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NEWS: After 10 years, the Phantom's sequel is here. See what our London critic thinks of it here. . . Yasmina Rez's hit God of Carnage got its third cast (details at top of review and in our annotated Broadway listings) and there's talk about innovative castings when this team's contracts are up. . .
Broadway Shows | London Shows | Los Angeles Theatre |San Francisco Theatre| Chicago Theater | Boston Theater
Looped- Valerie Harper does the legend of lewdness still roaring in the winter of her declining years with the requisite husky voice and exaggerated mannerisms. She's too good, in fact, not to have better material. . . . Ladies in Retirement- Edward Percy & Reginald Denham's gothic thriller still fun . . . Next Fall-Geoffrey Nauffts' play is indeed buoyed by a good deal of laughter but it ultimately takes you completely out of yourself and leaves even the most hardened theater goer with a tight throat and a knot in the stomach. . . . When the Rain Stops Falling - What rescues the American premiere of When the Rain Stops from a too soggy landing is David Cromer's beautiful and strong on atmosphere and emotion staging. . . . The Scottsboro Boys- Kander and Ebb's last collaboration completes a stunning trilogy of musicalized fictional plays based on real events.. . . Lenin's Embalmers- Vern Thiessen's black comedy is being given a world premiere at Ensemble Studio Theatre with a terrific cast and more elaborate than usual staging. . . Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers- To add show biz muscle to this docu-drama, director John Rubinstein has assembled close to a dozen well-credentialed thespians to inhabit the real life role models. . . . Candida- If well staged and performed, as it currently is at the Irish Rep, this Shaw classic continues to amuse as well as provide plenty of food for thought, despite its Victorian time frame and mindset. . . . Glee Club-an enjoyable quick-and-dirty one-hour comedy event . . . A Behanding In Spokane - a shaggy severed hand story with some bleak Shepardesque symbolism, buried beneath the macabre laugh fest. . . . The Miracle Worker- The large number of youngsters, parents and teachers at the Circle In the Square signal that this multiple ticket buying audience may well give this revival a healthy run. . . . Equivocation- Bill Cain's play juggles a fistful of genres: political thriller, revisionist history play that parallels current events , ethical rumination, family drama, comic spoof, play-within-a-play.. . . Girls inTrouble- While the Flea Theater's talented actors, the Bats, perform with their usual panache, Jonathan Reynolds' dramaturgy is too heavy-handed to make for a thoughtful rumination on an important subject. Extended to 4/11! . . . Extinction-Gabe McKinley's play is devastating and cruel, but affecting and truthful. . . . The Temperamentals- Sometimes the stars do align and good things happen to make good plays transcend the narrow sphere of a limited run showcase to reach the larger audience it deserves. Jon Marans' play is a case in point. . . . The Duchess of Malfi - John Webster's tragedy is bloody and brutal but any lover of classic theater should celebrate its newest incarnation at the Red Bull Theater Extended to 3/28! . . . Signs of Life- the tragic Terezin story told with music. . . Yank!- the kind of old-fashioned musical that makes you feel as if you're watching an amalgam of World War II movies and listening to some old long playing records of swing music by the Glenn Miller band and songs by the Andrew sisters Extended to April 4th!. . . . The Boys in the Band- the Transport Group's smartly staged and timed production helps Mart Crowley's period piece to once more lay claim its historic place in the gay theatrical canon. . .Extended to 3/28! .
London
London Assurance-Simon Russell Beale stars as Sir Harcourt Courtly and Fiona Shaw cuts a swagger as the object of his intended dalliance, Lady Gay Spanker . . .Love Never Dies- This musical sequel to the phenomenally successful Phantom has enough visual clichés and references to other works to feel like one of those quizzes where you have to spot the allusions. . . . A Day at the Racists-Anders Lustgarten's original, thought provoking and very well written play. . . . Sweet Nothings-David Harrower's new translation of Arthur Schnitzler's 1895 play at the Young Vic . . . Private Lives- it's almost impossible to remember that this was written so long ago because the skill with which Coward draws the bickering and squabbling of a once married couple seems to stand for all time. . . . Ghost Stories- do not see this show alone so at least you have someone to hang onto and to tell you what happened when you shut your eyes.. . .
California Liberty Inn: The Musical-A rollicking time was had by all in the tiny Andak Theatre in North Hollywood where this new music is having its world premiere . . . The Subject Was Roses-Frank Gilroy's Pulitzer Prize drama combines the feel of an era with the timelessness of an American classic . . . The Ballad of Emmett Till-Lorenz Arnell holds the stage at this Fountain Theater premiere.. . . Sidhe-The tragic history of the Troubles is underscored by weaving the Sidhe into the madness, permeating the internecine warfare that scarred Ireland . . . Cousin Bette - Jeffrey Hatcher's fine adaptation of Balzac's novel . . .
Philadelphia
Connecticut
Motherhood Out Loud- a compilation of the mom experiences by of some of today’s best known playwrights and authors plays its world premiere at Hartford Stage . .Sylvia- Erica Sullivan bring delightful freshness to A. R. Gurney's always popular dog story. . .
DC
Dc's Helen Hayes nominations are in. For details see the Helen Hayes website: http://helenhayes.org/sub/nr.cfm
Back to Top of Review List Elsewhere
Trust -world premiere by David Schwimmer and Andy Bellin, at Chicago's Lookingglass Theater . . .Paradise Lost-This production at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge proves that there an afterlife for a '30s stalwart like Clifford Odets . . . New Jersey
American Buffalo-Steppenwolf production lands successfully at the McCarter . . .
Berkshires
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TIMELY QUOTES I was born on Easter Sunday. The Titanic went down the following Thursday. And why? Two Titanics can't exist in the world at one time! When one shows up, the other has to go down! — the intense, self-confident Harry Hay in The Temperamentals What is the point of this stupid, painful life if not to be honest? If not to stand up for what one is in the core of one's being?—Oliver in The Pride There are times when you want to spread an alarm, but nothing has happened.—Alfieri, the narrator in The View From the Bridge How can human beings stand all that comes to them? How can they? — Horace Robedaux in The Orphans' Home Cycle Part 3 Theatre Tickets | |||||||||||||||||
©Copyright 2010, Elyse Sommer.