Jomama is the performer and alter ego of Daniel Alexander Jones who created the production “Black Light” now playing at Greenwich House Theater after a successful run at Joe’s Pub. She is a soul sonic superstar and when she speaks of a supernova the audience better listen up because her presence personifies the definition of that phenomenon perfectly.
Read MoreThe issue of sexual harassment is one that has come up and been discussed more and more frequently, especially in light of controversies surrounding notable public figures such as Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, Brett Kavanaugh, and of course, the man who sits in the Oval Office. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this topic is constantly being explored in new plays in 2018. Yet what hasn’t been explored as much is how far some individuals will go to defend the people they love when they are accused of such terrible crimes, even to the point of outright denial. However, in the latest outing from Jake Lipman and Tongue in Cheek Theater Productions, that’s exactly what audiences are treated to.
Read MoreIt is clear from the start of Donja R. Love’s “Fireflies” that Olivia Grace (DeWanda Wise) is among the disconsolate: Olivia is languishing: Olivia’s wounded heart needs healing. There is a fire in Olivia’s soul that counterpoints the fire in the 1963 Fall sky above the home in the Jim Crow South she shares with her preacher-activist husband Charles Emmanuel Grace (Khris Davis). The first words Olivia shares are those from a letter she is writing to the yet unidentified Ruby: “Dear Ruby, It’s been awhile. The sky . . . it’s been burning so bright since you left. It reminds me of you.” And at this point the stage of the Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater reverberates with the sounds of exploding bombs as the sky “cracks open and bleeds.” Olivia admits, “I can’t do this.”
Read MoreThis past week, when I walked into the theater at the 14th Street Y, I probably shouldn’t have been too surprised to see a giant clock counting down from roughly one hour until it reached 00:00:00. After all, the fact that the show I was reviewing was called “…it’s time…” should have made it obvious to me that the theme of time – and the effect it has on others – would play a role in this show. Unfortunately, however, any other inspiration for this show beyond this very abstract theme was lost on this reviewer.
Read MoreThe issue of consent, and how it is defined, is a topic of discussion that has frequently come up in the arts and in our society for years now, especially in light of the stories that have emerged as a result of the #MeToo and #WhyIDidntReport movements. As these stories have come out, the issue of what role age plays in determining what counts as consent, and whether or not people in a relationship are really being taken advantage of, has come up more and more frequently. It is this “grey area”, and how it affects the women involved, that lies at the heart of Sarah Elizabeth Grace’s new play Implied Consent.
Read MoreKudos to the team of women (all women!) that wrote, directed, performed in, and filled all positions in the creative team for “Hitler’s Tasters” currently running at IRT Theater. The play examines the conflicts of the fifteen German young women who were conscripted to be Hitler’s tasters. They were initially transported daily to and from a school to fulfill their task of “defending the Motherland.” After a threat on Hitler’s life, they were permanently confined in a building adjacent to Hitler’s Wolf’s Lair headquarters in Prussia. The sole real-life survivor of this group of young women Margot Woelk has documented this “footnote in history” extensively before her death in 2014.
Read MoreThe latest offering at York Theater Company’s Main Stage Series is the new musical “Midnight at the Never Get.” The production history started with a successful short run at New York’s historical “Don’t Tell Mama” cabaret, and then a run at NYMF in 2016. Subsequently it had a six-week 2017 run at Provincetown Inn, Massachusetts and returned to Provincetown for a weekend engagement last month. So, in can be assumed that the book, music and lyrics by Mark Sonnenblick should be solid and the performance by Sam Bolen, who co-conceived the story and has performed in every production, should be cultivated and polished.
Read MoreReligion is a tough thing to talk about in the theatre. It’s a tough thing to talk about anywhere, but in a medium that literally traps people in a room and makes them observe a piece of someone else’s life, it’s even more difficult. Testimony takes any difficulty that one might find and replaces it with honesty, emotion, and a faith that anyone can relate to no matter their religious beliefs.
Read MoreGiven the long-term relationship that existed between A.R. Gurney and Primary Stages, it is befitting that the prolific playwright requested his agent to send his newest one act play “Final Follies” to the theater company for production in 2017. It turned out to be ominously and aptly titled since he passed soon after, leaving this to be the last play of his legacy in the American Theater. Mr. Gurney was heralded as one of the most astute chroniclers of WASP culture, both heralding and ridiculing their traditions, to achieve fresh revelations in the current socio-political atmosphere. The first production of Primary Stages 2018/2019 season is a tryptic of three one acts, the first being “Final Follies,” followed by “The Rape of Bunny Stuntz” which comprises the first act and “The Love Course” which stands alone in act two.
Read More“On Beckett,” currently playing at Irish Repertory Theatre’s Francis J. Greenburger Mainstage, is part performance, part graduate school lecture (with perambulation), part predilections on whether Samuel Beckett’s writing is “natural clown territory,” and part perusal of the importance of culture and language – all presented with perfection and seemingly unbridled passion by Bill Irwin. During Mr. Irwin’s introduction, it becomes clear the audience is about to experience something out of the ordinary, and when Mr. Irwin completes “a final passage of Beckett, after which the lights will go out, and the evening will be done,” experience one of the most profound experiments to be conducted on an off-Broadway stage.
Read MoreIf provocative, homoerotic themes make you uncomfortable, this might not be your jam. But for those of you with an open mind looking for a fun, sexy night out, make your way down to the Downstairs at East 4th Street. Tell Patsy Clone I sent you.
Read MoreIn 2018, whenever you hear a racist deny that they’re racist, there’s often some variation of a frequent line that pops up: “I have a black friend!” “I have a black boyfriend/girlfriend!” “I voted for a black president!” The list goes on and on. It’s a scenario that often plays itself out in real life conversations regarding race, and is a topic that is explored in a hysterical and over the top fashion in Dirty Linen, the latest full-length play to be presented as part of Manhattan Repertory Theatre’s New Play Production program.
Read MoreEarlier this month, I had the chance to interview the actress and comedian simply known as “Meshelle”. Without a doubt, as I interviewed her, you can tell how passionate she was about performing and not letting her family life get in the way of doing what she loved, judging by her answers. When I had the chance to attend her show this past weekend, that passion once again shined as vividly as ever, as did her talent as a character actor.
Read MoreBy agreeing to carefully examine the sex-role stereotypes attributed to women, five disparate women named ‘Betty’ cautiously approach self-acceptance and self-understanding in Jen Silverman’s “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” at MCC Theater’s Lucille Lortel Theatre. Their collective rage about their loneliness, their fears, their submission, and their dismissions by men is a welcomed examination of gender and sexual status in the attainment and celebration of equality. Although Jen Silverman’s new play adds little in content to the discussion, her method(s) of developing her themes is/are somewhat unique and engaging.
Read MoreMs. Rebeck’s compelling new play explores in depth Sarah Bernhardt’s struggles with playing “Hamlet” and her compassion for being a “thinking” actor who works her craft with “feeling.”
Read MoreTennessee Williams’ 1979 play “A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur” connects deeply with all (individuals, governments, nation-states) suffering the malaise of loss or lack of identity and the quest for independence that sometimes results in broken hearts. Perhaps there is a mercy-seat for all who languish with wounded hearts.
Read MoreWe could have had an exciting portrayal of these congressional hearings, as there is no doubt that these performers (Dracyn Blount, Alexander Chilton, Shayna Conde, Nick Daly, and Georgia Lee King) would have all excelled at telling that story; they were excellent. Instead, we get part history and mostly art, and frankly, this wasn’t advertised and not what I signed up for.
Read MoreCurrently playing at Walkerspace, The Pond Theatre Company’s “The Naturalists” is a compelling look at how one’s “secret” past can suddenly and unexpectedly encroach on the present and delay one’s progress into the future. Brothers Francis Sloane (a thoughtful and tender John Keating) and Billy Sloane (a defiant and burdened Tim Ruddy) enjoy an uneventful present in their mobile home in a rural hamlet of County Monaghan, Ireland in 2010. Their lives might not be described as idyllic; however, they get along most of the time, and the income from their cattle farm seems to provide a comfortable albeit spartan existence.
Read MoreFor many adults, dealing with an aging parent and ensuring that they are cared for can be a challenging issue. More specifically, the dilemma of moving a parent out of the place they’ve called home for many years, and into a living home or community for the elderly, can be a hard one for both sides of that relationship. It’s a topic that is delved into on a very human and intimate level in In the Bleak Midwinter, the new play from Emmy award-winning actor/writer/director Dorothy Lyman, which has been receiving constant praise during its run at Theatre 54 at Shetler Studios.
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