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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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In Dialogue
One of the differences between a blog post and an essay is that an essay is expected to be shapely and to move to some resonant conclusion. Occasionally a blog post will end resonantly, but mostly I find blogging is where I stir the kettle a little. I’ve been thinking about dialogue lately. Not dialogue… Continue reading
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“Behind the Sheet” and a Recurring Dramatic Problem
For a while, J. Marion Sims merited a statue in Central Park for his ground-breaking gynecological operations. What was largely unknown for years was that he was also a plantation owner and he used the female slaves he owned as guinea pigs for his experiments, trying out different techniques in a trial-and-error manner on these… Continue reading
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“Everyman” and After
Thinking about the National Theatre’s 2015 production of Everyman, a modern-language adaptation of the medieval morality play by Carol Ann Duffy, directed by Rufus Norris and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor. It is indeed a modern spin. The original doesn’t open with Everyman snorting long lines of cocaine with partying friends and accidentally falling off the top… Continue reading
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Top 100 Theater Books–A Reply
I am very pleased that Ken Davenport has named one of my books–What Playwrights Talk About When They Talk About Writing–one of the “Top 100 Theater Books Every Theater Maker Should Read.” I modestly suggest that he has short-changed theater history though. I think he should have also included two of mine–Something Wonderful Right Away… Continue reading
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Epstein and Asner
First, I want to refer you to a piece Michael Feingold has written in memory of Alvin Epstein: Explaining Alvin Epstein. I first had the pleasure of meeting Alvin when Emily Mann cast him in a production of The Value of Names at Hartford Stage. I can’t claim that I initially understood what an honor it… Continue reading
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Celebrity Impersonation
I used to have a prejudice against plays and movies that were anchored in celebrity impersonation. No, actually, I still have a prejudice against them. Except when they are done so well that I have to give way. Which happens rarely. When volume three of Simon Callow’s multi-volume biography came out, he appeared at the… Continue reading
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Supporting the Girls
The New York Film Critics Circle recently gave their award for best actress to Regina Hall for her performance in a film called Supporting the Girls, and the response among many was “hunh”? Like many indie films, it opened, received a smattering of reviews and disappeared before most were aware it existed. One of the benefits of… Continue reading
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Launch
For the past few decades, I’ve been writing a column for Dramatics, a magazine published by the Educational Theatre Association for thousands of theater-mad high school kids around the country. Mostly I’ve covered topics related to the theater scene in New York, though occasionally I’ve posted from Chicago and Stratford, ONT. It’s been a happy… Continue reading
Jeffrey Sweet--Making the Scene 