Lynn F. Angelson Theater

Ivanov (Initiative Productions)

August 30, 2026

Currently to be seen at the Lynn F. Angelson Theater, adaptor/director Laura Strausfeld has renamed her production "The Real Ivanov," a streamlined version which “preserves almost every line and all of the major characters.” This riveting version performed without intermission reduces the three hour play (with breaks between the acts) to a fast 100 minutes in which the audience sits on all four sides of the playing area, putting us in the arena with Chekhov’s characters. Much of this is due to Jiyoun Chang’s scenic design which uses one item in each of the four acts to set the stage for the different scenes allowing for instant transformations: a bench in Act I, a rug in Act II, a desk and chair for Act III, and a red carpet signifying a hallway for the wedding scene in Act IV. As we have gotten used to a great deal of realistic scenery in recent years, it is amazing how unnecessary it appears to be if the actors create the ambiance and the milieu. [more]

Cymbeline

January 31, 2025

The modern verse translation reasonably maintains a semblance of the Elizabethan iambic pentameter form supported by the ensemble's solid delivery of the lines. People familiar with Elizabethan dramatic poetry may be put off by the change in the wording but not necessarily by the presentation of the text. Overall, it is an enjoyable show worth spending time on whether or not one is an admirer of Elizabethan drama done to a modern beat. [more]

Assassins

November 18, 2021

As always in a John Doyle presentation, the production is professional, polished and accomplished. This time around he has not made changes to the script or the score except to include the climactic song “Something Just Broke” which was not in the original Off Broadway production but was added to the first London version in 1992 and has been used ever since. While the actors give excellent performances, the revival lacks emotion and heart which is strange considering the number of characters who die or who are wounded in the course of the show. It is as though they (and we) are numbed by much depiction of killing. Is there a way to fix this in a show which repeatedly has its cast shooting at presidents of the United States, in this case only in a fun house setting? [more]

Macbeth (Classic Stage Company)

October 28, 2019

There has been a recent trend to perform Shakespeare as minimally as possible and with as few actors as possible. However, the question arises what is gained? When the doubling of roles proves confusing so that when actors appear it is difficult to know who they are playing, what is the point? Here the two actors who play the murderers Macbeth hires to kill Banquo report to him and then take their seats with the guests at his banquet which is quite disconcerting. In Doyle’s version, Macbeth himself kills Lady Macduff and her children rather than his henchmen – so who is minding the palace? Antonio Michael Woodard, the young man who plays Banquo’s son Fleance, appears in this scene as Macduff’s son but we know we have seen him before. [more]

The Cradle Will Rock

April 6, 2019

Many of Blitzstein’s melodic tunes are plunked out on the piano by several of the players at various points. But the fault is not only due to Doyle’s direction: what’s missing from Blitzstein’s "The Cradle Will Rock" is the heart and or soul that every musical requires. It’s a wannabe musical or opera that, ironically, lacks substance, given its heavy-hitting intentions. [more]

Mies Julie

February 12, 2019

Yaël Farber’s adaptation of Strindberg’s classic "Miss Julie," "Mies Julie" shifts the scene and setting from 1880’s Sweden to the Karoo in South Africa on Freedom Day in 2012--or the anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s election in 1994--which is long after apartheid was outlawed. Such changes shift Strindberg’s focus on the class system to matters of racism and apartheid today, when, despite any suggestions that we’ve transcended such problems, racist incidents continue to be in the news every day. They also make the play far more relevant than the antique penned by Strindberg, although ironically, it was far ahead of its time when it was written. [more]