The Secret Life of Humans
Written and Directed by
David Byrne and Kate Stanley
59E59 Theatre
June 10, 2018
Production website
💉 out of 5.

Where are we going as a human race?  Are things getting better, or are we walking to our own destruction?  It sort of depends on the day and what section of the news you open first.  The Secret Life of Humans is a transplant from the Edinburgh Festival last summer.  The play covers a huge range of topics from a very collegiate lecture on the origin of man and the weary steps he has taken forward to the nonsense of a Tinder date that leads into a scavenger hunt over the “undisclosed work of un-named scientist working for the British government during World War 2.”
Continue reading The Secret Life of Humans →

Good for Otto
Written by David Rabe
Directed by Scott Elliot
The New Group at the Pershing Square Signature Theatre
March 21, 2018
Production website
💉 out of 5.

As a MFA Playwright from Penn State – and now a high school teacher of playwriting, I always run into the same problem with beginning writers. When given the choice to write about what they want to write  about, young students seem to gravitate to setting their play in the psychiatrist’s office.  The reason is clear – rather then writing a story with some conflict – rather than SHOWING us the story – they would rather put a wild, kooky outragious character on a psychiatrist couch and just drill them with questions to get a monologue out of them.  It is cheap easy playwriting.  You don’t have to SHOW us you can just TELL us – and that is not what our art form is about. Continue reading Good for Otto →

Cardinal
Written by Greg Pierce
Directed by Kate Whoriskey
2nd Stage
January 14, 2018
Production website
💉 out of 5.

In all the plays in all the world – why would anyone chose to do this play?  I just don’t get it  I am not sure what someone in authority was about when they read this play and said, “This is what I need to commit valuable time and resources to.”  Why?  Why?  Why?  This was one of those plays that I sat in the middle of a full house and peeked out to my fellow audience members to see if anyone was getting more out of this play then I was – cause I wasn’t getting anything.  I was not interested in any of the characters or their struggles.  I didn’t believe them and certainly didn’t believe the “development” of the story. There wasn’t an ending moment (much less a climax) where everything came together except a gun shot that no one on stage seemed to care about and the concern on the freshness of hospital muffins. Continue reading Cardinal →

Party Face
Written by Isobel Mahon
Directed by Amanda Bearse
New York City Center Stage 2
January 13, 2018
Production website
💉 out of 5.

Before you judge – let me explain – I had an open slot – and this was a new play – and the tickets were $132 but only $28 on TDF so that was a seemingly good deal – and it was in previews, which is fun – and it did star Hayley Mills who was in Parent Trap so that’s good.  Right?

I walked in the small theatre of Stage 2 at City Center – and the set looked great – close, intimate, elegant – but almost too good looking like they were hiding something.  Then clue #2, I overheard the house manager talking to a friend saying “I hope you are okay with this – but she is so lovely to work with.” Continue reading Party Face →