Ink
Written by James Graham
Directed by Rupert Goold
Manhattan Theatre Club
June 21, 2019
Production website
💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.

Ink is an explosion and of far more than just ink.  I have never found a play that winds up so hard and so fast.  The punch that it delivers at the end of Act 1 truly hit me viscerally and left me limping back to the lounge for the men’s room. It is one fast furious roller coaster.  I had thought that I was going to see one of those comparatively gentle, sentimental plays such as “The Front Page” that explores the backstory of what it takes to put out a daily newspaper in the American 40’s.  Well, this is London and this is nothing but brutal.  Continue reading Ink →

Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus
Written by Taylor Mac
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Booth Theatre
June 12, 2019
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.

I love this short gross, over-the-top mess of a play.  The idea of tacking on a coda to Titus Andronicus, one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays is really novel and compelling.  When the curtain comes up and you see a pile of life-size puppet bodies piled up to the top of the proscenium arch, you know that you are not going to be in for a subtle evening at the theatre!   Continue reading Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus →

Oklahoma
Music by Richard Rogers
Book and Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Daniel Fish
Circle in the Square
June 12, 2019
Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.

I have never seen a golden age musical go down this plywood covered path before!  Wow!  When I first entered the stage I thought that Oklahoma was going to be more gimmick than art.  The thrust stage was all boarded up in raw plywood – the floor and all the walls.  Crockpots of chili were cooking away on long picnic tables where front row audience members were seated.  Audience lights were going to be kept up for the majority of the production.  I thought this was going to be a long night. Continue reading Oklahoma! →

To Kill a Mockingbird
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Directed by Bartlett Sher
Sam S. Shubert Theatre
June 11, 2019
Production website
💉💉 out of 5.

I am not sure why I went to the theatre to experience this story.  It was such a warm, wonderful read, but such a flat, lifeless play.  Why did they need to use the stage for this?  Isn’t the book enough?  I really don’t think that this show would have made any sense to someone who hadn’t read the book (which, gratefully, I am sure is not many).  I know it must be difficult to condense something so rich to the stage – but as I said before – then why would you? Continue reading To Kill a Mockingbird →

The Ferryman
Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Sam Mendes
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
June 9, 2019
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.

Ferryman

I love Irish theatre.  I love the grit and passion they bring to the story.  I love good ghost stories and the Irish know some pretty amazing ghost stories.  I love how so many of these Irish tales are about trying to make amends for an often unimaginable harm done in the past or an intense interest in passing family history on to the next generation.  This is what makes Irish literature such fun in the theatre. Continue reading The Ferryman →