Bill Marx
This is adversarial criticism, with an eye on the martyred, fueled by grievances political and aesthetic — the return of the repressed as the comeuppance for the comfortable. No wonder Roberto Bolaño’s reviews garnered him fierce detractors as well as admirers.
Two New York stage productions offer sterling examples of going maximalist in an increasingly minimalist age
Buckets of blood and handfuls of guts always look slightly ridiculous splashed and dangled around on stage, though I must admit that this is the first RICHARD III I have seen with a working chainsaw.
Author Carol Verburg covers a sinfully neglected part of Edward Gorey’s career –- the books on his art deal cursorily, if at all, with his forays into theater as a director, designer, actor, and writer
The Zeitgeist Stage Company production has made me rethink Edward Albee’s HOMELIFE to the extent that the couple, well played by Peter Brown and Christine Power, generate a loving bond that adds some welcome tension (and humor) to the revelations of free-floating anxiety and confusion.
Henrik Ibsen’s rejection of the everyday drives this compelling take on “Hedda Gabler” – the production generates a theatrical arena that is simultaneously acrobatic and surreal.
A Chekhovian dramatic fabric calls for a tough/tender gift for realism. Getting the balance right is tricky — too much reassurance veers toward easy sentimentality, while excessive punishment pushes the proceedings toward soap opera.
May is usually a so-so respite before the summer season revs up, but there’s some interesting productions popping up, including Propeller Theatre Company’s all-male versions of Shakespeare’s Richard III and The Comedy of Errors, Amy Brenneman’s autobiographical show Mouth Wide Open, and an opportunity to see J. M. Barrie take it on in the chin…
Arts Commentary: Can Criticism Be Too Positive Too Often?
How much do you really know about a critic if all you have on record is what he or she likes and why? At some point staying mum about the negative looks less like tenderhearted support or good manners and more like cowardice or a lack of seriousness. By Bill Marx The news that veteran,…
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