A Man for All Seasons and 13: A New Musical
by Richard Seff

I came to the Roundabout’s revival of A Man for All Seasons late in its run, on November 5^th. I was away when it opened on October 7^th, and was only vaguely aware of its critical response, but my feeling was it had been moderately received, and was perceived by most to be plodding and dull. My general impression was that even Frank Langella, its Tony winning star, had been dismissed as less than successful in playing Sir Thomas More. The lovely thing about live theatre is that if you enter the building with an open mind and a willing heart, magic is available each and every time. [Read more...]

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...]

• The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Bash’d, Damn Yankees and Broadway’s Rising Stars
• by Richard Seff

 Two Chris Durang plays in a week! Mr. Durang is raking it in from these two early plays alone.   Proof that one’s children can be of help in one’s older age. [Read more...]

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• Summer Therapy
• Beyond Therapy, Couple of the Century, Rafta, Rafta and Reasons to Be Pretty
• By Richard Seff

There’s not a lot going on in New York right now. No, that’s not true; this is the city that never sleeps, and there are plays, cafés, musicals opening all the time, even during the July-August off/season.  [Read more...]