Raphael Nash Thompson

The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window

March 6, 2023

Unfortunately, the latest revival now at the BAM Harvey Theater cannot be counted as having reversed the play’s fortunes. It still seems vastly overwritten and verbose as it attempts to cover too many topics (political corruption, anti-Semitism, racism, artistic fulfillment, prostitution, drug addiction, marriage, homosexuality, etc.) Almost no social issue of the day except foreign politics has been left out. At a current running time of three hours and five minutes with one intermission, the play seems long and lugubrious though it has a great deal to say that is admirable and prescient. The script being used could see a judicious edit and a pruning of topics covered. [more]

Mrs. Warren’s Profession

October 28, 2021

George Bernard Shaw’s once-banned problem comedy due to its controversial subject matter concerning prostitution, "Mrs. Warren’s Profession" has been given a stylish and elegant revival by the Gingold Theatrical Group which specializes in the plays of this master. As staged by artistic director David Staller and with a cast led by Karen Ziemba and Robert Cuccioli, the play is an entertaining story investigating hypocrisy in society, mother-daughter relationship, and the rights of women. While most of the shock value has worn off since the play was first written in 1893, the play’s message is still timely and relevant. Banned from the stage for 32 years in England after it was written, the play now seems to have come into its own with previous New York revivals that have starred such legendary actresses as Ruth Gordon, Lynn Redgrave, Uta Hagen and Dana Ivey. [more]

Heartbreak House

September 14, 2018

Gingold Theatrical Group’s "Heartbreak House" is an interesting but misguided attempt to update Shaw’s Edwardian masterpiece and make it seem more relevant to our times. Despite the stellar cast, the unfocused production by the usually reliable David Staller undermines much of the play’s humor and message. While the adept cast is stylish, they never gel into a true ensemble. This new version adapted from Shaw’s earlier 1914 script rather than the more famous 1919 published text will be of interest to Shaw devotees who will have never seen this rendering before. [more]

The Red Letter Plays: Fucking A & In the Blood

October 2, 2017

Having spent nearly five hours in the company of Ms. Parks’ parade of these beautifully written characters I find myself conflicted about these plays. She is brilliant at generating fire with the source of the heat difficult to pinpoint. It’s her talent to write dramas which sizzle, constructed in her strange vernacular, yet somehow leave too many questions unanswered, the better to prove her one-sided stories. [more]

Pericles (Theatre for a New Audience)

March 7, 2016

Nunn’s adaptation rearranges some of the scenes and adds material from a prose version of the work by George Wilkins, believed to be Shakespeare’s collaborator. Using music, song, dancing, jousting and a veritable rainbow of colorful costumes, he has created an epic-sized revival that is always eye-filling and easy to follow. While some of the acting is uneven in this large cast of 29 including seven members of the Pigpen Theater Co., it must be said that this is not one of Shakespeare’s best plays as it makes use of unexpected events, many locations, and a large canvas, rather than psychological depth and deathless poetry. [more]