Robert Israel

Theater Remembrance: Trinity Repertory Company Director Adrian Hall

February 7, 2023
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During his career as the founder and artistic director of the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence (from 1964 to 1989), Adrian Hall achieved a lasting place in the American theater as a visionary director.

Theater Review: “The Art of Burning” — Bonfire of the Vanities

January 29, 2023
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The domestic demolition in Kate Snodgrass’s script is served au flambé.

Theater Review: “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” — A Stirring Dramatic Experience

October 25, 2022
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Despite some missteps and miscasting bumps along the way, this staging faithfully captures playwright August Wilson’s searing poetic vision.

Theater Interview: Performer Bill Irwin – Channeling Samuel Beckett

October 21, 2022
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“Samuel Beckett’s work speaks to me because he’s a very visceral writer. And, because I have training as a clown, I think of him as a natural clown.”

Book Review: Steve Stern’s “Village Idiot” — Painted into a Corner

September 6, 2022
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Steve Stern’s novel about the Jewish expressionist painter Chaim Soutine is more informative than it is engaging.

Poetry Commentary: Native American Poet and Activist Joy Harjo at Tanglewood — A Disappointment

August 4, 2022
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Many have surrendered to Joy Harjo’s undeniable shamanistic charms and classify her as a national treasure.

Theater Review: “Hurricane Diane” — A Whimper Rather than a Whirlwind

September 4, 2021
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Madeleine George’s uneven 90-minte one-act comedy/drama borrows heavily on Greek mythology to zip up the misadventures of a cluster of suburban women in New Jersey,

Theater Interview: Tennessee Williams and Censorship

September 2, 2021
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“A lot of censorship in America has to do with the impulse to shut down what women have to say, literally hanging and burning them as witches to shut them up.”

Book Review: A Valuable Reminder of Lorraine Hansberry’s “Radical Vision”

April 25, 2021
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In the process of exploring the ideas that shaped Lorraine Hansberry’s understanding of her art and the world, the volume confirms the writer’s relevance during these troubled but potentially transformative times.

Book Review: “Cheese, Wine, and Bread” — On the Menu, Confession and Fermentation

April 21, 2021
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The current rage for inserting the personal/confessional in everything from cookbooks to literary criticism can go too far.

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