Black Theater: Beyond Definition by BRUCE WEBER
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Maybe it's the obvious question here this week, during the semiannual National Black Theater Festival, which continues through Saturday at sites throughout this friendly, steamy Southern city. But ask for a definition of black theater, and no consensus really emerges.
Invitation to the Dance (Hollywood Version) by JENNIFER DUNNING
Dance may be working its way back into film after a decline that started for the movie musical in the 1950's.
A Play Without Instructions Morphs Into Another By MEL GUSSOW
Like most playwrights, Caryl Churchill filled her early plays with stage directions. Increasingly, however, she has pared her plays to the dialogue.
Edward Albee turns 75 next month, an occasion that the Alley Theater in Houston has chosen to celebrate with an unusual pairing of plays.
Word out of Texas is that both these productions are remarkable. If you have the means and the opportunitiy, checking them out would almost certainly be worth your time.
If They're Breathing, They're Talking by BRUCE WEBER
The centerpiece of this year's Humana Festival of New American Plays is "Omnium-Gatherum," which features a dinner table full of opinion-mongers.
Distinctive among Tennessee Williams' later works, 'Vieux Carré' is a sorrowful memory play that in the Wooster Group's multimedia hands may turn out to reveal another layer of the playwrig…
Louisville's Marc Masterson will be taking over at the playwright-friendly venue, and he can't go wrong following these suggestions.Have you noticed the way a few of the region's venerable n…
'Cinderella Rocks,' 'Macbeth' give traditional theater a jolt
Ann Landers play inspires another advice columnist
She should no longer be considered a sideshow. As she proved again, on 'America's Got Talent,' she should be appreciated for her singing ability.
Victor Garber in "Present Laughter."
Melba Moore is a New York City girl, Harlem-born.
Does gay no longer pay on Broadway?
Good theater should be a communal experience By Louise Kennedy
Starlight Illuminates the West End, but the Wattage Varies Widely by BEN BRANTLEY
Theatergoers in the West End can find a host of bold-face performers in significant roles, but celebrities are not always sufficient to bring a play to life.
Poppins on the Loose: Lock Up Your Children By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Disney's nanny now resembles one of those slightly dangerous American baby sitters who creates a world so colorful and fun that children need no supervision in it.
When Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers sing and dance together, their feature films escape time. They are popular art as elevated as any high art ever made.
What the Wooster Group's "Poor Theater" reveals about dance is its closeness today to theater, even at its most abstract.
Political Art, Potshots to Sure Shots By CARYN JAMES
You don't need a conspiracy theory or an imminent Republican convention to explain why there is so much Bush-bashing entertainment today: Mr. Bush is in power.
"Billy Elliot" at the Victoria Palace Theater in London makes a sincere appeal to the inner dancer in everyone - which makes it too full of real feeling for the synthetic Broadway of today.
A satire of Laura Bush, with a dose of affection By Mark Swed
Tony Kushner's "Only We Who Guard the Mystery Shall be Happy."