Present Laughter
Starring Kevin Kline
Written by Noel Coward
Directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel
St. James Theatre
June 21, 2017 Production website out of 5.
Kevin Kline is just so good in this – – but there is just so much of this! After seeing 1984 last night I was so eager to see a play that behaved itself and delivered some acting and some story. Present Laughter, I thought – – there’s the remedy.
It was such a beautiful play. A gorgeous set full of theatrical decadence with doors a plenty and plenty of furniture to poise, pontificate, and pursue a dalliance. The language of Noel Coward is so rich and so wonderfully sarcastic. It is so nice to hear a play that has vocabulary that reaches beyond two syllables. Continue reading Present Laughter→
1984
Written and Directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmilla
Hudson Theatre
June 20, 2017 Production website out of 5.
IN KEEPING WITH THE THE DELIVERY OF THIS PLAY, I WANTED TO TYPE THE ENTIRE REVIEW IN SCREAMING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS – – but I have better manners.
This was my first time in the beautiful Hudson theatre that just opened its doors a few months ago with Sunday in the Park with George. It is a gorgeous building. The lobby was good. But then I took my seat.
This play is such a huge f***ing mess. They go through hundreds of flash pods that blind the audience on a regular basis. It was as if they couldn’t think what to do with the actors in the scene – so let’s just blind the shit out of the audience. Then the blinding wasn’t enough. Continue reading 1984→
The Little Foxes
Written by Lillian Hellman
Directed by Daniel Sultan
Manhattan Theatre Club
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
June 18, 2017 Production website out of 5.
I am such a fan of theatre the pushes the envelop and challenges the way we “think” theatre should be done. I love when they take the “major dramatic structure” that I teach every day of my working life and mess around with it. I celebrate the rule breakers.
Come From Away
Book, Music and Lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
June 17, 2017 Production website out of 5.
There are not enough words to tell you how wonderful this show is! It is fun to experience; it sounds great; it is energetic; the cast is passionate about what they are doing, and you leave the theatre feeling so so good! NYC has always had trouble tying to tell the story of 9/11 in the theatre. Either the story becomes so political that it becomes more of a speech that leaves you cold – – or the 9/11 plays become so maudlin and so lost in the anger and sadness that all you want to do is weep. 9/11 stories were either about the head and they neglected the heart – or they were focused on the heart and they had nothing to say to your head.
Napoli, Brooklyn
Written by Meghan Kennedy
Directed by Gordon Edelstein
Roundabout Theatre Company
June 17, 2017 Production website out of 5.
This play was trying to do to much. It was trying to tell the story of a true life plane crash in the early 1960’s that destroyed a good section of Brooklyn. It also seeks to tell the story of a family with an abusive father who is trying to break out and break free. It is also a coming out story about a young girl embracing herself as a lesbian. It is also about the end of the 1950’s and the embrace of the radically unsettled world of the 1960’s. THAT is a lot. I had wished the play covered less ground and covered it more fully. Continue reading Napoli, Brooklyn→
Present Laughter
