Incognito
written by Nick Payne
directed by Doug Hughes
Manhattan Theatre Club
June 26, 2016 Production website
💉💉 out of 5.
I need to apologize to all upfront – I had trouble being attentive to this story. Rack it up to age or the being the 15th show in a week – but some of this story just slid on by me. The brain is no easy story – and this play is all about the brain. (I found it ironic that my first play on this trip to NYC was The Effect and my last show of this trip was Incognito: one trying to medicate the brain and the other walking around and taunting it. Continue reading Incognito→
Fully Committed
written by Becky Mode
starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson
directed by Jason Moore
Lyceum Theatre
June 22, 2016 Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
First I need to apologize for having never seen Modern Family so I have never see Mr. Ferguson’s uptight Mitchell. Often when I go to theatre in NYC, I am reminded how LITTLE TV I actually watch. It’s not that I am “above” TV; I simply do not have the habit.
As the show started, I had a few fears. One: I saw this huge, complicated set placing us in the basement of the ultra-popular restaurant in question. I worried that this set might get in the way of the play, and that I might actually long to see the play in its home at the Vineyard Theatre years ago. I was right. This set just seemed to swallow the actor rather then bring him to the forefront. Continue reading Fully Committed→
School of Rock
book by Julian Fellowes
Lyrics by Glenn Slater
music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
directed by Laurance Connor
Winter Garden Theatre
June 20, 2016 Production website
💉💉 out of 5.
I knew it was going to be loud. I knew that lights were going to bounce out and blind you. I knew that the audience was going to be full of tourists that would be flashing their cell phones, chomping their gum, and and doing live-time commentary on the show as it played out. I knew that the stage was going to have lots and lots of cute kids. I mean seriously cute kids. I mean where in the world did they grow these cute kids? I knew that the electric guitar was going to be the selling point of the evening. And I went. Continue reading School of Rock→
The Sandbox by Edward Albee Drowning
by Maria Irene Fornes Funnyhouse of a Negro
by Adrienne Kennedy
Lila Neugebauer
Signature Theatre
June 16, 2016 Production website
💉💉 out of 5.
Never in history have these three particular one acts been grouped together in one evening’s work. Of course, the reason they were pasted together is to mark the 25th anniversary of the Signature Theatre. Each of these one acts were produced by Signature Theatre during their playwright’s original residency. Continue reading Signature Plays: The Sandbox, Drowning, & Funny House of a Negro→
A Celebration of Harold Pinter
written by Harold Pinter
starring Julian Sands
directed by John Malkovich
The Irish Repertory Theatre
March 19, 2016 Production website
💉💉 out of 5
I really need to schedule that first show back in New York more carefully. After having been away from grown-up theatre for a few weeks/months my ear gets a little lazy. Way too many episodes of COPS and Jail (two of my decidedly guilty pleasures) have dumbed down my ear to mere shouting a few curse words. I have the attention span of a sparrow and an almost barbiturate response to a story asking more than 5 minutes of my time. Continue reading A Celebration of Harold Pinter→
Incognito
