The Government Inspector
Written by Nikolai Gogol
Adapted by Jefrey Hatcher
Directed by Jesse Berger
Red Bull Theater
New World Stages
July 23, 2017
Production website
💉💉 out of 5.
but the work of Michael Urie 💉💉💉💉💉

The Russians are funny people.  So often I have taught the Russian classic plays and my students take them with such reverence that nobody sees any reason to laugh.  The Government Inspector is all about the laughs and all about making fun of the greed and corruption that dominated the provincial Russian government and perhaps could say a thing or two about the current world of politics – – you think so.  (BUT although so tempting to bring “Trumpisms” into the play, they take the high road and trust the audience will make those connections if they want to. Continue reading The Government Inspector →

Napoli, Brooklyn
Written by Meghan Kennedy
Directed by Gordon Edelstein
Roundabout Theatre Company
June 17, 2017
Production website
💉💉 out of 5.

This play was trying to do to much.  It was trying to tell the story of a true life plane crash in the early 1960’s that destroyed a good section of Brooklyn.  It also seeks to tell the story of a family with an abusive father who is trying to break out and break free.  It is also a coming out story about a young girl embracing herself as a lesbian.  It is also about the end of the 1950’s and the embrace of the radically unsettled world of the 1960’s.  THAT is a lot.  I had wished the play covered less ground and covered it more fully. Continue reading Napoli, Brooklyn →

The End of Longing
Written by Matthew Perry
Directed by Linda Posner
Lucille Lortel Theatre
June 15, 2017
Production website
💉 out of 5.

There is nothing more uncomfortable then being trapped in a small space with a die hard alcoholic.  Nothing they say has any meaning. Nothing they say is funny.  They make you uncomfortable.  They are narcissistic.  They go no where.  They mean nothing – and most of all – the next morning your left with a headache and a desire to resurrect those lost hours.

This play is bad.  Bad acting, bad story, bad delivery, and dreadful cliches.  Clearly this play was written by a TV star because no scene could develop or sustain itself beyond eight or so minutes.  Time that would be better spent on the commercial break.

You certainly do not care about these people.  You do not take a journey.  Truly you just get to spend time with a drunk convincing you he’s worth the 95 minutes.  He is not.

In & Of Itself
Written and Performed by Derek Delgaudio
Directed by Frank Oz
Daryl Roth Theatre
June 11, 2017
Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.

Who doesn’t like a magic show?  I love magic shows.  I have never considered them legitimate theatre but I was open to the idea.  From the moment I walked into the theatre, I knew this was going to be an  entirely new experience in the theatre.  In the lobby, we were presented with a huge peg board that was titled, “I Am . . .”  There were hundreds of options.  Some were fun: “I am a hot mess.”  Some were accurate: “I am a pilot.”  See were emotionally evocative: “I am an unkept promise.”  You were asked to pick one – any one.  I personally chose the humorous angle and picked “I am a sugar daddy.” Continue reading In & Of Itself →

The Boy Who Danced on Air
Book and LyRosser
Choreography by Nejla Yatkin
Music Direction by David Gardos
Directed by Tony Speciale
Abingdon Theatre Company
June 9, 2017
Production website
💉💉 out of 5.

And now a song and dance musical essentially about pedophilia.  How’s that for a crowd pleaser?  I am starting my theatre extravaganza a day before my group with a musical probably best done without my gang of students. The Boy Who Danced in the Air is a musical (imagine that) based on the practice of bacha bazi — “boy play” in the Dari language of Afghanistan — is an “ancient tradition where wealthy men buy boys from poorer families” and “train them to dance.” “So the sexual abuse, which the show does not ignore, is seen in the context of historical precedent and local culture, much as those who defend it ask us to see genital cutting.” Imagine that musical . . . This one I’m seeing by myself. Continue reading The Boy Who Danced On Air →