The Humans
Roundabout Theatre Company
Written by Stephen Karam
Directed by Joe Mantello

Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.

Let me get directly to the point. This play is brilliant. It makes perfect sense why this production is working its way to Broadway in the near future. This play is brilliant – oh, I said this already! Continue reading The Humans →

Dada Woof Papa Hot
Written by Peter Parnell
Directed by Scott Ellis
Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse

Production website 💉💉 out of 5.

Gay marriage is a done deal – – now the issue that is up to bat is gay parenting.  Dada Woof Papa Hot explores the joys and challenges of gay parenting. This is certainly a relevant issue in that the next step on the road to true equality for gay Americans is the right to be parents. The play certainly looks into the many ramifications of this issue from the silly to the naughty to the serious. Continue reading Dada Woof Papa Hot →

Mother Courage and Her Children

Classic Stage Company

Written by: Bertolt Brecht

Directed by Brian Klick

Production web 💉 out of 5.

It began in a blackbox. So far so good. Then Mother Courage came out in character and played with the audience trying to sell them watches and buy jewelry off of them. A bit of a gimmick, granted – by my hopes reached up. I thought I was going to see an entirely new take on this literally, war horse of a play. Then the play began, and all was back to the uninspired – – apart from placing the play in the Congo it was what I expected – – but then Tonya Pinkins, as Mother Courage, began to sing and I was right back there in the past with her in the front row of Caroline, or Change. Once she sings you can never forget that voice – – so beautiful, so rich, and so full of soul. NOW, I was in love with this show. Continue reading Mother Courage and Her Children →

Once Upon a Mattress

Music by Mary Rogers

Lyrics by Marshall barer

book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer

Directed by: Jack Cummings III

Aaron Arts Center

Production website     1/2💉  out of 5.

I really didn’t want to see Once Upon a Mattress. What I really wanted to see was the “dream casting” that pitted Jackie Hoffman (Princess Winifred) and John “Lypsinka” Epperson (Queen Aggravain) together. I wanted to see this. But the problem was I had to sit through almost two hours of Once Upon a Mattress to get to this. It really wasn’t a bad production. Most of it felt like a very competent college production of Once Upon the Mattress that roped in two gay icons of the stage – – Hoffman and Lypsinka. If only there had been more of them and less of the rest. Continue reading Once Upon a Mattress →

Cloud Nine
written by Carol Churchill
Directed by James MacDonald
Atlantic Theatrre Company

Production website     💉💉 out of 5.

Cloud Nine was the dirtiest play that I have ever read – that is when I was in undergraduate school in the early eighties. It was full of not only talk about gender, cross-dressing, gay and lesbian issues – – it actually played them out – – and further – – it went on to stage actual sex acts on stage. I thought the world of that the world of theatre was going to change forever! It did! – – at least to the the 90’s when all of this actually become a bit played out – and certainly here in the 21st century it plays out as a curious period piece of a play suffering as a severe horn-dog and unable to find a date for the weekend. Continue reading Cloud Nine →