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.
The Cottage Written by Sandy Rustin Directed by Jason Alexander The Helen Hayes Theater July 13, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
The Cottage was a simply fabulous evening in the theater. It has been a long time since I have seen a full-fledged farce in New York City. Everything about this show worked. The set was gorgeous and more than gorgeous, it had many fun farcical features that the cast exploited every moment that they could. For example almost every prop on stage became a cigarette lighter – – every single item. The casting was right on point. Eric McCormack and Laura Bell Bundy made for a perfect couple to spar back and forth – – – and every supporting actor down to the very smallest role all made a wonderful contribution to the story.
Goodnight, Oscar Starring Sean Hayes Written by Doug Wright Directed by Lisa Peterson Belasco Theatre July 12, 2023 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Goodnight Oscar packed one hell of a punch last night. I knew going in that Sean Hayes would be able to deliver all the comic moments of the show with aplomb. He is so good at those small sarcastic comments and finding a punch line to every single moment. I knew that the comedy would be great, but I was wondering if the night was going to hold any more to it. I am so glad to say it did. The show did start off a little slow and a lot of exposition was needed to take us back in time to the late fifties. It was important to understand the Jack Paar show and its tendency to bring celebrity guests on its show and exploit them for the sake of ratings.
Alex Edelman Just for Us Written and performed by Alex Edelman Directed by Adam Brace Hudson Theatre July 11, 2023 Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
Most of the time when I go to New York to see shows, I purposely don’t do any research on the show. I like to be surprised. I like to have that experience for the first time. I held true to that in seeing Just for Us. I didn’t know a thing about the show other than it was a one-man presentation. It didn’t take me long to figure out that this was going to be stand-up comedy routine in a much, much larger space. I have seen this kind of format a few times before and it has worked – but at times the space fought the performance. This show felt to me like it was begging to be in a smaller space. I can only imagine what fun it was to see this piece when it was in various small clubs and experimental places around the world. I’m sure it had to be something to experience.
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!
