Paola Bellu

BUZZARDS, BOOTY, AND BECOMING NSangou Njikam’s A Freeky Introduction soars with swagger, satire, and sacred disruption. “An eagle was born in a nest of buzzards,” proclaimed playwright and performer NSangou Njikam in the comical opening monologue of A Freeky Introduction, his new work that opened tonight at Atlantic Stage 2. As Freeky Dee, he embodies…

CHEKHOV WITH TEETH For those who’ve never bought the notion that Chekhov’s The Seagull is simply about broken hearts, director Alexander Molochnikov’s take on the play offers a thrilling, subversive vindication. His Seagull: True Story, now showing at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, is no conventional revival. Brilliantly written by Eli Rarey, it is part…

GODDESS ISN’T JUST A SHOW, IT’S A CALLING. ANSWER IT. Goddess, which opened at The Public Theater tonight, doesn’t just arrive onstage like any musical—but like a warm and joyful jazz riff. Loosely inspired by the legend of Marimba, the African goddess who turned heartbreak into healing music, it succeeds in blending folklore with funk,…

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” ~ Oscar Wilde The Louvre, Uffizi, and Hermitage may dazzle you with their emphasis on fine arts, the British Museum may educate you with its historical range, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art does it all; it is undoubtedly the Eighth Wonder of…

CHERRIES WITH A FEW PITS Anton Chekhov’s final play, The Cherry Orchard, is a masterwork of dramatic irony. It was written in 1903 as a dark comedy but it was always more akin to a tragedy, especially with the original Stanislavski’s direction full of psychological realism and emotional truth. A new wild version, written &…

FIERCE CRAIC A really enjoyable, light-hearted, raucous comedy just opened at The Irish Repertory Theatre: the world premiere of Irishtown by Ciara Elizabeth Smyth, directed by Nicola Murphy Dubey. In a building on the outskirts of Dublin, The Irishtown Players, three actors, a playwright and a director, are rehearsing a new play, a sexual assault…

Brecht once said, “In the dark times, will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing. About the dark times.” This must have been the inspiration for A Mother, a truly amusing collection of heartfelt life snippets by writer Neena Beber, co-conceived with actress Jessica Hecht, now playing at Baryshnikov Arts. It is not…

LIFE IS LIKE A CARTON OF EGGS; YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT YOU’RE GOING TO GET UNTIL YOU CRACK ONE OPEN How do we cope with the loss of control in a crisis? Imagine two couples (one from Manhattan, the other from Los Angeles) that meet for an idyllic winter vacation in a secluded cabin Upstate…

URINE FOR A GOOD TIME SO, MIND YOUR PEES AND QUEUES It’s the perfect time for a Urinetown revival. Twenty-four years after its successful Broadway debut, City Center’s Encores! returns with a rousing production. This satirical musical takes place in a dystopian future where a severe water shortage has led to a draconian system of…