Category Archives: Theatre: Off-Broadway

The Playbill for Paula Vogel’s A Civil War Christmas — which opened Tuesday at New York Theater Workshop – contains a “production history” timeline starting with the November 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln. The twelfth and final item dated “October-November 2012” notes the production’s rehearsal start, the arrival of Hurricane Sandy and NYTW’s loss ofContinue reading “A Civil War Christmas: A fascinating, serious and fun pageant for the ages”

I guess I just expected so much more. The story behind the story of Richard Nixon’s infamous “Checkers” speech; Terry Kinney in the director’s chair and the very talented Anthony LaPaglia and Kathryn Erbe doing the majority of the heavy lifting on stage; a script by the politically astute Douglas McGrath, who gained some satireContinue reading “Checkers: Nixon’s most likable moment played out less-favorably”

In the program to his new play Sorry writer-director Richard Nelson writes, “It is my hope that these plays are about the need to talk, the need to listen, the need for theatre, and, I now add, the need to be in the same room together.” The immediacy of theater sets it apart from theContinue reading “Sorry: The Apple Family has nothing to apologize for”

I don’t casually give standing ovations. Generally, I remain perfectly content to clap from my seat, even if I thoroughly enjoyed the just completed work. However, upon the final blackout of The Whale, I leapt to my feet to acknowledge the brilliant and award-worthy performance of Shuler Hensley, and to an even greater degree, theContinue reading “The Whale: Theater at its best as Playwrights Horizons does it again”

Oh, how I would love to be happy all the time! Wouldn’t that be wonderful? For that very experience, vacationers spend thousands of dollars to visit the happiest place on Earth, Disney World. In so many ways, they leave the real world to enter an entirely different one, filled with multiple resorts, attractions, countries, mallsContinue reading “Wild With Happy: More wild, less happy, looking for the proper balance”