The Saviour Written by Deidre Kinahan Directed by Louise Lowe Irish Repertory Theatre July 14, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
The Savior was a tough play to watch. The play is a one act in two parts. The first part involves an elderly Irish woman who has just had physical relationships with a much younger man who seems to bow to her every wish. The play opens with the woman in bed while the man is off stage getting her coffee. She has an extended monologue where she talks about how wonderful it is to find love and physical affection this late in her life. She attributes much of it to Jesus and how he has been looking after her for a long time. Then as we move into the second-half of this one act her son arrives with a birthday present for her. He also arrives with some bad news.
Once Upon a One More Time Based on the music performed and recorded by Britney Spears Book by Jon Hartmere Directed and Choreographed by Keone & Mari Madrid Marquis Theatre May 25, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Act 1 is a marvelous thrill ride for any fan of Britney Spears! The premise of story-time female characters getting a bit fed up with their role and treatment in their story – and starting a revolution is set up – and then the fun begins. We get to essentially match the best of Britney Spears to the stories we have known since childhood. Cinderella provides the best connections between pop music and story possible. Cinderella working away on the hearth to please her wicked mother becomes, “You Better Work Bitch.” Prince Charming becomes a “Womanizer” and certainly “Toxic”. THE moment that the Britney Springs song begins the audience is blown away by the connection. It is electric! AND the dancing is easily some of the best on the street!
Becky Nurse of Salem Written by Sarah Ruhl Directed by Rebecca Taichman Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse December 31, 2022 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Sarah Ruhl’s latest play is about a descendant of a tried and convicted American witch. The play was inspired by the rage that the playwright Ms. Ruhl felt after seeing a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and how it distorted the motivation of the Salem Withc Trials to make them about young women’s desire for an older man. – ie – – Abigail was 17 in the play but in real life she was 11. That changes everything.
Ohio State Murders Written by Adrienne Kennedy Directed by Jenny Leon James Earl Jones Theatre December 29, 2022 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
I could watch Audra McDonald read the phone book and likely be moved by the whole experience. Everything she touches is full of humanity and such care. There is no wonder that she has racked up so many Tony awards. She really is that good. This play is tailored for emotional depth and vocal powers. The story is fictional and placed on the segregated campus of Ohio State University in the late 1940s. Adrienne Kennedy, the gifted playwright attended the school then, and her use of detail, from campus geography, the dorm-life racism, the day-in-day-out bias and outright hate experience makes this play one of the richest explorations of racism that Broadway has seen for awhile.
KPOP Book by Jason Kim Music and Lyrics by Helen Park and Max Vernon Choreography by Jennifer Weber Directed by Teddy Bergman Circle in the Square Theatre October 21, 2022 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
I really did like this musical. You really had to appreciate all of the earnest commitment from everyone on stage. It did feel a bit that they were a bit nervous about their audience- – doubting a long run for this show – and were going to give it their all until the doors are closed. KPOP is truly a wonderful, fun, sexy dance style that energizes the audience like few other dance styles. The show had some incredible dance sets. I wished, in fact, that they had just stuck to the dances and not tried so hard to make it a piece of musical theatre with a “book” behind it.
