A 2021 Five Best List
In the past, my annual wrap up excluded Broadway but this year Broadway presented the bulk of the year’s outstanding works. [more]
Blogs
Little Christmas Miracles
Ideally, the good-natured play with music, "Little Christmas Miracles" would perform only at matinees before an audience mostly of eager children rather than seasoned theatergoers. [more]
Ziel Dance Theater: “Freedom ≠ Britney”
“Work Bitch,” “Oops! I Did It Again” and “Gimme More” are also among the choice hits included in the show’s delirious soundtrack, interspersed with audio statements by Britney Spears. [more]
Ziel Dance Theater: “And There it Was”
Magnificent leaps, graceful gestures with his hands and arms, grand turns, and Martial Arts-style moves are all to be experienced by Tomislav Nevistic’s exceptional modern dance technique. His choreography recalls the texture of Martha Graham, Paul Taylor’s wit and Twyla Tharp’s jauntiness. [more]
Scott Raneri: Extra! Extra!
The title, Extra! Extra! refers to Raneri’s past livelihood as a prolific screen background player in such television shows as The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. “I’m finally playing the lead part in a show, my own…” [more]
Ruth Stage and The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation
A highlight of the benefit is to be a rehearsal sequence of the troupe’s upcoming revival of "Cat on a Hot Tin" Roof, featuring cast members Alison Fraser and Austin Pendleton. The production will be directed by Joe Rosario. [more]
Trial on the Potomac: The Impeachment of Richard Nixon
Rich Little, belatedly making his New York stage debut in the role of Richard Nixon is the show’s magnetic anchor. Playwright George Bugatti crafts a wild scenario, meshing Allen Drury’s sense of political intrigue with Jules Feiffer’s absurdism. [more]
Two Jack Lemmon Triumphs
He died 20 years ago today at the age of 76. Why am I moved to note this anniversary? For the same reason I was compelled to see "Tribute" onstage. Viewing 1973’s "Save the Tiger" as a child in a second-run Bronx movie made me a Jack Lemmon admirer for life. [more]
Darryl Reilly: Podcast Guest
During Mr. Reilly’s breezy segment his life, career and views on theater were discussed. The Bronx-born Reilly has been a critic for seven years, is a member of the Drama Desk and has a BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. [more]
Grodin on Letterman
Grodin created his meta gag in 1973, which was that he was playing a snide and combative version of himself. He was so good at it that some audience members gasped at his rudeness and home viewers wrote in to complain at how nasty he was to Johnny Carson, who was in on the joke. [more]
George Rose Recalled
Highlights of Ed Dixon’s sharp writing and grand acting inlcude joyous recreations of George Rose in My Fair Lady and The Pirates of Penzance, a sad mini portrait of Ray Walston and being transported to the NYC acting world when a Hell’s Kitchen apartment could be rented for $70 a month. [more]
Consider Your Ass Kissed
“We have remained dear friends for 45 years, so I know the stories she has to tell. You’ll love this!” wrote Alex Trebek of Ruta Lee in his foreword. [more]
Edward Morehouse (1924 – 2021)
The HB Studio Facebook page thread about his death was filled with former students’ testimonials of his greatness. There was mention of a video of him on YouTube, it’s a revelation.
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The Importance of Being Earnest
Of course, there’s Wilde’s brilliance with his ingenious epigrams, the barbed skewering of the British class system and the precise plot. Most importantly, this glorious document preserves Brian Bedford magnificence. [more]
Gruesome Playground Injuries
Cameron Cueva Clarke and Logan Alexis Troyer , each offer riveting performances energetically rendering the poignant complexities of their dysfunctional characters. Director Tyler Riley’s charged staging in concert with Mr. Clarke’s creative conceptual direction achieves a Brechtian dimension of distance. [more]
John Cullum: An Accidental Star
This glorious career retrospective solo show by the 91-year-old two-time Tony Award-winner has been crisply filmed for streaming. [more]
Ruth Stage’s 50/50 Raffle
A distinguished local theater company’s pandemic-delayed revival of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” opens in January 2022, and there’s a novel raffle to fund it. [more]
The Bloomingdale Theater Company
NYC-based actor Connor Chase Stewart has founded a troupe which performs scenes from classic plays via Zoom as an artistic outlet during the pandemic. [more]
John Heilpern (1942-2021)
Darryl Reilly, Critic English journalist John Heilpern died of cancer at the age of 78 on January [more]
Remembering Jason Robards
The great American actor died 20 years ago today at the age of 78. I became fascinated with him during his 1970’s consecutive Oscar-winning renaissance.
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Listening Pleasures
Sam Fragoso, Gilbert Gottfried, Frank Santopadre and Studs Terkel’s broadcasts have provided me with entertainment and enlightenment during this pandemic. [more]
The 1970 Tony Awards
Darryl Reilly, Critic “This is my first award, so please be kind” cooed Noël Coward after he [more]
Stand-up on Allen Street
The atmosphere of a comedy club was replicated outside a NYC café at this Filipino-centric event held during the pandemic where polished comics entertained a masked audience. [more]
Stephanie Lynn Wilson (1953-2020)
This Bronx-born Off-Off-Broadway dynamo strove to put people of color on the stage in her substantive and empowering material. Appearing in one of her plays was so memorable. [more]
A 2020 Four Best List
With New York City theater in limbo for the foreseeable future, now seems the time to acknowledge the outstanding presentations of this COVID-19 era. [more]
My Circle in the Square
“Romeo and Juliet” at this unique theater was the first Broadway show I saw. Rex Harrison, George C. Scott and Brian Bedford were also memorable there. [more]
Jules Feiffer’s Grown Ups
This 1980’s obscure and brief-running dark work is my favorite play. I later met the author’s wife, which inspired Rupert Pupkin-style delusions.
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Pandemic Diversions
Darryl Reilly, Critic Like many, I have sought solace through entertainment during these first [more]
The Last Theater Show
Here are accounts of productions I attended just before live performances traumatically ceased in NYC due to COVID-19; one review was not published before. [more]
Vincent Price Was Oscar Wilde
There are happy and distracting memories to ponder while the arts and life are in limbo due to COVID-19. Lauren Bacall also appears in this recollection. [more]
In Praise of Frances Sternhagen on her 90th Birthday
As a seasoned New York theatergoer, I experienced her immense talents many times and today is cause to recall a few of her unheralded performances. [more]
Remembering Denise Winters (1953 – 2019)
Elaine Stritch and I were among the many stars and strivers whom this preeminent and gracious NYC photographer vividly rendered by her profound portraits. [more]
A 2019 Ten Best List
These superior revivals, bold new plays and a terrific solo show were the most fascinating and memorable productions I experienced this year.
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