TheaterLab

Garden of Alla: The Alla Nazimova Story

June 22, 2022

Romy Nordlinger has written and is performing the monodrama, "Garden of Alla: The Alla Nazimova Story," at the TheaterLab. Directed by Lorca Peress, "Garden of Alla" gives us this eccentrically talented artist up close and personal. Nordlinger has a history of portraying Nazimova and has honed her interpretation to the point that it fits her like a second skin, helped by Peress’ sense of pacing and stagecraft. [more]

This Beautiful Future

January 17, 2022

First presented in London in 2017, this shimmering U.S. premiere affirms its acclaim. The Australian-born Ms. Kalnejais’ writing is highly crafted, imaginative and affective. Kalnejais was inspired by a 2016 museum exhibition containing W.W. II-era film footage to create this entrancing historical tale during a sense of worldwide political chaos. “I wanted to write something hopeful and delicious and gorgeous and put something gorgeous out into the world,” she has said in an interview. [more]

Charlie’s Waiting

April 10, 2019

Ludovica Villar-Hauser, the play’s keen eyed and eared director (and artistic director of Parity Productions the company responsible for this presentation), paces the fine actors for the ultimate tension, making the most of every innuendo. All three actors portray their characters with subtlety, their eyes revealing as much as their voices, carefully avoiding sliding into what might have been melodrama. [more]

Experimenting with Katz

October 3, 2018

Gill expertly writes each character as three dimensional, giving each complex backgrounds, making it clear that each benefits from knowing the others. A mundane Scrabble game is as revealing as Truth or Dare. Phone calls uncover the wonderful interdependencies of this group. [more]

Shooter

March 17, 2018

Mr. Graber’s trite scenario is rendered as a superficial by-the-numbers treatment and the presentation is overwrought. Near the end there is an exchange between Jim and Gavin as they sit on stools during an awkward party. The writing and acting are intense and coupled with the simplicity of the situation, the reaction is, “Ah! THIS is the play!” Unfortunately, it’s only a tantalizing respite from the hollow machinations that have come before and the inevitable strobe-light and roaring finale. [more]

The Woman Who Was Me

May 29, 2017

Mr. Grandbois’ engrossing scenario is in the vein of such feminist fantastical works as "Diary of a Mad Housewife" and "Up the Sandbox." An expedition to a salsa dance club, buying a puppy from gypsies behind a Home Depot, watching Clash of The Titans on television with her son and a trip to the zoo are rendered with exquisite literary detail that’s simultaneously comic and moving. Looking into an old mirror becomes a Proustian reverie of Lanie’s recollections of her dead grandmother. [more]