La Mama E.T.C.

And Then We Were No More

October 11, 2025

As a playwright Tim Blake Nelson has always been interested in moral and ethical problems in such play as "The Grey Zone," "Eye of God" and "Socrates." His latest play "And Then We Were No More" now at La MaMa E.T.C. is also about such knotty questions but this one is set in the near future. A dystopian drama, "And Then We Were No More" investigates a justice system no longer interested in mercy but in an algorithm which makes all decisions. Mark Wing-Davey’s production featuring acclaimed actress Elizabeth Marvel is glacially cool in the manner of sci-fi movies that have something serious on their mind. The play has some resonance for the times we are living through now. [more]

How to Eat an Orange

June 4, 2024

This is the story of Claudia Bernardi, a visual artist and activist, as told in a one-woman show, "How to Eat an Orange." It tells of Bernardi’s time growing up in Argentina in the profound gloom of the military junta and the stories of the “desaparecidos,” the missing ones. It was written by Catherine Filloux, a French Algerian American playwright who traveled to and wrote plays about human rights conflicts in countries worldwide. She brings a first-hand narrative understanding of what Bernardi experienced during and after the time of the junta and her work in other countries with this collection of desaparecidos' stories. [more]

There’s Blood at the Wedding

May 29, 2018

Packed into Theodora Skipitares’ "There’s Blood at the Wedding" are multiple takes on how authorities have abused their powers, too often killing innocent people. By theatricalizing and stylizing their stories, Skipitares zooms past the political and digs deeply into the emotional debris left over after a series of brilliantly staged traumatic scenes. [more]

Distant Observer: Tokyo/New York Correspondence

March 26, 2018

Kotoba Dan and Samuel Im in a scene from John Jesurun and Takeshi Kawamura’s “Distant Observer: Tokyo/New York…

Noted theater artist John Jesurun wrote the opening sequence. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Jesurun engaged in a collaboration with Japanese playwright and director Takeshi Kawamura. They each wrote alternating 10-minute sections with Aya Ogawa translating the Japanese portions into English. This technique is an homage to the Japanese poetical form renga where different authors contribute to a poem. [more]

The Pill

January 29, 2018

This comedy/drama/fitful musical also suffers from major tonal challenges, as it strains to push all of our emotional buttons. It’s a shame, because the cast gives it their all. Particularly good is Zoe Wilson, as Leni, a severely depressed teenager whose body dysmorphia has led to self-cutting and bouts of suicidal ideation. Wilson is just the right mix of pained and angry. Whenever she speaks, or sings, The Pill feels centered and we’re ready to delve deeper into Leni’s personal struggles. [more]

Conquest of the Universe Or When Queens Collide

November 13, 2017

Shane Baker, Jeanne Lauren Smith, Everett Quinton, Lenys Samá and Géraldine Dulex in a scene from “Conquest of the Universe…

Played to perfection with an infectious joy by one and all, the entire cast also takes a deadly serious attitude towards their lines and their actions. Indeed Ludlam’s "Conquest" invokes "Hamlet" in its final scene, when many of the characters die--even following a previous “gravedigger” scene. And as staged by Quinton, the final “banquet” scene also invokes Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” All I can say is, go and enjoy! [more]

The Last Days of Judas Iscariot

March 21, 2017

Javier Molina as Satan, Gabriel Furman as Judas, and Michael Billingsley as Jesus of Nazareth in a scene from “The Last…

And what of the play which had its world premiere at the Public Theater in 2005? Parsons’ uneven production cannot keep this long play from seeming unwieldy. In fact, using so many actors is almost distracting as some of them are simply walk-ons, and disappear almost immediately. The new production seems less trenchant and more like a vaudeville with its set pieces than Philip Seymour Hoffman’s original staging. Nevertheless, the play still retains a cumulative effect and is ultimately compelling. [more]

This is Mary Brown

June 19, 2015

Brown portrays a myriad of characters including her father, siblings, mother, and other family members seamlessly – giving the audience a taste of what the family dynamic was like. She recounts the joyful moments such as her parents meeting and falling in love as well as the sorrowful ones – the children discovering their mother’s drinking problem and then deciding how to share the responsibility when it came to an intervention. There is no doubt that this Irish family has personality – but the realness and strength emerges from the ashes. [more]

On the Conditions and Possibilities of Hillary Clinton Taking Me as Her Young Lover

March 18, 2015

Arthur Meek in a scene from Richard Meros' “On the Conditions and Possibilities of Hillary Clinton Taking Me as Her Young…

Whether or not I am convinced that Hillary Clinton needs to take a lover, and indeed how confident I am in Meek’s sexual aptitude for the task, the presentation was a great success triggering booming laughter thanks to a wit wholly unaccounted for in this age in America, a repartee most welcome to this writer. [more]