Robert Israel

Theater Review: “We Had a World” — Joshua Harmon’s Family Saga Revels in Wit and Wounds

February 20, 2026
Posted in , ,

Joshua Harmon’s play offers numerous instances of familial turbulence, moments of rhapsodic relief and — to avoid spoilers — revelations of how guilt and hostility fuse to create irreparable fissures in the family dynamic.

Concert Review: Joy and Virtuosity Meet in “In the Fiddler’s House” at Symphony Hall

February 17, 2026
Posted in , ,

Overall, the In the Fiddler’s House concert captured the infectious joy of this wondrous musical genre.

Theater Review: “Noli Timere” — A Fearless Weaving of Light and Motion

January 31, 2026
Posted in , ,

If there is power in being invited, for the space of 80 minutes, to suspend our fear of where things are going, this show is a place where we can feel safe to do just that.

Book Review: “Razzle Dazzle” Minus Some of the Sparkle — John Lahr Profiles the Stars, and Himself

December 6, 2025
Posted in , ,

If John Lahr could learn, even in his eighties, to cut back on his own self-adoration and stop being so damned star struck, the razzle in his profiles would dazzle all the more.

Theater Review: “Kim’s Convenience” — Gentle Comedy, Missing Urgency

November 8, 2025
Posted in , ,

“Kim’s Convenience” offers a genial comic glimpse of an immigrant family’s struggle for dignity and an economic foothold.

Book Review: “Coyote” Bio Focuses on Sam Shepard’s Turbulent Life but Skims Lasting Impact of His Work

November 5, 2025
Posted in , ,

The biographer puts far too much emphasis on Sam Shepard’s louche life, neglecting to provide much analysis about the value of his stage work, particularly on whether it will endure.

Theater Review: Manual Cinema’s “The 4th Witch” — A Hallucinatory Vision of War and Witchcraft

October 31, 2025
Posted in , ,

Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” serves as a springboard for a memorable new vision by these inventive, multimedia theater artists.

Book Review: John Guare’s Funhouse Mirror: The Playwright Joins the Library of America

October 23, 2025
Posted in , , ,

A generous serving of what theater critic John Lahr calls playwright John Guare’s “funhouse-mirror reflection of American life’s caprice and chaos in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.”

Theater Review: “Sardines” — A One-Man Journey Through Death, Memory, and Grace

October 5, 2025
Posted in , ,

Chris Grace invites us to think about mortality with him, to learn something from his stories, and to share a few heartwarming laughs along the way.

Theater Review: “Primary Trust” — Dramatizing Acts of Random Kindness

September 20, 2025
Posted in , ,

Playwright Eboni Booth won last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this script, and it is a heartwarming, well-constructed, one-act.

Recent Posts

Popular Posts

Categories

Archives