Normandy Sherwood

Two Sisters Find a Box of Lesbian Erotica in the Woods

April 8, 2025

Horwitz and Williams perfectly match each others’ energy on stage. Indeed, at times it seems as if each is trying to one-up the other’s exaggerated mannerisms. In one scene, a famous artist might dip into nonsensical French phrase, only for an interviewer to ratchet it up further by over-emphasizing an accent on a word that doesn’t need it. One might not-so-subtly flirt by bringing up a mutual past lover while the other awkwardly deflects, only spurring on further attempts. Throughout each scene, the pair’s back-and-forth is consistently excellent. They have an easygoing chemistry that makes every scenario feel fresh. [more]

Racecar Racecar Racecar

December 14, 2024

Sarah Blush directs a cast of five in the story of a father and daughter on a road trip from New York City to a storage unit in California. It is a trip that is both se in the present and past, and it is filled with a flow of information that mixes reality with fantasy in a liminal space between sanity and insanity. This story operates from a different dimension the moment one walks into the performance space. The set is a large orange square, shag-carpeted pit with no clues as to the staging. The two principal characters making this trip by car never sit as if they are in a car but casually walk the raised outside edge of the box. It is an element of this stagecraft that adds beautifully to the edginess of the production. [more]

Madame Lynch

May 31, 2019

Eliza Lynch (1833-1886) was an Irishwoman who grew up in France and became a courtesan. In 1854 she began a relationship with Francisco Solano López, the son of Paraguay’s president. He later succeeded his father and Lynch became First Lady. He was killed in battle in 1870. Her time in Paraguay was controversial as she was thought to have instigated wars and conflicts. She was banished and returned to France, dying in obscurity. Thank you, Wikipedia, for these details because they’re scant in this treatment. Ms. Sherwood and Mr. Flanagin are more concerned with superficial theatrics rather than concretely crafting a comprehensible narrative chronicling the life of a fascinating figure who was a cross between "Barry Lyndon" and "Evita." [more]

The Black Crook

September 25, 2016

The creators of this version combined songs from the period—several probably used in the original production—with a pared-down version of the second-rate melodrama written with by Charles Barras (portrayed as always rattled and put upon by Steven Rattazzi), who tells his side of the story while also playing the romantic lead, Roldolphe, in the actual "Black Crook." [more]