here last week, "Happy Talk," turns on off…
There is a limit to how much can be revealed about The New Group production of Jesse Eisenberg's "Happy Talk," without crossing into spoiler territory. That there are five characters is safe…
Any time someone appears on stage in tap shoes, I'm all in. Jodi Long brings that footwear and more to "Surfing My DNA," world-premiering through May 26 at New Jersey Repertory Company in Lo…
Something special is afoot at Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey, where Maureen Silliman is embodying Emily Dickinson in "The Belle of Amherst," William Luce's one-woman play about th…
Do you read a newspaper? Watch cable news? Discuss politics and world affairs with co-workers or friends (or former ones)? If you answered yes to any of the above, you could surely use an en…
[In a departure from my usual content, below is a (lightly edited) re-print of a feature that appeared in The Palm Beach Post on April 1.]             Â�…
If your attention has wandered during the last third of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar," you are not alone, but redemption is at hand. Theatre for a New Audience's portrayal of the aftermath o…
Despite an occasional misfire, tailoring some shows to a performer in a particular role can be a gimme. Dolly Levi and Mama Rose, for example, come with the territory. Lilli Vanessi does not…
Ever wonder what happens to the inhabitants of Anatevka after they are driven from their village at the end of "Fiddler on the Roof"? We know that some of Tevye's family will be staying with…
There is some real good acting on display these days at New Jersey Repertory Company. Not only do the three cast members of "The Source," Jack Canfora's trippy excursion into the world of ne…
Criticizing a play for being too wordy might seem counter-intuitive. Character dialogue, after all, is words. But unlike narrative stories or essays, plays need to balance telling with showi…
I am a charter member of the Spoilers Avoidance Association, but it is impossible to write about "Merrily We Roll Along" without revealing " to those not already aware " that the 1981 Stephe…
Something funny happened to "The Play That Goes Wrong" on the way from Broadway to off-Broadway. Fear not; everything that was funny during its nearly two-year run in the 922-seat Lyceum The…
My memories of seeing Nina Simone perform in Philadelphia and Atlantic City jazz clubs in the late 1950s/early 60s are soft-focus, because, well, do the math. What does remain sharp, though,…
To describe a play or musical as 'dated' might indicate that the piece is no longer relevant by virtue of evolved social or moral standards. (You won't see Neil Simon's play about the batter…
One can imagine the Two River Theater staff meeting to select a catch-phrase for their "Noises Off" advertising campaign. It is fitting that they settled on "One of the funniest plays ever w…
At one point in E. M. Lewis's "Apple Season" at New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, one of the play's several contemporaneous ‘Rolling Premiere’ productions, Lissie's fo…
A couple kissing in front of Macy's in Herald Square is hardly newsworthy, but one at last year's Thanksgiving Day Parade actually marked a milestone in live TV " and was also a spoiler for …
[Some of what follows was originally posted a few years ago. This holiday season, I invite new readers and returnees to share the memories.] Like many a New York actor back in the day, I dro…
