Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Book by David Greig
Music by Marc Shaiman
Lyrics by Scott Witty and Marc Shaiman
Directed by Jack O’Brien
Lunt-Fontain Theatre
June 12, 2017 Production website
💉 out of 5.
I am sitting in a sea of very young children and I a wondering why Broadway has so very few offerings on a Monday night of theatre going.  This is just not fun.  The moment I walked into the lobby and saw the concession stand pumping endless sugar candy into the mouthes of over-hyped children I panicked.
In & Of Itself
Written and Performed by Derek Delgaudio
Directed by Frank Oz
Daryl Roth Theatre
June 11, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.
Who doesn’t like a magic show?  I love magic shows.  I have never considered them legitimate theatre but I was open to the idea.  From the moment I walked into the theatre, I knew this was going to be an  entirely new experience in the theatre.  In the lobby, we were presented with a huge peg board that was titled, “I Am . . .”  There were hundreds of options.  Some were fun: “I am a hot mess.”  Some were accurate: “I am a pilot.”  See were emotionally evocative: “I am an unkept promise.”  You were asked to pick one – any one.  I personally chose the humorous angle and picked “I am a sugar daddy.” Continue reading In & Of Itself→
Marvin’s Room
Written by Scott McPherson
Directed by Anne Kauffman
American Airlines Theatre
June 11, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.
As an acting teacher there are scenes and monologues that you see a hundred times (as in the “care of the wig” scene) in this play. Â After awhile you almost become numb to the scene as it becomes more of an academic exercise then a real story . Â . . so it was nice to go back and discover the rich story that is here.
I am not sure if the young students that I took with me could really connect with the gut of this story. Â Dealing with chronic, prolonged illness just changes everyone. Â More than the patient, the entire house becomes a sick place. Â And even more acutely the ones who are the caretakers are sicker than the patients. Â This, I pray, is years and years away from the experience of these teenagers. Continue reading Marvin’s Room→
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Music, Lyrics, Book and Orchestration by Dave Malloy
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Imperial  Theatre
June 10, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
This musical was like a full exotic dinner with course after course of food that you could never imagine, served in a way you couldn’t anticipate, with a flavor that was both familiar and exotic. Â That is my best shot at describing the “experience” of seeing the Great Comet. Â The entire theatre had been gutted and made into a Russian beer hall. Â A similar attempt was made by Broadway’s Cabaret a few years ago – but this TRULY took the idea and ran with it, Â Food was served (or rather tossed) at the show’s beginning and much of the audience sat at candle lit tables. Continue reading Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812→
The Play That Goes Wrong
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields
Directed by Mark Bell
Lyceum Theatre
June 10, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
One of my most favorite guilty pleasures in the theatre is British farce! Â There is something about such a proper, well-speaking group like the Brits suffer hilariously in front of an audience – – and deliciously suffer they do in this play. Â In the vain of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off we have the classic comedy about the farce making fun of making farces. Â It may sound like an inside joke to theatre people, but it was not. Â EVERYONE sitting around me was laughing from the start to the finish. Continue reading The Play That Goes Wrong→
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
