Coming Home
Fountain Theater

The Fountain Theater has done well with South African playwright Athol Fugard's previous plays, but it stumbles badly with his latest, Coming Home, which is now in a West-Coast premiere run. The problem, though, is with the play, not the production.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
June 2009
Chorus Line, A
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts

"And a five, six, seven, eight -- " with those words, another performance of A Chorus Line kicks off, and the audience is transported to the strange world of musical dancers. Ironically, this musical about chorus "boys" and "girls" has given jobs to hundreds of real-life dancers/actors over the years. The original production ran for years, just as the revival did. And, as predicted in the musical's storyline, some members of the original cast have become well-known names in musical theater, while others disappeared from show business.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
June 2009
Beauty Queen of Leenane, The
Florida State University Center for the Performing Arts - Cook Theater

Thank the Banyan for the cool theater and gripping drama that provide relief from Sarasota's summer heat outside and claustrophobic air of the bleak Connemara cottage recreated inside. Dimly lit, with living room-kitchen cabinets and walls turned a tint like bile, Jeffrey Dean's meticulous set holds props that act as spokes on a wheel. At its command center of table and rocker reigns lumpy, squinting, gray Mag Folan (Kim Crow), continually at war with daughter Maureen (Jessica K. Peterson).

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
June 2009
Farragut North
Geffen Playhouse

It's not a pretty picture, the making of politics. Beau Willimon, who was a campaign aide to Sen. Charles E. Schumer and former Vermont governor Howard Dean before becoming a playwright, has tapped into his past to fashion a drama, Farragut North, which exposes just how awful our political system is.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
June 2009
Yeats Project, The
Irish Repertory Theater

Noted Irish theatre critic Fintan O'Toole has written, "More than a half century after his death, William Butler Yeats is still Ireland's foremost avant-garde playwright."

Diana Barth
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Waiting for Godot
Studio 54

Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot was a breakthrough play that introduced a new era in theatrical experimentation by using a simple situation to explore deep issues like the bleakness of life on earth. Santo Loquasto's set, for the current version now on Broadway, is an unbleak landscape; what should be a barren expanse stretching to infinity with one bare tree and a couple of rocks is filled with huge boulders - suggesting caverns behind them and possible hiding places -- undercutting the sense of the play.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
9 to 5
Marquis Theater

Don't go to see the new musical 9 to 5 unless you want to have a foot-stompin' good time. The sharp book by Patricia Resnick (based oh the film), snappy, innovative choreography by Andy Blankenbuehler and crisp, clean direction by Joe Mantello, take the entertainment to the highest level in this story of three women employees versus the mean, misanthropic .boss, played by Marc Kudisch, one of the most exciting Broadway stars we have.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Bed and Sofa
Cygnet Theater

The silent film, "Bed and Sofa," written and directed by Russian Abram Room in 1927, satirized the housing shortage problems in Moscow. The 1996 musical honors the original film, maintaining a dialogue-free script done only in music and lyrics.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Dirty Dancing
Pantages

"Dirty Dancing" was a low-budget, unexpected movie hit in 1987, thanks to the chemistry of leads Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey, the contributions of choreographer Kenny Ortega and director Emile Ardolino, and a soundtrack whose main song, "I've Had the Time of My Life," won an Oscar. A TV series was followed by a stage version which premiered in London three years ago and is now touring the USA and elsewhere. A story that was once small and intense has been puffed up over the years and made a lot more slick and glitzy, more Broadway-like, if you will.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Chapter Two
Legler Benbough Theater

Faye Medwick (Michelle DeFrancesco) is married and in search of an affair. Leo Schneider (Sven Salumaa) is a player and will play any woman that comes near him. Jennie Malone (Amy Fritsche) finally has gotten a divorce and has absolutely no interest in men. George Schneider (Howard Bickle, Jr.) recently lost his wife and is still in mourning. What do these four people have in common?

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo
Kirk Douglas Theater

The USA's misadventures in Viet Nam were captured in memorable theatrical fashion by David Rabe's trilogy and John DiFusco's Tracers. Now, the Iraqi War has spawned a play to match those important, ground-breaking works -- Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, by Rajiv Joseph. Set in 2003, the play centers on two young American marines, Tom (Glen Davis) and Kev (Brad Fleischer), who have been assigned to guard duty at the Baghdad Zoo, which has been bombed by the U.S. army as part of its "shock and awe" tactics in Iraq.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Dumb Show
Nova Southeastern University - Mailman Hollywood Center Auditorium

The Promethean Theater's production of Joe Penhall's "Dumb Show" impresses even before it begins, and it doesn't let up through its two acts of silliness, satire and squirm-inducing drama involving celebrities and Britain's tabloid newspapers.

Julie Calsi
Date Reviewed:
May 2009
Humor Abuse
City Center

Humor Abuse, Lorenzo Pisoni's theatrical memoir of growing up as a member of a circus troupe founded and run by his father, is thoroughly entertaining -- though I have to say that I found some of the stunts in this one-man-show very scary in their potential for serious injury. (After one intentional fall, Pisoni notes that his father broke his back doing the same stunt. Yikes!)

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Hair
Al Hirschfeld Theater

In the wake of sorely disappointing revivals of West Side Story and Guys and Dolls, I'm thrilled that Hair is a triumph in its transfer from Central Park's Delacorte Theater to Broadway, where it deserves to run for at least 10 years. The energy on display at the Hirschfeld is so tremendous that it's hard to imagine how the cast can keep it up for eight performances a week; but, on the other hand, most of them are really young!

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Blithe Spirit
Shubert Theater

On the worthy revival front, it's gratifying that the legendary Angela Lansbury is back on the boards in Blithe Spirit -- not only because she's giving a delightful performance as Madame Arcati in an excellent production directed by Michael Blakemore, but also because this endeavor helps obliterate memories of Lansbury's most recent Broadway outing in Deuce, a deservedly reviled play by Terrence McNally. Moral: When in doubt, stick with Noël Coward!

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
God of Carnage
Bernard B. Jacobs

The current Broadway season is notable for the number of plays (as opposed to musicals) that are opening, and God of Carnage is the best I've seen thus far, both in terms of Yasmina Reza's keenly perceptive script (translated by Christopher Hampton) and the pitch-perfect production at the Jacobs. Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini, and Marcia Gay Harden kill as two sets of parents who vainly attempt to remain civil in discussing a violent incident that occurred between their children.

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Exit the King
Ethel Barrymore Theater

Exit the King is commendable mostly for Geoffrey Rush's wonderfully theatrical performance as an out-of touch, moribund monarch, but there is also fine work from the rest of the cast, especially Andrea Martin and Lauren Ambrose.

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
33 Variations
Eugene O'Neill Theater

Although many of the critics who praised Jane Fonda's performance in 33 Variations had reservations about Moisés Kaufman's script, I was engrossed by this play about a terminally ill woman's attempt to solve one of music history's greatest puzzles.

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Distracted
Laura Pels Theater

I've remarked on the fact that the shows produced by the Roundabout in its Laura Pels Theater venue tend to be unsatisfying in one way or another, but Distracted is a notable exception to that general rule. Cynthia Nixon gives an impeccable performance in Lisa Loomer's well-crafted play about a mother seeking effective treatment for her son's attention deficit disorder.

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Finian's Rainbow
City Center

I can't let the City Center Encores! presentation of Finian's Rainbow go without praising it to high heaven. The Irish Rep gave us an excellent, small-scale revival of this show a few seasons back, but it was great to see and hear it at City Center with a full orchestra playing that classic Burton Lane-E.Y. Harburg score.

Michael Portantiere
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Blithe Spirit
Shubert Theater

The current Broadway production of Noel Coward's antic comedy of marital relations beyond the grave, Blithe Spirit, directed by the master-of-timing and comic business Michael Blakemore, with the brilliant, zany, powerful actress/comedienne Angela Lansbury as the medium who connects with the "other" world, is one of the most entertaining theatrical evenings in town. For me, there is a flaw, though.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Irena's Vow
Walter Kerr Theater

Dan Gordon's play, Irena's Vow, about a Polish Catholic woman who hid and saved twelve Jews during World War II, starring one of Broadway's greatest actresses, Tovah Feldshuh, in a wonderful, heartbreaking, thrilling performance, is a great history lesson, and, in part, a tough show for an old Jew to watch. It's a ripper. But ultimately it's totally uplifting, and Feldshuh, with great craft, and even humor, hits her lines and moments with great craft, skill and heart.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
West Side Story
Palace Theater

This revival of one of the great musicals palpably hits the mark. Directed by Arthur Laurents, who wrote the original book, West Side Story thrills and moves one. As is well known, this remake of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" contains the same emotional highs and lows of the original; however, it has been transplanted to contemporary New York's Upper West Side.

Diana Barth
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Brink!
Actors Theater of Louisville

Two anticipated features of each year's Humana Festival of New American Plays at Actors Theater of Louisville are a themed anthology showcasing ATL's vibrant young Acting Apprentice Company and three Ten-Minute Plays in which selected apprentices display their talents. For the 33rd festival, the choices were a rites of passage anthology called "Brink!" and a half-hour show that included two comic episodes and one serious.

Charles Whaley
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Hair
Al Hirschfeld Theater

The excitement, the elation, shakes the theater at Hair (book and lyrics by Gerome Ragni and James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot) now on Broadway. It has the characteristics of other great musicals: terrific, memorable songs; sympathetic characters and a positive message of hope and joy that can't be resisted.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Toxic Avenger, The
New World Stages

The Toxic Avenger is a dynamite little rock musical staged hilariously by director John Rando and choreographer Wendy Seyb, and performed by superb, versatile, Broadway-level actor/singers: Nick Cordero in a sympathetic star turn as Toxie, the amazing Nancy Opel in a duet with herself, Mathew Salvidar and Demond Green spectacular in multiple roles and Sara Chase as Sarah, the sexy, blind, blonde heroine.

With clever lyrics, catchy tunes (like "Evil is Hot"), fabulous fast-change costumes by David C.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage
Abrons Arts Center - Harry de Jur Playhouse

Beowulf: A Thousand Years of Baggage is a new down for downtown. Mack the Knife meets Sweeney Todd meets Beowulf, in the dark historical streets of violence put to music. But this composer surrenders Weill and Sondheim sophistication and smarts to banal punk melodies and lyrics.You either like nihilistic, repetitious, childish punk jokes or you don't. If you do, welcome to an irritating but amusing, well-directed and performed, big-band musical, and a very, very hip reduction of literature's oldest and most boring poem to an exercise in absurdity.

Rhonda Coullet
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Be Aggressive
New Village Arts Theater

A play focused on cheerleading? Are they kidding? That's exactly what San Diegan Annie Weisman's Be Aggressive does. But oh so much more! New Village Arts Theatre's latest production under Kristianne Kurner's deft directorial touch is a challenge to the mind as well as a feast for the eyes.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Happiness
Lincoln Center - Mitzi Newhouse Theater

Remember Steambath or Outward Bound? Plays that take place in limbo where people don't know they're dead? Happiness, book by John Weidman, music by Scott Frankel, lyrics by Michael Korie, now at Lincoln Center, is another one, and this time, the transition vehicle is a subway car filled with a warm, friendly cross-section of New York. They are to pick a happy time in their lives, revisit it, and then can stay there forever. An earnest Hunter Foster is the conductor, and all of the very large cast can sing well.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
reasons to be pretty
Lyceum Theater

;In reasons to be pretty [sic], writer Neil LaBute gives good argument. Set in a warehouse, the play starts with a well-performed (by Marin Ireland and Steven Pasquale), amusing filthy word-filled (by the wife) battle - a screaming, idiotic fight sprinkled with clever expressions. It's all very well directed by Terry Kinney, but it seems to me to be built on a sophistry: that saying the obvious truth about someone's looks will destroy a relationship.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Chasing Manet
59E59 Theaters

Can a nursing home be the site of a comedy? Playwright Tina Howe gives a resounding "Yes!" and successfully pulls off her concept in her new play, Chasing Manet.

In a pleasant New England nursing-home room, cranky Catherine Sargent (Jane Alexander) fumes about, often crying "Out!" The elegant, Boston-born former painter doesn't want to be there. Just because she's legally blind, why should she be there? Her frequent verbal fisticuffs with her son Royal (Jack Gilpin), who put her there, display her wrath.

Diana Barth
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Cradle Will Rock, The
10th Avenue Theater

Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, currently under Lindsey Duoos Gearhart's direction, is staged by Stone Soup Theater Company at the 10th Avenue Theater. The play has an interesting past. In January 1936 Bertolt Brecht suggested to Blitzstein that he expand his short piece. Over an intensive five-week period ending on September 2, 1936, the musical play was finished, and he dedicated it to Brecht.

Robert Hitchcock
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Rock of Ages
Brooks Atkinson Theater

Rock of Ages is a retro-rock musical with ol'-timey R & R from the '80's with good loose action and half-naked ladies dancing in the aisles. What's not to like? They have jig-sawed a pastiche into an almost romantic story as the plot. It's soft-edged when they construct a story based on the songs, though the numbers are hard-edged.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Belasco Theater

Bartlett Sher's directorial conception of August Wilson's magnificent play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, has opened up the drama to new dimensions that reach far beyond the home of this Pittsburg family in 1911. The innovative, stylized set by Michael Yeargan, with lighting by Brian MacDevitt, is magical and reaches to infinity, and so do we as we experience the lives of people in a boarding house.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Norman Conquests, The
Circle in the Square

British playwright Alan Ayckbourn has a penchant for complex theatrical architecture in constructing his plays, which are mostly innovative domestic comedies. The Norman Conquests, now at Circle in the Square on Broadway, is one of his boldest experiments: three separate plays, each a viable entity in itself, with the same characters, covering the same time span, in three settings at a Victorian estate.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Mary Stuart
Broadhurst Theater

Peter Oswald's very long, very talky new version of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play, Mary Stuart, directed by Phillida Lloyd, gives us two strong women, Harriet Walter as Queen Elizabeth in a complex powerful performance, and Janet McTeer as Mary. As usual, McTeer is a powerful presence, but here, she is a declaimer who sings many of her lines in a kind of hammy recitation, especially as the play winds to its foregone emotional conclusion.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Burn the Floor
Post Street Theater

Burn the Floor is aptly titled. The show features sixteen ballroom dancers, split between men and women, who make fire with their feet as they interpret in virtuouso, redhot fashion such dances as the foxtrot, Lindy hop, samba, salsa, Quickstep, Paso Doble and tango. Each dancer is a world-class performer, having won more than a hundred dance titles between them.

Willard Manus
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Altar Boyz
Marcus Center for the Performing Arts - Vogel Hall

Although Altar Boyz has been wowing Off-Broadway audiences for four years, this is the musical's first appearance in Milwaukee. It's a shame that this show's high-pumped fun has waited so long to arrive. This is a Christian boy band that truly rocks. Their opening number, "We Are the Altar Boyz," is snappy enough to rival almost any Broadway opening number.

Anne Siegel
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Hamlet
The Duke

Hamlet, clearly directed by David Esbjornson and now at The Duke on 42nd Street, is a well-crafted, modern dress (costumes by Elizabeth Hope Clancy), contemporary rendition of Shakespeare's play with a fine actor, Christian Camargo, in the title roll, my old mime teacher, Alvin Epstein, as a crotchety Polonius, and a mostly strong supporting cast on an imaginative set by Antje Ellerman with fine lighting by Marcus Doshi.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2009
Cripple of Inishmaan, The
Lyceum Theater

The Aran Islands are off shore of Galway on the west coast of Ireland. They consist of three islands: Inishmore, Inishmann, and Inisheer. In English playwright Martin McDonagh's second play of his second trilogy, The Cripple of Inishmaan, he explores a bit of the culture shared by some 1,400 people. Their isolation from the mainland on these bare, stony islands is so complete that Gaelic is still everyday speech.

McDonagh's English heritage has made him highly controversial.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
April 2009

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