Author Archives: dgsweet

About dgsweet

I write for and about theater. I spent a number of years as a resident playwright of a theater in Chicago which put up 14 of my plays, and I still think of Chicago as my primary theatrical home, though I actually live in New York. I serve on the Council of the Dramatists Guild. Between plays, I write books, most notably SOMETHING WONDERFUL RIGHT AWAY (about Second City), THE O'NEILL (about the O'Neill Center) and THE DRAMATIST'S TOOLKIT (a text on playwriting craft). I also occasionally perform a solo show called YOU ONLY SHOOT THE ONES YOU LOVE. I enjoy visiting theaters outside of New York. I can be reached at dgsweet@aol.com.

“Raisin in the Sun” at the Public

Posted on November 6, 2022 by dgsweet

The first grown-up straight play I remember seeing was Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun in Chicago. I didn’t see it the first time it played Chicago, when it stopped there on its way to Broadway in February 1959 … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Chicago theater, drama, film adaptation, New York, off-Broadway, playwriting, theater | Tagged Claudia Cassidy, Claudia McNeil, Danny Glover, Diana Sands, Esther Rolle, Francois Battiste, Jonathan Miller, Lloyd Richards, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Lorraine Hansberry, New York Public Theater, Phylicia Rashad, Raisin in the Sun, Robert O'Hara, Sean Combs, Sidney Poitier, Tonya Pinkins | 1 Comment

A New “1776”

Posted on October 21, 2022 by dgsweet

I’m going to guess I’m not the only person who learned about the triangle trade from a musical. Late in the action of the show of 1776, a delegate to the Continental Congress from South Carolina named Edward Rutledge reacts … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, film adaptation, musicals, New York, Uncategorized | Tagged "Molasses to Rum", 1776, AnnMarie Milazzo, Benjamin Franklein, Carolee Carmello, Clifford David, Crystal Lucas-Perry, Declaration of Independence, Diane Paulus, Eddie Sauter, Edward Rutledge, Jeffrey L. Page, John Adams, John Cullum, Patrena Murray, Peter Hunt, Peter Stone, Roundabout Theater, Sara Prokalob, Sherman Edwards | 1 Comment

As You Kink It

Posted on September 5, 2022 by dgsweet

Because of serendipitous scheduling, I saw Kinky Boots on a matinee and the New York Shakespeare production of As You Like It that night. Kinky Boots is about a guy who gets to say and do some things because he … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Chicago theater, drama, improvisation, musicals, New York, off-Broadway, theater, Uncategorized | Tagged Adrian Lester, As You Like It, BAM, Beauty and the Beast, Callum Francis, Cheek by Jowl, Christian Douglas, Cyndi Lauper, Danielle Hope, Harvei Fierstein, Henry V, Horacio Quiroga, Juan Darien Julie Taymor, King Boots, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Shaina Taub, Viola Spolin, William Shakespeare | 2 Comments

“Hyprov”

Posted on August 24, 2022 by dgsweet

I remember someone bringing up Whose Line Is It Anyway? to Del Close, the Chicago improvisational theater master. A student said something to Del about the players on the show flying without a net. Del retorted, “They may be flying … Continue reading →

Posted in improvisation, New York, off-Broadway, Second City, theater | Tagged Asad Mecci, Colin Mochrie, Del Close, hypnosis, Hyprov, Something Wonderful Right Away, TJ and Dave, Whose Line Is It Anyway? | Leave a comment

Watching a TV series reminds me of a play I saw in 2007

Posted on July 27, 2022 by dgsweet

Watched an oddball but extremely affecting British miniseries on Britbox tonight called Don’t Forget the Driver starring Toby Jones (in two roles) and co-written by Jones and Tim Crouch. The plot concerns a bus driver in Bognor Regis who discovers, … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago theater, improvisation, movies, New York, off-Broadway, playwriting, Second City, television | Tagged An Oak Tree, Britbox, Claire Rushbrook, Del Close, Don't Forget the Driver, Mike Leigh, Tim Crouch, Toby Jones | 1 Comment

Review: “Heart” with Jade Anouka

Posted on July 21, 2022 by dgsweet

If you saw Phyllida Lloyd’s series of Shakespeare productions set in a women’s prison you likely remember what an arresting impression Jade Anouka made as Mark Antony and Hotspur. She has returned to New York in a solo piece called … Continue reading →

Posted in New York, off-Broadway, theater | Tagged Audible.com, Jade Anouka', Ola Ince, phyllida lloyd | Leave a comment

“Winter Adé”

Posted on June 22, 2022 by dgsweet

On an impulse, I watched Helke Misselwitz’ documentary, Winter Adé on Mubi streaming. The film is mostly a collection of interviews by the director of women in East Germany. The interviewees are of various ages. Two teenagers who don’t want … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Berlin Wall, documentary, East Germany, Helke Misselwitz, Thomas Plenert, Weissensee, Winter Adé | Leave a comment

“The Bedwetter” and “Mr. Saturday Night”

Posted on June 20, 2022 by dgsweet

Two new musicals are co-written by people who came to fame via stand-up comedy. Mr. Saturday Night, the Billy Crystal vehicle (which he co-wrote with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, composer Jason Robert Brown and lyricist Amanda Green) is about … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, musicals, off-Broadway, television, theater | Tagged Amanda Green, Bebe Neuwrith, Billy Crystal, Jason Robert Brown, Mr. Saturday Night, musicals, Sarah Silverman, stand-up, The Bedwetter | Leave a comment

Telling it Clearly — “Macbeth” vs. “Cyrano”

Posted on May 23, 2022 by dgsweet

I’m a story guy. I think the roots of the theater lie in people sharing stories. I’ve written before about a conversation I had in the mid-Seventies with novelist Louis L’Amour that influenced my thinking. He described how Native Americans, … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, drama, New York, off-Broadway, theater | Tagged BAM, Betrayal, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Cyrano, Daniel Craig, Evelyn Miller, Harold Pinter, Ivo Van Hove, James Mcavoy, Jamie Lloyd, Louls L'Amour, Macbeth, Othello, Ruth Negga, Sam Gold, Shakespeare | Leave a comment

“American Buffalo” on Broadway

Posted on May 20, 2022 by dgsweet

In 2001, I served on a grand jury. At one point, an ADA played for us a recording from a wiretap. It was a conversation between two members of a violent drug gang. One was assigning the other to kill … Continue reading →

Posted in Broadway, Chicago theater, drama, improvisation, playwriting, Second City, theater, Uncategorized | Tagged American Buffalo, David Mamet, Harold Pinter, Neil Pepe, St. Nicholas Theater | 2 Comments

	Richard Warren on “Raisin in the Sun…
	Brandon M. Stickney on A New “1776”
	Richard L Warren on As You Kink It
	Sylvia Toone on As You Kink It
	Richard L Warren on Watching a TV series reminds m…