The Purple Lights of Joppa, Illinois
written and directed by Adam Rapp
Atlantic Theatre Company
June 22, 2016
Production website

💉💉💉 out of 5

This is one brutal little play. From the beginning of the play that finds a man meticulously picking up unseen specks from a carpet to the end in which that same man stares at his torchiere light – afraid that it will move. The premise is rather simple. A man has just been released from a psychiatric correctional institute to return home and plan for a special meeting. Soon the door rings and two teenage girls enter – – danger, danger – we know something bad is going to happen. Continue reading The Purple Lights of Joppa, Illinois →

Skeleton Crew
by Dominique Morisseau
directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Atlantic Theatre Company
June 19, 2016
Production website

💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.

This story took me to a world I have never been. It introduced me to an occupation I had never considered – to a city I would never want to live in – to a group of people that I would never think twice about and likely judge and dismiss – to struggles that I will likely never face – – and here I was lapping up each and every moment. I was sitting in my seat through the entire production KNOWING exactly where this story was going – and being WRONG each and every time. Continue reading Skeleton Crew →

Indian Summer
by Gregory S. Moss
directed by Carolyn Cantor
Playwrights Horizon
June 19, 2016
Production website

💉💉💉 out of 5.

In that I teach high school, I am always concerned when a production begins with a teenager sitting on a mound of dirt emptying his shoes. I can just smell the expected angst and “teen issues” that the play will move toward. But I was surprised and delighted with Indian Summer. Continue reading Indian Summer →

Hadestown
by Anais Mitchell
developed and directed by Rachel Chavkin
New York Theatre Workshop
June 18, 2016
Production website

💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.

Everything about this works. This was one of the most full, delicious meals of theatre that I have had in a long time. I have always loved the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and that fateful trip into hell to rescue love – – I did see the Zimmerman’s Metamorphoses set in the swimming pool twice! I just love watching what contemporary drama can do to the Greek classic tales. Continue reading Hadestown →

The Sandbox
by Edward Albee
Drowning
by Maria Irene Fornes
Funnyhouse of a Negro
by Adrienne Kennedy
Lila Neugebauer
Signature Theatre
June 16, 2016
Production website

💉💉 out of 5.

Never in history have these three particular one acts been grouped together in one evening’s work. Of course, the reason they were pasted together is to mark the 25th anniversary of the Signature Theatre. Each of these one acts were produced by Signature Theatre during their playwright’s original residency. Continue reading Signature Plays: The Sandbox, Drowning, & Funny House of a Negro →