Hughie
written by Eugene O’Neill
starring Forest Whitaker
directed by Michael Grandage
Booth Theatre
March 23, 2016
Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5
Stuck in the lobby.
I often talk with my students – particularly my seniors about how much of their senior year is spent in the “hallway” between the world of high school/adolescence and the next, soon to be open, door of their adulthood. It sucks to spend time in the hallway, I get it. Continue reading Hughie
Spring Awakening
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
Books and Lyrics by Steven Slater
Based on the play by Frank Wedekind
Directed by Michael Arden
Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
My body tingled from the very first moment – – and all the way through the curtain call. I tingled. The hair stood up on my arms. I was in theatre nirvana. Never for a moment did I disengage from this show. In fact I tried to sit in the audience after the curtain call just to enjoy the high of the show for as long as I was able. Continue reading Spring Awakening
Therese Raquin
Roundabout Theatre
Written by: Helen Edmundson
Based on a novel by Emile
Zola
Directed by Evan Cabnet
Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
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
A View from the Bridge
Written by: Arthur Miller
Directed by: Ivo van Hove
Lyceum Theatre
Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
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
Chicago
John Kander and Fred Ebb (Music; Book/Lyrics)
Bob Fosse (Choreography)
Ambassador Theatre
Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
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