Shining City
book by Conor McPherson
with Matthew Broderick
directed by Ciaran O’Reilly
Irish Repertory Theatre
June 25, 2016 Production website
💉 out of 5.
I love the wonderful ghost stories of Conor McPherson – but, lordy, I didn’t find much to enjoy here. Matthew Broderick, in the pivotal role , just falls flat for me. I couldn’t figure out if he was a flat and plastic actor content to just be himself for this withdrawn character or whether he was actually working to be flat and plastic – but the result was certainly flat and plastic. Continue reading Shining City→
Straight
written by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola
and directed by Adam Sandberg
Acorn Theatre
March 21, 2016 Production website
💉 out of 5
Gay plays scare me. I am so worried every time that I buy my tickets for a gay play I am going to see a second rate play. First off, I am a bit taken back by the very term “gay play.” I am thinking that by now the role of gay characters should be so assimilated into culture that there is no need for the “gay play.” That being said, many gay people, especially gay men love their gay theatre. Continue reading Straight→
It began in a blackbox. So far so good. Then Mother Courage came out in character and played with the audience trying to sell them watches and buy jewelry off of them. A bit of a gimmick, granted – by my hopes reached up. I thought I was going to see an entirely new take on this literally, war horse of a play. Then the play began, and all was back to the uninspired – – apart from placing the play in the Congo it was what I expected – – but then Tonya Pinkins, as Mother Courage, began to sing and I was right back there in the past with her in the front row of Caroline, or Change. Once she sings you can never forget that voice – – so beautiful, so rich, and so full of soul. NOW, I was in love with this show. Continue reading Mother Courage and Her Children→
I really didn’t want to see Once Upon a Mattress. What I really wanted to see was the “dream casting” that pitted Jackie Hoffman (Princess Winifred) and John “Lypsinka” Epperson (Queen Aggravain) together. I wanted to see this. But the problem was I had to sit through almost two hours of Once Upon a Mattress to get to this. It really wasn’t a bad production. Most of it felt like a very competent college production of Once Upon the Mattress that roped in two gay icons of the stage – – Hoffman and Lypsinka. If only there had been more of them and less of the rest. Continue reading Once Upon a Mattress→
Miss Julie
produced by Theatre of the Nations, Moscow
written by August Strindberg
adapted by Mikhail Durnenkov
Lincoln Center Festival
directed by Thomas Ostermeier
July 27, 2015 Production website 💉 out of 5
What in the hell was I supposed to be watching? I had the following choices throughout the entire production:
1. Snow falling around the circular revolving stage.
2. Sub-titles in 3 various screens.
3. A giant screen upstage with a down camera focused on the kitchen sink and stove top as food was made and dishes left dirty. For at least 30 minutes we simply watched a pile of dirty dishes being projected on the 20’ upstage screen.
4. And, oh, the actors – – them too.
Smartly I got tickets a good deal of distance from the stage so that my neck wasn’t unduly dislocated. Continue reading Miss Julie→
Shining City
