Present Laughter
Starring Kevin Kline
Written by Noel Coward
Directed by Moritz Von Stuelpnagel
St. James Theatre
June 21, 2017
Production website
💉💉 out of 5.

Kevin Kline is just so good in this – – but there is just so much of this!  After seeing 1984 last night I was so eager to see a play that behaved itself and delivered some acting and some story.  Present Laughter, I thought – – there’s the remedy.

It was such a beautiful play.  A gorgeous set full of theatrical decadence with doors a plenty and plenty of furniture to poise, pontificate, and pursue a dalliance.  The language of Noel Coward is so rich and so wonderfully sarcastic.  It is so nice to hear a play that has vocabulary that reaches beyond two syllables.   Continue reading Present Laughter →

1984
Written and Directed by Robert Icke and Duncan Macmilla
Hudson Theatre
June 20, 2017
Production website
💉 out of 5.

IN KEEPING WITH THE THE DELIVERY OF THIS PLAY, I WANTED TO TYPE THE ENTIRE REVIEW IN SCREAMING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS – – but I have better manners.

This was my first time in the beautiful Hudson theatre that just opened its doors a few months ago with Sunday in the Park with George.  It is a gorgeous building.  The lobby was good. But then I took my seat.

This play is such a huge f***ing mess.  They go through hundreds of flash pods that blind the audience on a regular basis.  It was as if they couldn’t think what to do with the actors in the scene – so let’s just blind the shit out of the audience.  Then the blinding wasn’t enough. Continue reading 1984 →