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 in Top GirlsMark Rylance in Boeing, BoeingReshma Shetty and  Manish Dayal  in Rafta, Rafta Lawrence fishburnein ThurgoodKelli O'Hara  as nurse Nellie Forbush and Paulo Szot French plantation owner Emile de Becque in South Pacific
News: One night to see new solo play written and performed by Lynn Redgrave, see Short Term Listings. . . For an exciting FREE play series from Naked Angels See 5/14 News entry. . .Theatre World Awards, Fred & Estelle Astaire Awards and New York Drama Critics Circle winners announced and added to our omnibus awards page which also has posted Tony Award Nominees, Outer Critics and Lortel Award Winners and Drama Desk, and Drama League Award Nominees. . .

Latest Reviews & Features
New York
The Bully Pulpit-with his pince-nez and walrus mustache, Michael O. Smith looks so much like Roosevelt it’s hard not to gasp as he marches on stage . . .

Damascus- It's a not unfamiliar set-up: A foreigner stumbles into a place with whose people he's had no previous contact and whose language he cannot speak. The language barrier beefs up both serious and comic potential . . .

The Broadway Musicals of 1965—another winner in the Broadway by the Year series. . .

EST Marathon of One-Act Plays-Series A- There are two more series to give Ensemble Studio Theatre achance to show that they are incubating the worthwhile new talent of the future.. . .

Old Comedy After Aristophanes' Frogs -David Greenspan is certainly true to the spirit of Aristophanes and his times. But he mixes Aristophanes' play with so many famous people who populated the two thousand plus years since the playwright's death . . .

No, No Nanette- It's a yes, yes for the (Encores! revival. . .

Top Girls-the big question overarching any production of this play is whether it lives up to its glossy resume. The answer is yes for the daring of its concept, and no in terms of its audience appeal. . . .

Boeing, Boeing-exactly the bowl of delicious frothy ice cream we need to lift our spirits at a time when the daily headlines give us little to laugh about. Its arrival on our shores is as well timed, as the entrances and exits through its seven doors. . . .

Rafta, Rafta-To paraphrase the famous commercial about Levy's rye bread, you definitely do not have to be Indian to have a rip-roaring time with the Dutts and the Patels of Ayub Khan Din's family comedy . . .

The Sound and the Furyextended to June 1st!

The Fever Chart:Three Visions of the Middle East- Like everything in the LAB series, this has a very limited run and is still a work in progress. . . .

Glory Days- To an early grave on May 6th after just one official performance. . . .

Eccentricities of a Nightingale- Tennessee Williams's extensive and aggressive re-write of Summer and Smoke is something of a revelation. It is also a rare treat for Williams's fans to see this lovely but under-loved play given a fine and respectful production . . .

more reviews. . .more features. . .review archive. . .news . . .  NYC Restaurant Notes--. . .  Navigating NYC Tips  . . Broadway Theater Address List. . . Off and Off-Off-Broadway Theater Address List
London
Boris Godunov- It is now the third year which Cheek by Jowl has been part of the Bite Season at the Barbican theatre and, based on this tense and involving political thriller, we can only hope it is not their last. . . .

Oxford Street -The play's subject matter sounds not to be out of the ordinary but the production Levi DavidAddai's play gets at the Royal Court upstairs is extraordinary . . .

Afrika! Afrika!-This is a show full of energy and exuberance, with dance and gymnastics. . . .

Tinderbox -Full of black wit, the play has a darkly playful attitude to a society in flux and is unafraid to plumb to grisly, cannibalistic depths. . . .

The Histories Cycle from the RSC at The Roundhouse- a Shakespeare lover's delight . . .

The Lady From the Sea -this is a classic production of a classic play, with excellent writing and a strong cast. . . .

The City -Crimp's play unsettles and disturbs. . . .

King Lear- If you can sit on the hard seats at the Globe for over three hours and not feel numb you know that you have been watching a really good play. So it is with Dominic Dromgoole's straightforward and non-gimmicky production. . .

More Review Links. . . New & Noteworthy . . . Where to stay & eat, what to see, etc.. . . Theaters. . . Fringe Theaters
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California
Lady- This is a play where anguished and frustrated men cry. . . .

1001 Nights- Phantasmagoric, Edgar Allen Poe's favorite adjective, swirls through Jason Grote's colorful play like the hot smoke from Aladdin's lamp. . . .

And Her Hair Went With Her-Don't be put off by that title; it's is the only off-key note in this play . . .

Flora the Red Menace- John Kander and Fred Ebb's first musical, written in 1965, set in 1935, and presented here by Reprise Theatre Company under new Artistic Director Jason Alexander, could be ripped from today's economic headlines. . . .

The Sweetest Swing in Baseball- Rebecca Gilman's haunting comedy is ann exploration of success, identity, and the nature of insanity. . .

The Lost Plays of Tennesse Williams-In these recently discovered early one-acts, Williams mines the themes he would later develop in his full-length masterpieces. . . .

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New Jersey
Cecilia's Last Tea Party-One does not necessary insist on a play such as this being completely accessible. Whatever it is, I'm still thinking about it. Hopefully future audiences will also find something to think about. . . .

Seagull in the Hamptons- Given that Chekhov is Chekhov, now and forever, let me conclude that meeting Chekhov either halfway or completely reconsidered with a virtually new text is probably better than not meeting Chekhov at all.. . .

The Comedy of Errors at Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey . . .

Kiss Me Kate—Papermill Playhouse-The original play–within–a–play book by Bella and Sam Spewack that they ingeniously fused with Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew may have a slightly creaky resonance these days, but director James Brennan and choreographer Patti Colombo have done a bang-up job focusing on what is never out of date: Cole Porter's great score . . .

New & Noteworthy
NJ Theaters
Berkshires
Berkshire Main Page
Berkshire News-updated 5/15/08 . . .Summer 08 Index
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Philadelphia
Eurydice- In the Wilma production the space is a brilliantly realized, pristine underworldly vision.. . .-

Dear World- this remains thin fare in a too large package, a musical in search of a raison d'etre.. . .

Bug- Once again Theatre Exile has chosen a work that's right for them. Making astute production decisions, they engage in remarkable theater, while grabbing the audience by the throat. . . .
Elsewhere


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TIMELY QUOTES
My work is a matter of fundamental sounds (no joke intended) made as fully as possible, and I accept responsibility for nothing else. If people want to have headaches among the overtones, let them. And provide their own aspirin.
---Samuel Beckett, quoted in review of Endgame at BAM until 5/18/08 only.

You've got to be taught to be afraid/Of people whose eyes are oddly made. . . .—--from "You've Got To Be Carefully Taught" — in South Pacific

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