Category Archives: 5 πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ Rating

Here There are Blueberries

Here There are Blueberries
Tectonic Theatre Project
by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich
conceived and directed by Moises Kaufman
New York Theatre Workshop
April 19, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Based on real events, Here There are Blueberries tells the story of a mysterious collection of photographs that was set to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007. The shocking discovery in these photographs taken at Auschwitz was that not a single picture was of a prisoner or a corpse. Every picture was of a soldier or a person employed at the camp. There, picture after picture – – was of office meetings, retreats, and even holiday celebrations. They showed groups of young, giggling women all working as switchboard operators manning the phones and communication channels for the camp. In short it presented the human, day-to-day side of the Germans in Auschwitz.

Patriots

Patriots
by Peter Morgan
Directed by Rupert Goold
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
April 12, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

Simply brilliant! Patriots is everything a play should be: a smart play that gives causes you to think and feel – excites your imagination – is fun and clever – dangerous and radical – challenges your view of history – and causes you to think about your future! All that in 2 glorious hours. Set in 1991 as the Soviet Union is morphing into the new Russia, oligarchs are taking over the government and billionaire Boris Berezovsky (brilliantly, brilliantly played by Michael Stuhlbarg) looks to an unknown deputy mayor of St. Petersburg, Vladimir Putin (equally brilliantly played by Will Keen) to serve as the eventual successor to President Boris Yeltsin – Putin seems to be the perfect puppet to serve this king-maker – – or is he?

The Following Evening

Created by 600 Highwaymen for Talking Band
Featuring Ellen Maddox & Paul Zimit
Perelman Performing Arts Center
February 16, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

The Following Evening was a piece of theatre history and theatre magic.Β Β Theatre legends were working alongside the cutting edge of theatre present.Β Β The production was created by 600 Highwaymen – one of perhaps the most exciting experimental theatre companies in the world stage today.Β Β HighwaymenΒ (Abigail Browde & Michael Silverstone) have been making performances since 2009. Their work –  which blends theater, dance, contemporary performance, and civic encounters – illuminates the magic and potential of people coming together.

All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain

All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented The Villain
created and performed by Patrick Page
Directed by Simon Godwin
DR2 Theatre
February 10, 2024
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

All the Devils are Here

This masterpiece of theatre takes its title from The Tempest, in which William Shakespeare famously wrote, “Hell is empty and all the devils are here.”Β  And the magic of the night is that we get to see all of devils in Shakespeare’s world played out by Patrick Page, a master actor with one of the most beautiful bass voices with academically brilliant commentary in chronologic order.Β  I loved it!!!Β  Time flew in the theatre!Β  The space was very small, the props and stage effects were almost non-existent – it truly was just the actor, stage and audience.Β  As a one man show, it is much more than a mere collection of villain monologues; it’s a crash course in Shakespeareβ€”showing us how he created these corrupt, covetous, conflicted, and just plain evil characters, and how his villains evolved as he progressed as a playwright.

Stereophonic

Stereophonic
Written by David Adjmi
Songs by Will Butler
Directed by Daniel Aukin
Playwrights Horizons
December 5, 2023
Production website
πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰πŸ’‰ out of 5.

I was really NOT looking forward to seeing Stereophonic. It was one of those shows that was offering a good price at the right time in my schedule. But boy was I wrong. This turned out to be the best show out of the 10 that I saw for this particular trip – – In fact, this show had one magical aspect that I’ve had with so few shows in New York – – There was a span of time in the show, when I truly, truly forgot that I was watching a play; I believed that I was in a recording studio, watching singers, actually working on an album struggling to find the right way to present it. I was not in the theater. I was not watching a play. I was watching real life unfold in front of me. That happens almost never for me in the theater. It was magical.