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→
Marvin’s Room
Written by Scott McPherson
Directed by Anne Kauffman
American Airlines Theatre
June 11, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.
As an acting teacher there are scenes and monologues that you see a hundred times (as in the “care of the wig” scene) in this play. After awhile you almost become numb to the scene as it becomes more of an academic exercise then a real story . . . so it was nice to go back and discover the rich story that is here.
I am not sure if the young students that I took with me could really connect with the gut of this story. Dealing with chronic, prolonged illness just changes everyone. More than the patient, the entire house becomes a sick place. And even more acutely the ones who are the caretakers are sicker than the patients. This, I pray, is years and years away from the experience of these teenagers. Continue reading Marvin’s Room→
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812
Music, Lyrics, Book and Orchestration by Dave Malloy
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
Imperial Theatre
June 10, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
This musical was like a full exotic dinner with course after course of food that you could never imagine, served in a way you couldn’t anticipate, with a flavor that was both familiar and exotic. That is my best shot at describing the “experience” of seeing the Great Comet. The entire theatre had been gutted and made into a Russian beer hall. A similar attempt was made by Broadway’s Cabaret a few years ago – but this TRULY took the idea and ran with it, Food was served (or rather tossed) at the show’s beginning and much of the audience sat at candle lit tables. Continue reading Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812→
The Play That Goes Wrong
Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields
Directed by Mark Bell
Lyceum Theatre
June 10, 2017 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
One of my most favorite guilty pleasures in the theatre is British farce! There is something about such a proper, well-speaking group like the Brits suffer hilariously in front of an audience – – and deliciously suffer they do in this play. In the vain of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off we have the classic comedy about the farce making fun of making farces. It may sound like an inside joke to theatre people, but it was not. EVERYONE sitting around me was laughing from the start to the finish. Continue reading The Play That Goes Wrong→
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→
In & Of Itself
