Index of Play Reviews
Play Reviews on The Playgoer
Links to all my reviews posted on this blog, mostly between 2005-2009
2013
The Good Person of Szechwan The first incarnation of Lear deBessonet's production of Brecht's classic, starring Taylor Mac. At La MaMa.
The Good Person of Szechwan The first incarnation of Lear deBessonet's production of Brecht's classic, starring Taylor Mac. At La MaMa.
2010
Passion Play NYC premiere of Sarah Ruhl's epic theatrical history of the passion play.
Paradise Lost Daniel Fish's bold re-imagining of a forgotten Clifford Odets Depression-era drama. (At A.R.T., Cambridge MA)
2009
Oleanna Broadway revival of the Mamet play starring Bill Pullman and Julia Styles.
Brighton Beach Memoirs Broadway revival of the Neil Simon play, directed by David Cromer, starring Laurie Metcalf.
Othello Peter Sellars directs Philip Seymour Hoffman as Iago with members of the LABrynth theatre company.
Aftermath Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen's documentary/verbatim drama about Iraqi refugees. (At New York Theatre Workshop)
2008
November David Mamet's Broadway-premiere Washington satire, starring Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf and Dylan Baker.
Hamlet Oskar Eustis directs Michael Stuhlbarg at Delacorte Theatre, Central Park.
Stretch: A Fantasia (New Georges, 2008) Interesting play by New Georges AD Susan Bernfield about Rose Mary Woods, one of Watergate's funniest supporting players.
Church by Young Jean Lee, performed at Public Theatre's 2008 Under the Radar festival.
Terminus Irish play by Mark O'Rowe, also at Under the Radar 2008
Oh, the Humanity, and other exclamations Evening of one-acts by Will Eno, at Flea Theatre.
2007
Jerry Springer, The Opera US premiere of the controversial British-born (but American-written) musical. (At Bailiwick Theater, Chicago.)
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny John Doyle's staging of the Brecht/Weill opera at LA Opera, Los Angeles, starring Audra McDonald and Patti LuPone.
Have You Seen Steve Steven A quirky, appealing script from Ann Marie Healy (presented by the 13P playwrights' collective) in a terrific staging by Anne Kauffman and a standout performance by Matthew Maher.
Gatz A pre-New York staging of Elevator Repair Service's epic verbatim staging of The Great Gatsby. (At Philadelphia Festival of the Arts)
Gypsy Pre-Broadway staging at NY City Center Encores of Patti LuPone in the classic musical.
Grey Gardens The Broadway musical by Scott Frankel, Michael Korie, and Doug Wright based on the famous Maysles Brothers documentary. Starring Christine Ebersole.
Coram Boy Broadway transfer from London of the National Theatre's music-drama about the genesis of Handel's "Messiah."
Journey's End Broadway revival of R.C. Sherriff's beautiful WWI drama following one doomed British army squadron. Starring Hugh Dancy, Jefferson Mays, and Boyd Gaines.
The Dark at the Top of the Stairs Fine revival of the William Inge play by Transport Group, directed by Jack Cummings. Starring Donna Lynne Champlin and Michele Pawk.
Dying City The New York premiere of Christopher Shinn's post-9/11 play, directed by James Macdonald, starring Pablo Schreiber and Rachel Brooksher. At Lincoln Center Theatre.
The Fever Wallace Shawn revives his haunting monologue in a revival by Scott Elliott for The New Group. (With guest appearances by Tom Stoppard and Mike Nichols!)
2006
The Thugs by Adam Bock, directed by Anne Kauffman. At Soho Rep.
The Internationalist by Anne Washburn, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. At Vineyard Theatre.
My Name is Rachel Corrie The controversial London play about an American pro-Palestinian activist finally opens in New York at the Minetta Lane Theatre.
Shaw Festival 2006 A visit to Canada's Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake.
Day 1: Shaw's Too True to be Good
Day 2: Ibsen's Rosmersholm
The Birthday Party Emily Mann directs Pinter's early masterpiece, starring Allan Corduner. (At McCarter Theatre, NJ.)
Mother Courage Meryl Streep & George C. Wolfe do Brecht in Central Park.
No Child... Nilaja Sun's one-woman show about her experiences teaching theatre in the NYC public school system.
Pig Farm Greg Kotis' farce on a family farm. Starring Dennis O'Hare & Katie Finneran, directed by John Rando. (At Roundabout Theatre Company.)
Susan & God Mint Theatre rediscovers an odd but intriguing 1937 dramedy by Rachel Crothers.
Macbeth Moises Kaufman directs Liev Schreiber & Jennifer Ehle for the Public's Shakespeare in the Park.
King Lear A memorable performance by Alvin Epstein in an intimate staging at La MaMa.
The Threepenny Opera Scott Elliott's highly idiosyncratic of the Brecht-Weill classic, starring Alan Cumming & Cyndi Lauper. On Broadway, produced by Roundabout Theatre Company.
The History Boys Alan Bennett's prep-school dramedy, directed by Nicholas Hytner, starring Richard Griffiths & James Corden. (Broadway transfer from UK National Theatre)
Red Light Winter Adam Rapp's acclaimed three-hander (though not acclaimed by me!)
Awake and Sing! Bartlett Sher's landmark revival of the Odets classic, presented on Broadway by Lincoln Center Theatre. Featuring stellar cast with Mark Ruffalo, Ben Gazzara, Zoe Wanamaker, Pablo Schrieber, and Lauren Ambrose.
Peer Gynt Robert Wilson directs Ibsen's fantasy-epic at BAM. In the original Norwegian!
Entertaining Mr. Sloane Alec Baldwin & Jan Maxwell star in Joe Orton's comedy. At Roundabout Theatre Company.
Hedda Gabler Cate Blanchett's US stage debut in the Ibsen tragedy. Australian production from Sydney Theatre Company at BAM, also featuring Hugo Weaving. (Plus companion review of Off Broadway staging of Ingmar Bergman's Doll's House abridgment "Nora.")
Heddatron Elizabeth Meriwether's postmodern Ibsen riff. Directed by Alex Timbers for his Freres Corbusier company. At HERE Arts Center.
San Francisco Reviews
Mystery Plays by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa at SF Playhouse.
Nero: Another Golden Rome World Premiere of Duncan Sheik & Steven Sater's follow-up to Spring Awakening that never came to New York. At San Francisco's Magic Theatre.
Mr. Marmalade Early play by Noah Haidle, starring Michael C. Hall. At Roundabout Theatre Company.
2005
Measure for Measure Mark Rylance leads his Shakespeare's Globe company in an all-male production at St Ann's Warehouse.
A Touch of the Poet Gabriel Byrne stars in O'Neill's challenging late drama. On Broadway via Roundabout Theatre Company.
Miss Witherspoon Kristen Nielsen stars in NYC premiere of Christopher Durang comedy at Playwrights Horizons.
Super Vision The multi-media Builders Association explores identity theft. (At BAM.)
Hamlet Michael Cumpsty stars in Brian Kulick's production for Classic Stage Company.
Sweeney Todd The now-iconic John Doyle restaging of Sondheim's operatic melodrama, in its Broadway premiere. Starring Michael Cerveris & Patti LuPone.
Reviews from Shaw Festival 2005 (Niagara-on-the-Lake. Ontario)
Reviews from Lincoln Center Festival 2005
Modern Noh Plays Japanese auteur Yukio Ninagawa's stunning stagings of two of Mishima's "Modern Noh Plays."
Arlecchino Piccolo Teatro di Milano remounts Georgio Strehler's classic Commedia-style staging of Goldoni's Servant of Two Masters.
Le Dernier Caravanserail Ariane Mnouchkine's Théâtre du Soleil performs their epic two-part devised work based on the travails of modern refugees across the globe.
Twelfth Night by the Anglo-American Aqulia Theatre Company.
Glengarry Glenn Ross Broadway revival with all-star cast led by Liev Schreiber & Alan Alda, directed by Joe Mantello.
Orson's Shadow Steppenwolf Theatre presents Austin Pendleton's backstage comedy about the true story of Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier's unlikely 1960 collaboration on Ionesco's Rhinoceros. Off Broadway at Barrow Street Theatre.
Border/Clash Monologue by spoken-word artist Staceyann Chin about cross-cultural backgrounds, queer identity, and hip hop poetry. At Culture Project.
The Skin Game Mint Theatre revives John Galsworthy's 1920 drama of aristocracy versus bourgeois climbers in the English countryside.
Hecuba Vanessa Redgrave headlines a new Tony Harrison modernized translation of Euripides' war tragedy. At BAM.
The Cherry Orchard Refreshingly comedic take on Chekhov by the Atlantic Theatre Company, in a new script by Tom Donaghy, featuring Alvin Epstein as Firs.
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Broadway revival with Kathleen Turner, Bill Irwin, David Harbour and Mirielle Enos.
Score Anne Bogart directs Tom Nelis in a solo performance as Leonard Bernstein in a devised work taken from the composer/conductor's own words. At New York Theatre Workshop.
The Maids Jean Genet's classic revived by Jean Cocteau Repertory.
Spamalot The Broadway smash musicalization of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, written by Eric Idle & directed by Mike Nichols. Starring Tim Curry, Hank Azaria and David Hyde Pierce. (Also see my return one year later to review the replacement cast, headed by Simon Russell Beale)
The Pillowman Broadway premiere of Martin McDonagh's dystopian black comedy. Starring Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Željko Ivanek, and Michael Stuhlbarg.
A Streetcar Named Desire Famously misguided revival with Natasha Richardson as Blanche and John C. Reilly(!) as Stanley. At Roundabout Theatre Company.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment