Off-Broadway Review: “Hitler’s Tasters”
Kudos 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.
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Off-Broadway Review: “Midnight at the Never Get”
The 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.
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Off-Broadway Review: The Custom Made Theatre Company’s “Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night”
“Mother Night’s” themes are as important in the present as they were when Vonnegut wrote the novel. It is remarkable how relevant the important issues of white supremacism, anti-Semitism, oligarchy, fascism, xenophobia, lack of personal integrity, and prevarication continue to erode the hallmarks of democracy. Frightening is perhaps a better adjective. The Custom Made Theatre Company is to be commended for bringing “Kurt Vonnegut’s Mother Night” to 59E59 Theaters. One wishes the performances and direction could have been more kind to the adaptation.
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Review: World Premiere “El Huracán” at Yale Repertory Theater
Yale Repertory Theater’s stunning season opener “El Huracán” begins with a series of magic tricks. Valeria (Adriana Sevahn Nichols, captivating) finds herself on stage in front of large, billowing curtains. She’s elderly, frail and seems more than a bit confused about how she ended up there. She wanders around for a moment and then, poof, a black-and-white cane appears in her hand. The curtains come down and we are in The Tropicana nightclub. It is the early 1950s in Havana and a magic show is in progress. Colored scarfs vanish and white doves appear out of thin air, all to the strains of “Fly Me To The Moon.” The magician is a beautiful young woman in a blue dress. Valeria watches all of this from the sidelines, mimicking the magician’s moves until you slowly realize the two women are the same. Set-up, presentation, reveal. Repeat.
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Review: Obsidian Theatre and Soulpepper present "Oraltorio: A Theatrical Mixtape"
It’s not too often that I find myself sitting in a theatre, moments before the curtain rises, and I am not really sure what it is I’m about to see, which is an exhilarating feeling. The parenthetical “A Theatrical Mixtape” gives a bit of a hint of what’s to come, but it still wasn’t enough to prepare me for the incredible sonic ride I was taken on moments later: Two young Black women — B-Girl and the DJ — growing up in Toronto struggle with their identity and heritage, navigating their way forward through an exploration of their social and cultural history, presented as a heady mixture of singing and spoken word poetry connected and surrounded by a soundscape of music, audio clips, and sound effects.
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Review: "Man of La Mancha" at Westport Country Playhouse
Inspired by the Miguel de Cervantes’ literary masterpiece, Don Quixote, Westport Country Playhouse brings us the classic musical, Man of La Mancha. It tells the story of a man, Alonso Quijano, who is convinced that he is “Don Quixote de la Mancha,” a determined and valiant knight-errant. The tale is told as a play-within-a-play by Cervantes himself, as part of a mock trial of the prisoners he is detained with, waiting to be questioned by the Spanish Inquisition. Truth be told, I am not a fan of “old-school” musicals, but this production feels contemporary thanks to its choreography, staging, and casting.
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Review: “Pamela’s First Musical” at Two River Theater
Two River Theater has brought a pleasant musical that possibly could have been kept a secret to the stage for audiences of all ages to enjoy. It is not perfect but is certainly worth a visit for an entertaining evening of regional theater.
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Review: “Being Earnest” at Greater Boston Stage Company
Kicking off Greater Boston Stage Company’s 19th season is new musical “Being Earnest.” Based on Oscar Wilde’s 1894 play “The Importance of Being Earnest,” this show successfully takes the themes, plot, and characters from the well-known farce and layers in a 1960s vibe and a plethora of upbeat musical numbers to fill out the story. And while “Being Earnest” is not the first musical re-telling of Wilde’s comedy—some will consider “Who’s Earnest” or “Earnest in Love” among the originals of this kind—it is certainly a much more creative and conceptual take on the piece, handled masterfully in this production by director/choreographer Ilyse Robbins.
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Review: "Testimony" at The Tank NYC
Religion 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.
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Review: “Squatters” at the NuBox Theatre
While this is a well-written play, it is the performances of the two stars that ensure its success, with both Mr. Crone and Ms. Levit turning in strong and emotional performances that help make the dialogue come across as riveting and powerful as it does.
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U.K. Review: "Rain Main" - U.K. Tour
The hit 1988 motion picture about the Babbitt brothers has been adapted into a stage show by The Classic Screen to Stage Theatre Company. The story follows Charlie Babbitt JR as he discovers he has an older brother who has inherited his father’s estate and millions of dollars. However, Charlie’s older brother, Raymond, has autism, which makes him a nuisance to his little brother, especially when Charlie takes him on a road trip in a bid to get the inheritance he believes he deserves.
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U.K. Review: "Calendar Girls - The Musical" : U.K. & Ireland Tour
This musical is one of the funniest and most moving musicals in the world right now. The cast and creative team make this the best possible production it can be. It’s a realistic British musical which showcases a true story of woman coming together and powering through. This is an easy 5/5 star review for Calendar Girls the Musical. Catch it while it’s at Capital Theatre’s Festival Theatre until Saturday 13th October:
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Off-Broadway Review: Primary Stages’ “Final Follies”
Given 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.
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Off-Broadway Review: “On Beckett” at Irish Repertory Theatre
“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.
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A U.K. Review in Exactly 250 Words: "Trial by Laughter" at the Watermill Theatre
Trial by Laughter, playing at Newbury's Watermill Theatre, is a witty and enjoyable play – albeit less remarkable than some of the Watermill's previous productions. This play is entirely what you would expect from a comedy by creators Ian Hislop and Nick Newman (respectively editor and cartoonist for Private Eye). Trial by Laughter doesn't just indulge in satire, it relies on it.
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Review: "Kink Haüs" at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club
If 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.
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Review: “Dirty Linen” at Manhattan Repertory Theatre
In 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.
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Review: “Diary of a MILF” at Theatre Row
Earlier 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.
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Review: "The Book of Mormon" with Broadway Across Canada
The show is the perfect musical to bring people who don't like musicals. There is enough "SNL style" humor that it will keep anyone entertained. Providing they are not easily offended.
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Off-Broadway Review: “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties”
By 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.
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