Lindsey Ferrentino

The Queen of Versailles

November 17, 2025

Reunited with Chenoweth for the first time since "Wicked," Schwartz once again benefits tremendously from a genuine member of Broadway royalty who, roughly two decades ago, as the original Glinda, turned a bunch of prosaic songs into popular ones (critic takes ostentatious bow). While the score for "The Queen of Versailles" will not survive in our collective memory (please, no!), Chenoweth, as always, gives it her considerable best, particularly when showing off her coloratura soprano to Marie Antoinette (Cassondra James). That would be worth a severely reduced price of admission, if not for the frustrating inconsistencies of Schwartz's lyrics and Lindsey Ferrentino's book, which eventually turn unconscionable. [more]

This Flat Earth

April 13, 2018

But, unfortunately, Ferrentino squanders this intriguing setup, getting lost in existential musings that end up being nowhere near as complicated as her subject matter. The first signs of trouble are actually percolating even before the play begins. As we enter the theater, Cloris (Lynda Gravátt), Julie and Dan’s elderly neighbor, is already perched in the upstairs apartment of Dane Laffrey’s two-story set. And there she remains for the entire play, a constant presence hovering over the action below. Initially, you wonder about her and, then, you feel sorry for the actor, hoping she’ll be given something more to do than just putter around. Eventually, however, after a couple of pat exchanges with Julie, it all becomes cringingly clear. Cloris isn’t a character at all; she’s an inspirational device, one that Ferrentino unleashes with full, and shameless, force at the play’s tear-jerking conclusion. [more]

Amy and the Orphans

March 13, 2018

Casting of Brewer (best known for her several roles on "American Horror Story"), an individual with Down syndrome, is a real coup as she doesn’t have to be inventing a role she knows intimately. Her feistiness, timing and personality make Amy a three dimensional character from the time we first meet her. (A program note tells us that her understudy is another individual with Down syndrome, Edward Barbanell and when he plays the part the play is known as "Andy and the Orphans" in a rewritten version.) Another note reveals that Ferrentino’s heroine is based on her Aunt Amy who grew up with Down syndrome when the medical community had no idea how to deal with it except to institutionalize such people rather than to give them training and support. The play is a fitting tribute to Ferrentino’s aunt who the playwright never got to know as much as she would have liked. [more]