Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo
Written by Edward Albee
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
Signature Theatre
March 21, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5
It is so great to back in New York and back in the theatre. After a break of a few months it was so wonderful to curl up on a snowy Tuesday evening to watch essentially two characters tear through some language to create some beautiful Albee-esque existentialism. The play was a combination of two one acts – the later being the classic “Zoo Story” that EVERYONE reads in college and debates for hours and EVERY young male actor gnashes their teeth (literally) to tell the infamous “dog story”. What was new for me – was to see the play, “At Home” that was written as a precursor to the “Zoo Story” and gives us a bit of character background to the rather flat and enigmatic Peter. Continue reading Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo→
Disco Pigs
Written by Edna Walsh
Directed by John Haidar
Booth Theatre
January 13, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
What the hell were they saying? From the moment Disco Pigs began and two captivating young actors pulled apart flaps in the back wall essentially narrating their birth at the same time in the same hospital – you just couldn’t understand what they were saying. I thought, at first it was because it was an Irish play – set in Cork – and they were just taking this dialect thing a BIT too far. Then I realized Continue reading Disco Pigs→
The Band’s Visit
Music and Lyrics by David Yazbec
Book by Itamar Moses
Directed by David Cromer
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
January 12, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
From the first moment of music I was won. The Egyptian music was so wonderfully foreign to me – and so passionate and emotional – It was an entire show before the first character entered. It is hard to describe the wonderfulness of this show. I suppose if you were schooled in international music you would have heard some of this Jewish/Egyptian/Arabic music and all of its unique orchestration it would be old hat you – but, for me, it was new, new, new. Passion played out is such new and unusual ways. Continue reading The Band’s Visit→
Mankind
Written by Robert O’Hara
Directed by Robert O’Hara
Playwrights Horizons
December 30, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Mankind was a most unexpected treat. The advert for it mentioned that it was a satire about a world in which there were no more women, and men were left to give birth to babies without them. Ouch! I thought this was going to be a cheap – woman hating – even gay celebration play – but I was wrong! Nothing in this play was gay and nothing in this play was about hating women – far, far from that. Continue reading Mankind→
Farinelli and the King
Written Claire Van Kampen
Directed by John Dove
Belasco Theatre
December 23, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Mark Rylance rules the world! AND for this particular production I was gifted with seats right on the stage. It felt almost like being part of a private audience in some courtly manor. This was going to be one of my favorite theatre memories in a long list of productions.
Mark Rylance – – There is no way he can be on stage without all eyes being riveted to his work. It is hard to explain this stage charisma. The best that I can explain it is that he is SO very present on stage that you really believe he has NO idea what is going to happen in the next moment. He is like a small child playing in the now and hearing the words coming out of his mouth for the first time. It is ALL discovery. Continue reading Farinelli and the King→
Edward Albee’s At Home at the Zoo
