The Niceties — McCarter Theatre
Oooh, those asterisks. They sneak in everywhere these days. Heck, they’re practically de rigueur. The first asterisk I disliked was the one I felt minimized Roger Maris’s slugging achievement because … Continue reading
Four Fast Takes — As You Like It, The Mousetrap, Nureyev’s Eyes, Sound of Music
AS YOU LIKE IT, Lantern Theater, 10th and Ludlow Streets, Philadelphia, through Sunday, April 17 —Ultimately entertaining, Charles McMahon’s production of Shakespeare’s wise comedy is a hodge-podge that not only … Continue reading
The Piano Lesson — McCarter Theatre
Storytelling prevails so strongly and engrossingly in McCarter Theatre’s production of “The Piano Lesson,” you marvel and how adroitly director Jade King Carroll and her cast sidestep playwright August Wilson’s … Continue reading
Quickies: The Bald Soprano, Baskerville, Book of Mormon, McCarter Carol, Volunteers…
Oops! I’m behind for a change. Too much attention to creative writing is the culprit, but it’s time to catch up with what’s happening in local theater. “Quickies” will begin to appear … Continue reading
A Comedy of Tenors — McCarter Theatre Company at the Matthews Theatre
Ken Ludwig cannot keep his hands off of tenors. Thank goodness! While his marvelous new farce, “A Comedy of Tenors,” does not refer significantly to his lasting 1989 favorite, “Lend Me … Continue reading
Baby Doll — McCarter Theatre Company, Berlind Theatre
In Tennessee Williams’s script for “27 Wagons Full of Cotton” and the 1956 screenplay that derives from it, “Baby Doll,” everybody puts Baby in a corner. Or foments her retreating … Continue reading
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee — Princeton Festival
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is a delicate piece. On one level it always works because of William Finn’s irrepressibly upbeat score and the goofy characters conceived by … Continue reading
Five Mile Lake — McCarter Theatre
Few playwrights, new or established, hold a mirror up to nature, as efficiently and compactly as Rachel Bonds. Bonds is particularly adept at capturing human nature and its quiet, engulfing … Continue reading