Meteor Shower

Meteor Shower
Starring Amy Schumer
Written by Steve Martin
Directed by Jerry Zaks
Booth Theatre
January 3, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Meteor Shower was 80 minutes of good sincere fun. Amy Schumer showed up and did her magic and the audience was hers for the afternoon. The lines were sincerely funny and the ensemble of the two quite contrasting couples gave lots and lots of opportunities for laughs. Watching the beautiful slick couple of Laura Benanti and Keegan-Michael Key interact with the decidedly not slick couple of Amy Schumer and Jeremy Shamos was very rich in comic moments. Even the chest wounds of a direct meteor hit – – brought the house down as it squirted blood every time there was a cough or laugh. Continue reading Meteor Shower

John Lithgow: Stories by the Heart

John Lithgow: Stories by the Heart
Adapted and Performed by John Lithgow
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Roundabout Theatre Company
January 2, 2018
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Here we are at the American Airlines Theatre on 42nd on a cold Tuesday night. The set is a beautiful, rich, paneled library with a large wooden chair center stage and a smaller chair with table on the left side of the stage. Beautiful – but that’s it. Then John Lithgow enters. We are all applause; we are applauding, of course, for a career that has given us one of our best moments on stage, television and the silver screen. He comes out to give us just a bit of intro about her early years and the love he had for story telling as a young boy. He and his siblings were read stories every night and they loved them. It defined them as a family. Continue reading John Lithgow: Stories by the Heart

The Best and Worst of 2017

unknownTHE BEST OF 2017

I would like to offer my list of the TOP TEN BEST PLAYS and the TOP FIVE WORST PLAYS that I saw in 2017.Β  This year I was able to take in 49 plays – and I assure you that my list is totally unlike ANY of the various people that review NYC theatre.Β  Please do click on the title of the following plays to read the full review:

10. The Play that Goes Wrong
9. Β Farnelli and the King
8. Β Oslo
7. Β The Pipeline
6. Β Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
5. Β Oh, Hello on Broadway
4. Hello Dolly
3. Β Doll’s House Part 2
2. Β Come from Away
THE BEST I SAW THIS YEAR: Β 1. Wakey, Wakey

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

THE WORST OF 2017
5. Present Laughter
4. Β Gorey, The Secret Life of Edward
3. 1984
2. Β Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

THE WORST I SAW THIS YEAR: Β 1.Β The End of Longing

Junk

Junk
Written by Ayad Akhtar
Directed by Doug Hughes
Lincoln Center Theater
Vivian Beaumont
December 31, 2017
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Usually my first criteria in looking at a play is to see if I cared for any of the characters on stage.Β  I want to be able to identify with at least someone and follow them through some struggles.Β  I want to see them suffer and learn/feel something from their suffering.Β  However in Junk, I could care less about any of the character on stage – and this play had well over a dozen characters on stage. Β Usually that would be the end of the story for me when it comes to a play.Β  But Junk is different – Continue reading Junk