The Half-God of Rainfall Written by Inua Ellams Movement Direction by Orlando Pabotoy Directed by Taibi Nagar New York Theatre Workshop July 15, 2023 Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
The Half God of Rain was a mighty interesting show to see. It is not often you get to see a story about the Greek gods’ intervention in the life of a Nigerian basketball player . . . I was lucky to see it on only its second preview performance, so the cast was discovering things right along with the audience. I did have a couple of observations of the show. To begin the play was set in a stage filled with small black gravel. I thought this was a terrific idea as soon as the cast came out at the beginning and started to walk out in unison you could hear the crunch of the gravel beneath them. It was wonderful sound effect. I only wish that they had used this gravel more often during the show it was such a spectacular possibility for the show I just wanted them to exploit it further.
The Saviour Written by Deidre Kinahan Directed by Louise Lowe Irish Repertory Theatre July 14, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
The Savior was a tough play to watch. The play is a one act in two parts. The first part involves an elderly Irish woman who has just had physical relationships with a much younger man who seems to bow to her every wish. The play opens with the woman in bed while the man is off stage getting her coffee. She has an extended monologue where she talks about how wonderful it is to find love and physical affection this late in her life. She attributes much of it to Jesus and how he has been looking after her for a long time. Then as we move into the second-half of this one act her son arrives with a birthday present for her. He also arrives with some bad news.
Days of Wine and Roses Book by Craig Lucas Music & Lyrics by Adam Guettel Choreography by Sergio Trujillo & Karl Puno Garcia Directed by Michael Greig Atlantic Theatre Company July 9, 2023 Production website 💉 out of 5.
Days of Wine and Roses was truly a disappointment. It is so crazy to think that with the star-studded pairing of Brian d’Arcy James and Kelli O’Hara could produce something so lame. First off, I think the story is too dated to be presented. The dynamics of addiction, and how you can’t change anyone and the advent of Alcoholics Anonymous just seems to be from old, old news – and nothing new is brought to the conversation.. What necessitate the retelling of the story? On top of that, the show had just terrible music. I always think that it’s a bad sign when you leave the theater and are not humming at least one song as you go. I can’t imagine the cast album!
Comeuppance Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Directed by Eric Ting Signature Theatre July 8, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Comeuppance really had me worried in the first few moments. Any play that begins with a character speaking directly to the audience and pretending to be “death” seems to be going down the wrong tedious path. I had very low expectations. Once the play moved through this monologue, however, I was very surprised as to how wonderful it was. A group of 30-somethings were gathered on the porch of the central characters house, all doing a bit of a pre-game libations before they go to the 20th high school reunion. The characters were so rich and interesting. They had the most complicated and interesting of relationships. I quickly forgot about the death character! The play then speaks of how they all survived the Columbine shootings, the war in Baghdad, 9/11 and even the January 6 march against the capital. But most importantly, how they all survived the Covid nightmare.
Becky Nurse of Salem Written by Sarah Ruhl Directed by Rebecca Taichman Lincoln Center Theater at the Mitzi E. Newhouse December 31, 2022 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Sarah Ruhl’s latest play is about a descendant of a tried and convicted American witch. The play was inspired by the rage that the playwright Ms. Ruhl felt after seeing a production of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible and how it distorted the motivation of the Salem Withc Trials to make them about young women’s desire for an older man. – ie – – Abigail was 17 in the play but in real life she was 11. That changes everything.
