Pericles
written by William Shakespeare
music composed by Shaun Davey
Featuring Christian Camargo
Directed by Trevor Nunn
Theatre for a New Audience
March 22, 2016 Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5
I walked into the theatre and was immediately blown away. The theatre was set up as a 3/4 thrust. This is always one of the most exciting features of this theatre. Taking up the entire upstage wall is an ocular or large circular medallion that was backlit and seemed to glow. This ocular must have been 40’ in diameter. There was nothing else on stage – – just this big medallion. Wow! Continue reading Pericles→
Prodigal Son
written and directed by John Patrick Shanley
Manhattan Theatre Club
March 20, 2016 Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5
This play started out rather slowly for me. It was either because I had worn a sweater way to heavy for the heated theatre or I was just so able to expect the first moments. I saw the young prep school boy on stage with a model of a very formal New England prep school in the background and I could just guess that we were going down a predictable “Good Will Hunting” world. Continue reading Prodigal Son→
So much to love about this production and so much to be totally annoyed with! I found the idea of taking this quintessential piece of American realism with its walls, floors, furnitures, carpets, doilies and hokie Italian artwork and stripping it down to nothing was really exciting. Gone were all the trappings of the set. Replacing the set was a stark bright white floor looking hard, unforgiving and anesthetic. A ring of black benches circled the square and a simple doorway was placed upstage center. Captivating in the very first minute! As the “boxed curtain” rose around the white square we witness two men, Eddie Carbone (an amazing, haunting Mark Strong) and his co-worker taking a shower under a massive steaming running shower. The masculinity and working class grit was there at the beginning. Continue reading A View from the Bridge→
Although I do not know all of the words to any ONE song in Chicago, I certainly know some of the words to most songs – – and none of this gets in my way of singing the complete score as I pack my way back to LGA and to Jacksonville. How can Chicago ever be a bad choice? – even if they kept the curtain closed and just played the music, most of us would be more then happy to sit there for two hours and silently sing along. Continue reading Chicago – My Head is Full of Songs→
It Should Have Been You
books and lyrics by Brian Hargrove
music and concept by Barbara Anselmi
directed by David Hyde Pierce
starring Tyne Daly
July 26, 2015 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
I never expected this to be such a sweet experience. Although the story of the day-of-the-wedding-blues and accombant regret has been told over and over – It Should Have Been You seemed oh, so fresh to me. The play was certainly built on the fun of the Jewish family marrying up with the decidedly not-Jewish. The wit is quick. The mother-in-laws, featuring Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris simply rock with comic timing, but it is the big, belting number of the plus-size sister played by Tony-nominee Sierra Goggess that sealed the success of the matinee. Her anthem, “Jenny’s Blues” nearly brought the house to its feet. She so deserved each and every moment. Continue reading It Should Have Been You→
Pericles
