Sondheim’s genius makes ambivalence gorgeously musical, but his ironic, subtle sophistication is in short supply in this production
View More COMPANY (Forrest Theater): Gorgeously musical if lacking in Sondheim’s subtletyAuthor: Toby Zinman
MADAME OVARY (Inis Nua): Theater or therapy?
Madame Ovary is a staged memoir about a young woman who survived cancer; it is the fourth female solo show opening just this week:
View More MADAME OVARY (Inis Nua): Theater or therapy?[NYC] TRANSLATIONS (Irish Rep): Searching for clues
The danger with a Brian Friel play is charm. No stage Irishmen here at Irish Rep’s production, no comical drunkenness. Another danger, especially in a…
View More [NYC] TRANSLATIONS (Irish Rep): Searching for cluesTHE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (Azuka): Impassioned and interesting sidestepping
In a world full of rooms which are full of elephants, a lot of sidestepping is required of us all.
View More THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM (Azuka): Impassioned and interesting sidesteppingWHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Arden): A witch’s cauldron of sometimes magic
Even the most hallowed document is no match for a teenage girl, as Heidi Schreck reveals in her play, What the Constitutions Means to Me.…
View More WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO ME (Arden): A witch’s cauldron of sometimes magic[NYC] MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Hudson Theater)
This is vintage Sondheim, the unimaginable flop now on Broadway again, restored to its dazzling, heart-wrenching brilliance. Merrily We Roll Along has been called his most personal,…
View More [NYC] MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (Hudson Theater)[NYC] PURLIE VICTORIOUS (Music Box Theatre): A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch
Ossie Davis’s brilliant and hilarious play is part vaudeville, part sermon. And if preaching is theater, theater is preaching. And the lesson is that “faith…
View More [NYC] PURLIE VICTORIOUS (Music Box Theatre): A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton PatchTWELFTH NIGHT (Wilma): Foolery shines everywhere
“Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun; it shines every where.” Leaving Copernicus aside, the Fool’s wry remark is an apt description…
View More TWELFTH NIGHT (Wilma): Foolery shines everywhereTWELFTH NIGHT (Lantern): Shall we set about some revels?
“Shall we set about some revels?” Yes! The battle begins: Lantern Theater Company opened its excellent and enjoyable production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night; soon to…
View More TWELFTH NIGHT (Lantern): Shall we set about some revels?OF GOD AND COUNTRY (PMA): A dilettante at large review
The DAL is having quite a week! First the Orchestra and then the Museum: Philadelphia’s finest institutions providing much enjoyment. Philadelphia Museum of Art has…
View More OF GOD AND COUNTRY (PMA): A dilettante at large reviewTHE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA’S GREAT STAGES GALA: A Dilettante at Large review
DAL is pleased to report that this gala was more fun than glam. Oh, there was the occasional gown and a sprinkling of black ties,…
View More THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA’S GREAT STAGES GALA: A Dilettante at Large reviewFAT HAM + ABANDON: Considering James Ijames’s new and newer work
James Ijames won the Pulitzer Prize for Fat Ham, which is now running on Broadway; his even newer play, Abandon, has just opened at Theatre Exile.
View More FAT HAM + ABANDON: Considering James Ijames’s new and newer workGALILEE (Azuka): A tale from down under
A small town’s main business—tourism— dries up and bit by bit small businesses follow.
View More GALILEE (Azuka): A tale from down underTHE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (1812): Fall-off-your-chair hilarity
This is not the admiring smirk or a contemptuous Ha-ha!, but fall-off-your-chair, eye-mopping hilarity.
View More THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG (1812): Fall-off-your-chair hilarityDON GIOVANNI (AVA): A dilettante at large review
Mozart’s Don Giovanni is the greatest opera ever written. Don’t take my word for it—what do I know, I’m a dilettante—but that was the opinion…
View More DON GIOVANNI (AVA): A dilettante at large review[NYC] PRIMA FACIE (John Golden Theater): Ordeal by theater
Take the trigger warnings seriously: This is ordeal by theater.
View More [NYC] PRIMA FACIE (John Golden Theater): Ordeal by theaterPLUM BUN (EgoPo): Passing on history
This remarkable adaptation of a century-old novel concludes EgoPo’s Harlem Renaissance season
View More PLUM BUN (EgoPo): Passing on history[NYC] CAMELOT (Lincoln Center): Back to the round table
Sometimes cynical, ultra-cool critical disdain—much in evidence these days— just won’t do. I loved this show; it’s filled with wonderful songs and wonderful singers, an…
View More [NYC] CAMELOT (Lincoln Center): Back to the round tableLADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL (PTC): A living portrait and an evening of wonderful songs
At 15th & Bainbridge—only a few blocks from Philadelphia Theatre Company’s stage at Broad & Lombard—there stood a legendary dive bar called Emerson’s. Jazz greats—John…
View More LADY DAY AT EMERSON’S BAR & GRILL (PTC): A living portrait and an evening of wonderful songsESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE (Walnut Street): A wackadoodle of a show
What a wackadoodle of a show! Part party, part pop musical, the Walnut Street Theatre’s production of Jimmy Buffett’s hit is an enjoyable evening, but…
View More ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE (Walnut Street): A wackadoodle of a show