theater
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Bad Behavior
Richard in Richard III is intended to be a villain. Shakespeare paints him as evil on legs. And yet, we get impatient when he’s off the stage. Clarence has a long speech filled with poetry. Yes, yes, beautiful, but could you wrap it up and bring the monstrous brother on again? Richard’s treatment of the… Continue reading
A Streetcar Named Desire, Aaron Sorkin, Abby Rosebrock, Alan Cumming, Atticus Finch, Blue Ridge, Carnal Knowledge, Christopher Walker, Daddy, Downstairs, Halley Feiffer, Hamish Linklater, Happy Birthday Wana June, Harper Lee, Heidi Schreck, Hillary and Clinton, Iago, Ink, Jack Nicholson, Jenny Allen, Jeremy O. Harris, Jessica Tandy, Jez Butterworth, John Osborne, Jules Feiffer, Kurt Vonnegut, Look Back in Anger, Marin Ireland, Marlon Brando, Mike Nichols, Network, Othello, Paddy Chayefsky, Restoration, Richard III, Rita Moreno, Rupert Murdoch, Shakespeare, Socratese, The Double-Dealer, The New Yorker, The Pain of My Own Belligerence, Theresa Rebeck, Tim Blake Nelson, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tyne Daly, What the Constitution Means to Me, Wheelhouse Theater -
Icons of the Fifties–Bruce and Holliday
On successive nights I saw shows about two entertainment icons of the 1950s. Neither quite worked, but seeing them in succession triggered a few thoughts. I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce is by Ronnie Marmo and features him as the groundbreaking comic, and Smart Blonde by Willy Holtzman is a 90-minute survey of the life… Continue reading
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Thoughts on Rosie’s Theater Kids
I accepted an invitation to attend a performance on Sunday of Rosie’s Theater Kids. Rosie is Rosie O’Donnell, who started the organization to introduce theater to kids in the New York area who might otherwise not be exposed to it (many of them children of color). I haven’t researched this in detail, but what started… Continue reading
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After by Michael McKeever
At first, After, a play by Michael McKeever, is reminiscent of God of Carnage, the Yasmina Reza play about two sets of parents meeting to sort out a conflict involving their sons. Carnage, however, plays out in one act in real time, and the mostly comic play deals with how the parents are reduced to… Continue reading
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Rejected by the O’Neill
I have heard from a number of friends that that have received word that they will not advance to the next level of consideration at the O’Neill. It may surprise some that, even though I wrote the book about the O’Neill — cleverly titled The O’Neill — I have never had a play produced there.… Continue reading
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“The Trial of the Catonsville Nine”
If you check ibdb.com for the listing of the cast of The Trial of the Catonsville Nine, which opened on Broadway in 1971, you’ll find it numbered sixteen (including such notables as Mason Adams, Michael Moriarty, Josef Sommer, Helen Stenborg, Sam Waterston, and James Woods). The new off-Broadway production from the Transport Group features a… Continue reading
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Ramblings about “The Sea Gull” (or “The Seagull”)
I finally got around to seeing Michael Mayer’s film adaptation of The Seagull. The best reason to catch it is for Annette Bening’s performance as Arkadina. Arkadina is an actress who can’t stop performing when she’s offstage, and Bening nails this aspect with a wit I’ve rarely seen in a performance of this part. (“What… Continue reading
Jeffrey Sweet--Making the Scene 