Don’t be fooled by the small-town sound of this community theatre troupe: As even Leaf Coneybear could tell you with no trouble at all, their production of the 2005 Broadway Tony award-winning musical comedy is E-X-T-R-A-O-R-D-I-N-A-R-Y.
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![A U.K. Review in [exactly] 250 Words: "Eris" at London’s Bunker Theatre](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/551eb398e4b0b101cf722ed8/1538524988681-TDJ38J2LIF81PJ4F1Z7C/cgh-eris-photo-01-5.jpg)
Currently playing at London’s Bunker Theatre, Eris follows the story of Seán (Cormac Elliot), as he tries to find the most disruptive boyfriend possible to bring to a family wedding. As he struggles to move on from his last relationship, relying on the help of his friend Callista (Ashling O’Shea), Seán confronts family, prejudice … and Tinder.
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The cast seems to do its best to enliven “The Nap” including Max Gordon Moore’s portrayal of Dylan’s whacky agent Tony DanLino. But without Ben Schnetzer’s commitment to his character Dylan Spokes and John Ellison Conlee’s supportive performance as Dylan’s father Bobby, the play would proceed without energy or nuance.
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Walking into the smaller Audrey Skirball Kenis Theater inside the Geffen Playhouse, I admired Peter Hickok’s set for The Cake. It was so detailed that I thought I was walking into a soundstage to watch a taping of the Cake Wars baking show. The Tiffany blue walls and bright pink bakery counter were pleasing to the eye, and the two bedrooms on either side of the bakery lent an air of intrigue.
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Currently playing at Edinburgh’s King’s Theatre is Still Alice, which brings the issues of living with Alzheimer's disease to stage. It follows the life of Alice Howland, her husband John, and their two children. It follows the destruction this disease causes, how it impacts the families of those who have to suffer losing precious memories of loved one's names and the life they once led.
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Ms. 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.”
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air warning: this is a play that will be difficult for parents to watch. Knowing how our actions can affect our children permanently and profoundly is difficult for many to swallow. While the scenario presented here is extreme and (I presume) fictitious, it still demonstrates how what we do in front of our children will shape who they become. And often few people want to take on the burden of that kind of responsibility.
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Tennessee 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.
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To kick off its 55th Season, Orange County's Tony Award-winning regional theater South Coast Repertory is presenting a charming new stage adaptation of the Jane Austen literary classic “SENSE AND SENSIBILITY,” which continues performances in Costa Mesa through September 29.
Winningly likable with plenty of sharp wits and appealing characters, this admirable stage iteration—adapted by UK playwright Jessica Swale and directed here by Casey Stangl—reacquaints audiences with the seemingly erratic and emotionally taxing task of landing a suitable mate in late 18th Century/early 19th Century England.
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Sitting in the Zephyr Theatre to watch a touching one-man show by British playwright, actor and storyteller Michael Washington Brown, I felt as if I was attending a Black Studies class at a local college.
With a simple set, this multimedia experience is enhanced with images and music as Brown examines race from a global perspective. The curriculum includes a study of black history, music, sociology, and psychology.
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We 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.
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Currently 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.
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Every now and then in one’s pursuit of theatre, one comes across something that surpasses a “good show” and becomes a theatrical experience. I had the pleasure of coming across such a gem earlier this weekend when I went to see TheatreLab’s production of Magdalena, written and performed by Gabri Christa.
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I Call myself Princess is a remarkable new play that deals with cultural appropriation in the best way possible — by taking back that which was stolen. Paper Canoe Projects and Cahoots Theatre, partnering with Native Earth Performing Arts, are presenting this world premiere of I Call myself Princess, written by Jani Lauzon.
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For 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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If full disclosure is the name of this game, then I need to come clean and tell you that I’ve never witnessed a burlesque show before this evening. However, before attending “Bippity Boppity Boobs - A Burlesque Experience,” I did what every self-respecting writer does when faced with the prospect of dissecting the unfamiliar, I Googled it. Google… What is burlesque? It spit out a wild collection of burlesque's historical influences, scholarly works by intellectuals with many leather-bound books, political manifestos from anarchists and other disconnected, tangential thought streams which left me no wiser, no better prepared, than before.
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Screenwriter and playwright José Rivera (over 26 plays and an Academy Award nominated Motorcycle Diaries) wrote “The Untranslatable Secrets of Nikki Corona” with an interesting story line about death and communicating with loved ones in the afterlife. In the Playbill, Rivera was interviewed by Rachel Wiegardt-Egel about his inspiration for the play. About ten years ago, while looking through Harper’s Magazine, he noticed a company whose service was to connect people who are dying, with people who want to send a message to the other side. This fascinated him, and soon he began writing a creative play about exploring the afterlife where untranslatable secrets are told.
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