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Theater
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Off-Broadway Review: ANTIGONE IN ANALYSIS (Peculiar Works Project at La MaMa)
A FEMINIST REFRAME Peculiar Works Project’s ambitious reimagining offers striking ideas but struggles to make its case with uneven execution Alessandra Lopez There’s an ancient folktale of a hero who arranges a proper burial for a corpse, whose spirit—the “grateful dead”—would later come to the hero’s aid. A common story passed around to emphasize the…
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Theater Review: THE CUTTLEFISH, OR THE HYRCANIAN WORLDVIEW (Trap Door Theatre)
PHILOSOPHY, FARCE, AND ART UNDER SIEGE Witkiewicz’s dense, absurdist text sparks to life— until unnecessary asides break the spell Gus Thomas and Venice Averyheart Theatre does not get much more high-minded than The Cuttlefish, or the Hyrcanian Worldview, now on stage at Trap Door Theatre in Bucktown. This 1922 play from Polish surrealist Stanisław I….
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Theater Interview: RICHARD CHANG (张德胜) (Playwright and Performer of “Ai Yah Goy Vey!”)
Playwright-Performer Richard Chang Turns Reductionism Into Multiculturalism Years ago, while riding the subway, playwright Richard Chang witnessed passengers snickering at a Chinese battery seller advertising his wares in a thick Cantonese accent. Raised in the melting pot of Malaysia, Chang considered how the American landscape reduced a marginalized stranger into a laughable spectacle. It was…
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Theater Review: GODS & MONSTERS (New Conservatory Theatre Center)
OLD HOLLYWOOD, QUEER LONELINESS, AND A LEGEND’S FINAL ACT A well-acted and atmospheric production brings James Whale’s twilight years to vivid life Jason M. Blackwell, Donald Currie, Francine Torres New Conservatory Theater’s new Artistic Director Ben Villas Randle was on hand for opening night for his first production: Gods & Monsters. If the title sounds…
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Theater Review: SEX, LIES AND HAROLD PINTER
CIVILITY ON THE BRINK OF CHAOS Jack Heller’s polished production reveals Pinter’s menace, even if it could use a bit more disorder First, a joke: “How many Harold Pinters does it take to change a light bulb?” Answer: “Change?”(pause)“A light bulb? Into what?(pause)“Ah, asparagus.” In many ways, Harold Pinter (1930–2008) was a literary assault on…
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Theater Review: THE COLOR PURPLE (Zephyr Theatre, Chromolume Theatre Company)
CAN ANYONE SAVE THIS MUSICAL? A committed cast and strong vocals can’t overcome a rushed, softened adaptation that drains the story’s power In their mission statement, Chromolume Theatre is “dedicated to presenting Broadway’s forgotten musical theatre gems.” So, for their current production, they’re doing The Color Purple at The Zephyr Theatre. With two major Broadway…
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Theater Review: ||: GIRLS :||: CHANCE :||: MUSIC :|| (American Conservatory Theater’s Strand Theater)
FINDING THEIR VOICE A thoughtful coming-of-age story that avoids the usual clichés American Conservatory Theater’s Strand Theater on Market Street tends to showcase new playwrights and emerging voices, in contrast to its mainstage on Geary Street, which features more traditional fare. Currently on offer is Girls: Chance: Music: by Eisa Davis, a world premiere co-production…
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Theater Review: WHITE ROOSTER (Lookingglass Theatre)
FOLKLORE, GHOSTS, AND THE WEIGHT OF THE DEAD Matthew C. Yee’s wildly ambitious world premiere dazzles, even as its larger shape remains elusive Death, and coming to terms with it, have been fertile ground for the theatre since its inception. In White Rooster, multi-hyphenate Matthew C. Yee—he writes! He directs! He acts! He composes!—examines death…
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Theater Review: MONTE CRISTO (The York Theatre)
A HANDSOME, AMBITIOUS REVENGE MUSICAL TAKES SHAPE Strong design and performances elevate Dumas’ tale, even as tonal shifts occasionally blur its focus The York Theatre’s ambitious world premiere of the new musical Monte Cristo stages Alexandre Dumas’ revenge-driven tale of Edmond Dantès (Adam Jacobs), an innocent man wrongfully imprisoned by a corrupt system and betrayed…
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Theater Review: THE BEST BOARDING HOUSE IN DELAWARE (Electric Lodge)
HOME IS WHERE THE HORROR IS A boarding house of quiet menace and killer detail Writer/director Marja-Lewis Ryan is back, and her latest show arrives at The Electric Lodge in Venice with a killer premise and, thankfully, a production that knows exactly how to serve it: not with winks or indulgence, but with precision, restraint,…
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Off-Broadway Review: ABOUT TIME (Marjorie S. Dean Little Theater)
GETTING OLDER NEVER SOUNDED SO GOOD A richly satisfying Maltby and Shire revue finds warmth, wit, and wisdom in growing older Lynne Wintersteller, Sally Wilfert, Allyson Kaye Daniel While it may be true that getting old (excuse me, getting older) is no picnic, a taste of that period of life is more palatable—even sweet—when accompanied…
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Theater Review: CHICAGO (Desert Theatricals)
CHICAGO IS EVEN HOTTER IN THE DESERT Desert Theatricals just wrapped up their run of Chicago at the Rancho Mirage Amphitheater, and if you weren’t there this past weekend, you truly missed out on a spectacular night under the stars. It’s one thing to see this show in a traditional theater, but there’s something about…
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Off-Broadway Review: BIGFOOT! (New York City Center Stage 1)
BIGFOOT! BRINGS DOWNTOWN MUSICAL MISCHIEF UPTOWN A raunchy, campy comedy with big laughs, big fur, and a surprisingly sharp anti-capitalist bite It’s not every day downtown theater energy comes uptown; when it does, it’s almost always sanitized and robbed of the charm and authenticity that made it so deliciously twisted in the first place. Luckily,…
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Opera Review: MADAMA BUTTERFLY (Lyric Opera)
A REIMAGINED BUTTERFLY WHERE REALITY MEETS FANTASY What is it about Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly (1904) that lures audiences back year after year, especially in the United States? Madama Butterfly might be one of the few canonical operas featuring an American character (Pinkerton), but it is by no means a flattering portrait of him. The…
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Theater Review: SUNSET BLVD. (Palm Canyon Theatre)
READY FOR HER CLOSE-UP IN PALM SPRINGS Palm Canyon Theatre’s Sunset Blvd. finds a commanding Norma Desmond and a powerful ensemble Se Layne Although Andrew Lloyd Webber turned Billy Wilder’s classic 1950 film noir Sunset Blvd. into a musical almost three decades ago, it is not tackled by schools or community theatres very often for…
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Theater Review: FAIRVIEW (Rogue Machine Theatre)
WHEN COMFORT TURNS INTO A TRAP Jackie Sibblies Drury’s Pulitzer-winning play dismantles what we think we’re watching Marie-Françoise Theodore, iesha m. daniels Writing honestly about Fairview without ruining it is close to a contradiction in terms. The play runs on surprise, on jolts timed so precisely that a critic who telegraphs them is doing active…
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Theater Review: THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre)
AIN’T NOTHING DROWSY ABOUT THIS CHAPERONE Theo Ubique’s joyous revival of the Tony-winning musical turned this critic into a tap-dancing, high-kicking fool. Darian Goulding as Aldolpho In a cozy, well-used apartment, a small man sits in a comfortable armchair. With his brow furrowed and his voice riddled with anxiety, he talks to us about music….
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Theater Review: AN ACT OF GOD (Roustabouts Theatre Company at Scripps Ranch Theatre)
LORD HAVE MERCY! Roustabouts Theatre’s irreverent comedy lets Samantha Ginn unleash a hilariously blunt deity Samantha Ginn Playwright David Javerbaum pulls no punches in this hysterical, irreverent look at the heavenly father (now a mother) and her two angel sidekicks. The play borders on blasphemous, and if this would bother you, move right along because…
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Theater Review: THE TALE OF THE ALLERGIST’S WIFE (Plaza Theatre in Palm Springs)
If you were lucky enough to be in the audience at the historic Palm Springs Plaza Theatre on Friday evening, you witnessed something rarer—and more electric—than a standard play. The second installment of the inaugural rePLAY series delivered a “script-in-hand” performance of Charles Busch’s The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife that proved, beyond a doubt,…
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Off-Broadway Review: THE PAPARAZZI (AMT Theater)
EXTRA! EXTRA! SING ALL ABOUT IT A musical about paparazzi culture delivers energy and tunes but could stand to sharpen its storytelling Brogan Nelson, Jack Rasmussen The new musical The Paparazzi, now playing at AMT Theater, takes aim at celebrity gossip culture with a story about ambition, scandal, and the price of chasing headlines. To…
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