Into the Woods
Patina Miller as The Witch in a scene from the New York City Center Encores! Production of “Into [more]
Kennedy Kanagawa
Decky Does a Bronco
Making is U.S. debut 19 years after its Scottish premiere in an actual park, Douglas Maxwell’s "Decky Does a Bronco" is a worthy addition to the dramatic literature of plays about childhood and the loss of innocence. Under the direction of Ethan Nienaber, the talented cast of five gives indelible performances which remain with the viewer long after the final curtain. The guilty that the narrator David’s expresses as to what he might have done differently leaves a poignancy that cuts very deep. [more]
Lolita, My Love
The York Theatre Company is to be applauded for taking the risk of staging this famously controversial musical in its New York premiere. It is also fulfilling its mission to bring to the stage musicals of quality that might not be done elsewhere. As Alan Jay Lerner is one of the legendary giants of the musical theater, it is a pleasure to be able to see this lost musical in a workable version. However, despite the excellent staging by director Emily Maltby, "Lolita, My Love," the casting still seems problematic and the musical is ultimately disappointing. And while music director Deniz Cordell has performed yeoman's work reconstructing the score and playing it entirely solo at the piano, John Barry’s music is not aided by being heard in this cut-down orchestration. [more]
Dinner with Georgette
Michel Foucault and Walt Whitman are quoted offstage at the beginning of "Dinner With Georgette." It’s riddled with pretentious nonsense masquerading as profundity and this bit is a harbinger of what’s to come. The playwright, Obie award-winning theater artist and Brown University alumnus Rick Burkhardt piles on academic inanities for one hour and 40 minutes in this leaden saga. The abrasive dialogue has the characters refer to themselves in the third person and comment on the actions, addressing the audience directly. [more]