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The Playboy of the Western World

October 24, 2008 By Leave a Comment

The Shadow of the Glen &The Playboy of the Western World
by John Millington Synge
directed by Garry Hynes
A DRUID Theatre Company production, presented by The Kennedy Center
reviewed by Steven McKnight

If you think the work of early 20th century Irish playwright John Millington Synge is merely broad comedies about Irish peasants, The Druid Theatre Company of Galway, Ireland will likely change your mind.  Their superlative performances in The Shadow of the Glen and particularly The Playboy of the Western World capture the voice of a playwright that was both authentic and modern, and demonstrate a depth of character found only in the finest theatre. [Read more...]

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Kate Eastwood Norris

October 22, 2008 By 1 Comment

Kate Eastwood Norris
appearing in Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘N Roll at the Wilma, Philadelphia


interviewed by Joel Markowitz

In his recent visit to Philadelphia, Joel Markowitz caught up with Kate Eastwood Norris, the Helen Hayes Award winning actress whom Washington audiences have seen regularly in productions at Folger, Round House, and most recently at Woolly Mammoth.Kate married actor Cody Nickell this summer and is in the process of moving to New York.

[Read more...]

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Pearl Bailey .. By Request

October 21, 2008 By 4 Comments

If you enjoy live R&B/jazz and are looking for an entertaining musical evening out, the MetroStage world premiere production of Pearl Bailey . . . By Request admirably fills the bill. [Read more...]

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Erin Driscoll

October 20, 2008 By 2 Comments

Talking with Erin Driscoll
performing in the Philadelphia production of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide 

interviewed by Joel Markowitz 

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Henry IV, Part 1

October 20, 2008 By 1 Comment

Henry IV, Part 1
by William Shakespeare
directed by Paul Mason Barnes
produced by Folger Theatre
reviewed by Tim Treanor

Oh, what a wonderful story this is, the apparently fictional but well believed and beloved account of England’s greatest King, when he was but a drunken sot, the scourge and embarrassment of his father. And what a magnificently powerful job Folger does with it, thrusting us through four-hundred-year-old dialogue into a world almost two hundred years older than that. [Read more...]

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7(x1) Samurai

October 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment

7(x1) Samurai: An epic tale … told by an idiot
written and performed by David Gaines
directed by David Gaines
produced by City Artistic Partnerships
reviewed by Leslie Weisman

There’s been an astonishing crop of one-man shows here lately, from Rick Miller’s MacHomer at Warehouse, to Josh Kornbluth’s Citizen Josh at Arena Stage, to Scott Renz’s Abe Lincoln at Cole Studio.  Perhaps the daddy of them all was Mike Daisy’s If You See Something, Say Something, a Fringe favorite this past summer that later played to sold-out audiences at Woolly Mammoth.  But Fringe-goers had another pick in mind when they voted for Best Solo Performance of Fringe Fest 2008: [Read more...]

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Intelligence

October 20, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Intelligence
written by Kenneth M. Cameron
directed by Walt Witcover
produced by Rep Stage
reviewed by Debbie Minter Jackson

Intelligence, a fictionalized tale of Central Intelligence, is taut, tight, almost thriller-like in its total command of the moment. The backdrop hints at high stakes CIA political maneuverings, behind the scenes, of course, in volatile Central America during the Iran Contra era.  Blend the political intrigue with ruminations about the insidious effects of power, the corrupting influence of money,  family duties, living with one’s life choices, let alone love and idealism, and you’ve got a bona fide hit, tailor made for today’s signs and times. [Read more...]

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To Be and Two Rooms

October 16, 2008 By Leave a Comment

To Be or Not To Be and Two Rooms
by Richard Seff 

It’s always risky to chance turning a great movie into a first rate stage play. It rarely works. About the best of the lot that comes to mind is Applause out of All About Eve, but even that one isn’t in the same class as Mama. If imagination is injected, things get better. 39 Steps, currently a hit on Broadway, takes a classic Hitchcock melodrama, twists it and turns it until it becomes a riotously funny spoof. [Read more...]

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Temptation

October 14, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Temptation
by Václav Havel
directed by Allison Arkell Stockman
produced by Constellation Theatre Company
reviewed by Steven McKnight

Václav Havel’s Temptation transfers the classic Faust story to a modern scientific institute in a totalitarian country with healthy doses of political satire and absurdist humor.  It is a challenging work, but Constellation Theatre Company’s production succeeds due to an inspired creative team and a talented cast. [Read more...]

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A Beautiful View

October 13, 2008 By 1 Comment

A Beautiful View
by Daniel MacIvor
directed by Daniel MacIvor 
produced by Studio 2ndStage
reviewed by Tim Treanor

A Beautiful View is minor MacIvor, a light saunter through the fields fronting the forest of the human psyche. Lane (Jennifer Mendenhall) and Max (Kathleen Coons) meet, lie to each other, fall in love, have sex. Max takes off (she’s not bisexual, after all – not well organized enough) but they eventually meet again, and become good friends. Lane gets married; it doesn’t work out. Max has a relationship with a dentist; it doesn’t work out. They get jobs, lose jobs, move. They form a ukulele band. [Read more...]

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