Sarah Johnson

The Tempest (Teatro Grattacielo)

July 21, 2026

Don’t attend the world premiere of Joseph Summer’s new opera version of William Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" expecting to recognize the text or the characters. Both the libretto by Eve Summer and staging by Teatro Grattacielo’s artistic director Stefanos Koroneos have done their own thing with the original. If you don’t read the program notes before the performance you may be rather confused as to the approach. According to the statement from Koroneos in the program, he imagines Prospero, normally the deposed Duke of Milan, as a film director inside a crumbling 1980s film studio. The enchanted island is filled with inflatable tropical plants, cheap plastic pink flamingos and plastic vines, with a cameraman quietly recording it all. Prospero, previously a magician in thrall to his books, is here seen at an old-fashioned typewriter turning out pages to what one assumes is his latest screenplay. However, if you have not read the notes none of this will be obvious. You may find yourself confused by the typing. [more]

Open

June 19, 2019

Skillman unfolds an achingly beautiful story, dropping bits and pieces of Kristen’s thoughts and memories as she balances her tightrope of love, commitment, sacrifice and transformation. Hill’s performance as Kristen is funny, honest, compelling and heartbreaking; one cannot take their eyes off her, and it’s not because she is the sole occupant of the stage. [more]

Squeamish

October 17, 2017

hough it’s a one-woman show, Alison Fraser plays a number of characters by speaking in different voices with a certain technical prowess. The principal one is an upper West Side psychotherapist, Sharon, who is ostensibly talking to her own therapist (a “shrink’s shrink,” we’re told) at his apartment late one night. She’s relating the story of her going to her hometown of Lubbock, Texas, for her beloved nephew’s funeral, after he’s committed suicide. But has Eddie really killed himself, like Sharon’s mother did decades ago when Eddie was only three? For that matter, did Sharon’s mother really commit suicide, we’re made to wonder by the end? [more]

Charleses

April 20, 2017

The dialogue is sparse as various mundane activities are depicted, such as learning to drive, shaving and ordering food from a deli. The infants are played by adult actors. The cast wears matching wigs. Andrea Hood’s authentically simple costume design is comprised of jeans, shorts, trousers, plaid shirts, and T-shirts. The production all has a Thornton Wilder-style quality. [more]