Tony Frankel

ALTHOUGH BUMPY, MERRILY DOES INDEED ROLL ALONG Because Actors Co-op’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Merrily We Roll Along whirls along like a carnival ride, you would think the centrifugal force of Richard Israel’s staging would have actors flying from the stage. The opening number, “That Frank†has players smoothly whipping around at just the…

THE TALE OF THE JOURNALIST’S STRIFE Some playwrights have all the luck: Charles Busch wrote a series of theatrical cult hits in the 1980’s, such as Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, that were concurrently a send up and homage to classic movie genres; the main reason they were so damn funny is that Mr. Busch donned…

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD Playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins wants you to think about what you think about race in America. His agitprop play,  Neighbors, is intentionally provocative, knowingly provocative, and (wisely so) humorously provocative. His intention is to stir up the debate regarding race in America (specifically black versus white). His setting is a suburban neighborhood where…

STREEPED DOWN TO NOTHING A friend called me and said that comedian Roy Cruz, who reenacted Meryl Streep as Miranda Priestly (The Devil Wears Prada) in his stand-up act, decided to collect an impressive array of actors to perform an evening of monologues from Meryl movies. You have to see Taylor Negron do Sophie’s Choice,…

NOW IS THE WITHERS OF OUR DISCONTENT For 15 years, the Troubadour Theater Company (AKA, The Troubies) have amalgamated freely altered classics with music of a particular artist – creating riotous sketch/improv/entertainments that are liberally seasoned with an air of Commedia dell’Arte; this gives the immensely talented players the opportunity to act, sing, dance, improvise,…

MILLER CLASSIC STILL DELIVERS Emmanuel Ax brought new life to Brahms Concerto No. 2 last week at the Hollywood Bowl. Should you then refuse to see the piece with another pianist? Of course not. Arthur Miller’s All My Sons, which received an astounding rendering recently at the Raven, deserves to be seen in the revival…

AN EXERCISE IN FUTILITY Reviewer on the phone with his editor: “Listen, I got a problem. I just got out of The Exercise over at The Lounge Theatre. Listen, it’s not going to be a pretty review. I feel almost maligned. I’m so upset that I can’t – nor do I even want – to…

SCOTTISH TRAGEDY AS DARK RIDE Those of you who love amusement parks will know that a “dark ride†is an indoor attraction where riders in guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain sound, special effects, animation, and music – from non-thematic Boardwalk Love Canals to truncated storytelling, such as “Snow White’s Scary…

ELEVATOR Â IS A GREAT RIDE, BUT IT NEEDS A LITTLE LIFT [EDITOR’S NOTE: This review is of the original production; a much more savvy revival is at the Coast Playhouse. See info below the review.] Elevator, a promising new play at The Hudson Guild about seven people who get trapped in an elevator, takes a while…

IT’S WORTH THE WALK You want to watch a movie, so you go to the video store to rent one, only the selection is so vast that you just close your eyes and pick. Take a friend with you and suddenly the choices become limited because they have already seen what you want to see….

PROMISING DOG BARKS, BUT IT NEEDS TO BITE In the current production of Topdog/Underdog, now playing at the Lillian Theatre, it’s difficult to cull a deeper meaning within Suzan-Lori Park’s 2002 Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Two black con artist brothers, Lincoln (Link) and Booth, share a squalid boarding house room in New York. Booth is determined…

ENTERTAINING MUSICAL ABOUT AGING NEEDS MATURING This is a difficult review to write: On one hand,  40 is the New 15  is a pleasant musical about forty year-olds who take a look at the choices they made in high school, going back and forth in time from 1983 to 2008. The characters are likeable, the acting is…