It may seem an odd choice at first for Quotidian to revive a century-old comedy of manners in an era of #metoo. Happily, though he’s no George Bernard Shaw (that’s OK, I’m no Ben Brantley), Harold Brighouse’s 1915 comedy Hobson’s Choice is, for its time, a savvy study of gender and class politics of the […]
Archives for February 2018
The Veils from Nu Sass (review)
In The Veils by Hope Villanueva, Melody, a female Marine translator in Afghanistan, has completed her tour of duty and returned stateside trying desperate to pick up the pieces of her life. That includes planning her wedding. Her mother and sister try to support her, but the memories, sights and sounds of the war are only […]
What Naomi Jacobson is uncovering in her first solo show, Becoming Dr. Ruth
Dr. Ruth Westheimer is a beloved ’80s icon. The tiny, yet big-opinioned sex therapist was a fixture on late night talk shows and the radio throughout the decade, and even fronted several of her own shows dealing with sex and relationships in a candid and funny manner.
Aaron Sorkin’s The Farnsworth Invention (review)
The Farnsworth Invention, showbiz writer Aaron Sorkin’s misfired attempt to retrofit a screenplay about the patent battle over television transmission into a stage drama was a dud when it opened in 2007 and is fatally defective still—even with solid performances from its two leads and energetic direction from 1st Stage Artistic Director Alex Levy.
Long Day’s Journey into Night at Everyman Theatre (review)
In 1919, Eugene O’Neill wrote a play called Exorcism. It is about shame. It is set in 1912, and in it the protagonist confesses to his boozy friend that he committed adultery with a prostitute because adultery was the only ground upon which he and his wife could get a divorce. It had one production […]
Robbie Schaefer’s stage debut in Light Years is luminous (review)
Light Years celebrates the cornerstone to all human relationships, the first and most defining: child and parent. In this case, the focus is Robbie Schaefer and his father Konnie (Bobby Smith). Konnie is a successful economist who left his home in Romania after World War II for Cyprus and then Israel and then finally to America. In […]
The Lathe of Heaven, a respectful and funny adaptation of the late Ursula Le Guin’s novel (review)
Dreams often come with wild, cartoonish images. We wake up remembering their eccentricity and wonder: “How did my brain come up with that?” Watching The Lathe of Heaven is like stepping into that. Filled to the brim with charming sci-fi zaniness, this show imaginatively transports audiences to a dystopian version of Portland, Oregon.
New version of Chess proves its next move should be Broadway (review)
Chess at the Kennedy Center is a checkmate. In other words, this formerly troubled musical with a beloved score, is taking the Eisenhower Theatre stage by storm in a staged, semi-concert format that may prove to be the definitive version of this rock-tinged, Cold War love story. Does this mean the cult musical has finally […]
Noura playwright Heather Raffo, bringing Iraqi women’s stories to the stage
It was more than a dozen years ago that actor Heather Raffo, whose family is from Iraq, recognized a void of female Iraqi protagonists in American theater. That propelled her to write and perform her Off-Broadway show, 9 Parts of Desire, earning her raves for her portrayal of nine Iraqi women.
The Princess and the Pauper: A Bollywood Tale (review)
Imagination Stage takes Mark Twain’s classic ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ and with a sprightly script by Anu Yadav, cleverly relocates it to a bedazzling fairytale India, complete with music and dancing. With original music by Aks, quicktime choreography by Tehreema Mitha, and adeptly directed by Janet Stanford, young audiences get a two-for-one introduction to […]
An off-script love story from Something Rotten! Husband and wife Rob McClure and Maggie Lakis
Most theater performers don’t get to spend Valentine’s Day with their significant other, but that’s not the case for Rob McClure and Maggie Lakis, who spent the night kissing, embracing and singing together—in-character as Nick and Bea Bottom in Something Rotten!, playing at the National Theatre through Feb. 18.
Coriolanus from Brave Spirits (review)
One of the joys of theatre is seeing a classic play presented in a surprising manner that gives new life to the story. Brave Spirits Theatre’s lively production of Coriolanus once again illustrates the adaptability and greatness of Shakespearean tragedy.