This play has appeared on my Theatre History test for the last 25 years. The question reads, “What classic naturalistic novel established the writing career of Emile Zola?” The answer is – – you got it!
I was so anxious to see this almost-never-done play to see if my lectures had any truth to them. To begin, I thought it a bit odd that this production was on Broadway. To me this play just seems to scream Off-Broadway. How in the world did this choice translate to the huge Studio 54 venue? I was more then curious. Continue reading Therese Raquin→
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→
“What If” guides this “future history” play. What if the Queen of England was dead? What if Charles was REALLY up next in line to be king? What if he decided to be more than a figurehead and assert powers that the royal family has not exerted in generations? What if he didn’t sign a bill recently passed by the House of Commons? What if he pulled out dusty old books of royal precedent and found that he could shut down parliament and demand a re-election. What if the King of England just said, “NO.” Continue reading King Charles III→
Fool for Love passed the “gay test.” The first criteria that I look for in enjoying Sam Shepard is the amount of gay that I find on stage. Obviously I celebrate all that gay artists and particularly stage artists have done – – but I do not like gay with my Sam Shepard. If it isn’t 100% straight, then it just doesn’t tell the story and fits like bad, off-the-rack clothing.
This play was bleak and sexually explosive. Seldom did they ever mention the sex act and even more seldom they didn’t go to the easy, cheap overplayed crudeness in language that would fuel a play say by David Mamet. Little was said or done with the sexuality but you won’t find a play that smokes with lust more then this. Continue reading Fool for Love→
Therese Raquin
