“In these plays, part of my job is to unflatten history in a way that’s engaging, and also shows us that it’s okay for us to feel overwhelmed and confused and scared by the world — that we’re not so different from the people who came before us. They got through it, and we will, too.”
Theater
Theater Review: “Reparations” — A Message Well Delivered
As the play ends, all four characters have a clear understanding of their marching orders. But will they — or we — act on them?
Book Review: A Retrograde Shakespearean Shout-Out
Shakespearean’s version of the Bard comes off as somewhat Monty Pythonesque — we are usually marching along with “Men Men Men.”
Theater Review: “Hurricane Diane” — A Whimper Rather than a Whirlwind
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
“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: “Theatrum Mundi: Masks and Masquerades in Mexico and the Andes” — Utterly 21st Century
In this deeply enlightening study, Anthony Alan Shelton aims to set the record straight about how mask culture developed in Mexico as well as in Andean cultures.
Film Review: “On Broadway” — A Love Letter to the Return to Normal
If the theater really mirrors life, then you can bet we’re in for some drastic changes and adjustments, even on Broadway.
Theater Review: “Seared” — A Recipe for Comedy
Theresa Rebeck’s foodie comedy Seared is more of an amiable appetizer than a substantial entree.
Theater Commentary: Is It the Right Time for “Our Town”?
These days, I’m not in a mood to be comforted in the theater by either toasting or roasting chestnuts.
Theater Review: CSC’s “The Tempest” — A Brilliantly Kinetic Staging
CSC pulled out all the stops for its turn at The Tempest, bringing together a cast that is more than up to the challenge of knitting together poignant drama and madcap comedy.