Bears is magical—until it’s not
There’s only so far you can go on style and good intentions. Bears looks fantastic and its political heart is in the right place. But the script is badly built, so it gets boring. Sheldon Elter, who plays Floyd, narrates his character’s journey in the third person....
The Cherry Orchard: the perfect theatrical meditation for Spring
DON'T BE CONFUSED: THIS ISN'T MY REVIEW OF THE ARTS CLUB'S 2019 PRODUCTION OF THE ORCHARD (AFTER CHEKHOV), IT'S A REVIEW OF AN AMATEUR—AND SUPERIOR—PRODUCTION OF THE CHERRY ORCHARD. BUT ENJOY IT. 🙂 Spring aches. So does this delicate production of The Cherry...
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Yesterday, I launched a Patreon campaign. It's all about creating an alternative funding source so that I can keep writing about theatre. The video explains it all. And, when you've been thoroughly convinced by the video, here's where you can join the revolution by...
The Money Shot: Save your cash
I started checking my watch about a half hour in. And time slowed down after that. Supposedly, Neil LaBute’s The Money Shot is a comedy. Set on the Hollywood terrace of an Oscar-winning lesbian actor, LaBute’s script features three movieland airheads and one bitter...
THIS: a funny, touching—and uneasy—mix of comedy and drama
I laughed. I cried. I was confused. In her 2009 script, This, playwright Melissa James Gibson introduces us to five witty New Yorkers—well, four New Yorkers and a Frenchman—who are desperately trying to negotiate the disappointments and responsibilities of early...
The History of the World (Based on Banalities): theatrically hot, emotionally cool
The History of the World (Based on Banalities) is a monologue for a boy about his failed connection with his mother. And that’s ironic because Phil’s Mom Martine, a physicist, was fascinated by the Higgs boson particle, which physics tells us connects everything—and...
The Explanation: so untethered it’s like kissing in a hot-air balloon
“Feeling the air up my skirt…That was one of the greatest sensations.” So says John, a cross-dressing straight guy in The Explanation. Watching The Explanation, I got a bit of wind up my skirt, too. By loosening the restrictions on gender expression, The...
Me and You is charming, gorgeous, and a little wobbly
Melody Anderson’s new play Me and You is sweetly soulful. And it could be better built. In Me and You, Anderson logs exemplary moments in the lifelong relationship between sisters Liz and Lou. The first time we see them, Liz, who is four years older, is outraged when...
Nine Dragons: a whodunnit in which you care who did it
Much to the credit of playwright Jovanni Sy, Nine Dragons is a rewarding thriller. Riffing on film noir, Sy sets the action in the Kowloon neighbourhood of Hong Kong in the 1920s. A character that the press calls the Kowloon Ripper is murdering women, then chopping...
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