Review of RIZZO at Theatre Exile
http://phindie.com/9701-rizzo-theatre-exile-a-romp-through-the-rizzo-years/
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Review of RIZZO at Theatre Exile
http://phindie.com/9701-rizzo-theatre-exile-a-romp-through-the-rizzo-years/
Theater Reviews Publications List
Kathryn Osenlund
Theater Reviews
CONTENTS:
CurtainUp.com Philadelphia reviews,
Phindie.com Philadelphia reviews & short articles
Philadelphia New & Noteworthy reviews (CU)
New York FringeNYC and other NY reviews; Other cities
LA & Hollywood engine28 reviews
Philadelphia
901 Nowhere Street by Jeremy Gable. Sam Tower+Ensemble. At Power Plant Productions, N. Bread St. CurtainUp (09/16/15)
Alias Ellis Mackenzie by Thaddeus Phillips. Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. At Prince Theater. Phindie.com (09/13/15)
ANDY: A Popera by Jarboe, Lally and composed by Allen and Visconti. The Bearded Ladies Cabaret and Opera Philadelphia. At 1526 N. American St. CurtainUp.com (09/12/15)
A Great War by James J. Christy, Jr. Iron Age Theatre. At Maas Space. Phindie.com (09/10/15)
Zombies… With Guns! by Nick Mazucca et al. Tribe of Fools. FringeArts, Neighborhood Fringe. At Luna Theatre, Church of the Crucifixion. CurtainUp.com (09/07/15)
A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen adapted by Jo Stromgren.
Jo Stromgren Kompani at FringeArts. FringeArts Curated. For CurtainUp.com (09/06/15)
Divine/Intervention by E. Dale Smith & Braden Chapman. At Voyeur Night Club. For CurtainUp.com (07/20/15)
Moon Man Walk by James Ijames. Produced by Orbiter 3 at Prince Theater. For CurtainUp (07/03/15)
I Promised Myself to Live Faster by Gregory S. Moss and Pig Iron Company. At FringeArts, 140 N. Columbus Blvd. For CurtainUp (05/27/15)
Noises Off by Michael Frayn. Curio Theatre Company at Calvary Center for Culture and Community. For Phindie.com (05/08/15)
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee. Theatre Exile at P&P, In article: The Ghosts of Taylor and Burton. For BSR (04/26/15)
The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Adapted by Mattie Hawkinson, Josh Carpenter, Sean Close, and Alexander Burns. Quintessence Theatre Group at Sedgwick Theater. For CurtainUp (04/19/15)
The Taming of The Shrew by William Shakespeare. Lantern Theater. For CurtainUp (04/09/15)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Wilma Theater. For CurtainUp (04/02/15)
Moon Cave by Douglas Williams. Azuka Theatre at Off –Broad St Theatre, Sansom St. For CurtainUp. (03/09/15)
The Whale by Samuel by Samuel D. Hunter. Studio X. Theatre Exile. For Phindie (02/13/15)
Under The Skin by Michael Hollinger. Arden Theatre. For Phindie.com (Reviewed on 01/25. Posted on 02/02 due to cast change delay)
Doubt: A Parable by John Patrick Shanley. Lantern Theater Company. At St. Stephen’s Theater. For Broad Street Review (01/22/15)
Hot ‘n’Cole by David Armstrong, Mark Waldrop, and Bruce W. Coyle. Mauckingbird Theatre Company. At Skybox at the Adrienne. For Phindie.com. (01/17/15)
Always…Patsy Cline created by Ted Swindley. Bristol Riverside Theatre. For CurtainUp (12/29/14)
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, adapted by Simon Reade. Quintessence Theatre Company. At the Sedgwick Theater. For Phindie.com (12/20/14)
Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley, Philadelphia Theatre Company. At Suzanne Roberts Theatre. (12/05/14)
QED by Peter Parnell, Lantern Theater Company. At St. Stephen’s Theater. For Phindie.com (11/22/14)
Red Speedo by Lucas Hnath. Theatre Exile. At Studio X (11/05/14)
Sticks and Bones by David Rabe. The New Group. At Pershing Square Signature Theater, New York. (11/08/14)
Henry V by William Shakespeare. Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre. (10/29/14)
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. EgoPo Classic Theater. At Latvian Society Theater. (10/26/14)
Ciphers by Dawn King. Inis Nua Theatre Company. At Off-Broad Street Theatre. (10/12/14)
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard. At Lantern Theater (10/12/14)
The Body Lautrec by Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen. At Caplan Studio. FringeArts. For Phindie. Com (9/19/14)
Anna K by Chris Davis. At his Wharton Street residence. FringeArts, Neighborhood Fringe. For Phindie.com (09/15/14)
The Four Seasons Restaurant by Romeo Castellucci. Societas Raffaello Sanzio. At 23rd Street Armory. Presented Fringe. For Phindie.com (09/13/14)
The Adults by Whit MacLaughlin and New Paradise Laboratories. At Painted Bride Art Center. Presented Fringe. For Phindie.com (09/13/14)
99 Breakups by Pig Iron Theatre Company. At PAFA. Presented Fringe. For Phindie.com (09/10/14)
Splatter! By Dale J. Pearson. Manayunk Theatre Company. At St. David’s Episcopal Church (basement). FringeArts. For Phindie.com (09/06/14)
UNTITLED: What You See or What Do You See. Visual Arts presentation by Krie Alden. At Da Vinci Art Center. FringeArts. For Phindie.com (09/06/14)
Two Street: A Tale of Star-Crossed Mummers. Tribe of Fools. At Church of the Crucifixion. Presented Fringe. For Phindie.com (09/06/14)
Xanadu by Douglas Carter Beane. Mazeppa Productions. At Christ Church Neighborhood House. For Phindie.com (07/16/14)
Herringbone by Tom Cone. Flashpoint Theatre Company at Off-Broad Street Theater. For Phindie.com (07/15/14)
Ritu Comes Home by Peter Gil-Sheridan. InterAct Theatre Company. For Phindie.com (09/12/14)
The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard. Wilma Theater (05/31/14)
The Screwtape Letters. Adapted from C.S. Lewis by Anthony Lawton. Lantern Theater Company. For Phindie.com (05/29/14)
Red-Eye to Havre de Grace by Thaddeus Phillips and Lucidity Suitcase International. New York Theatre Workshop. For Phindie.com (05/12/14)
Oedipussy by Spymonkey. Adapted by Curio Theatre Company. Calvary Center for Culture and Community. For Phindie.com (05/03/14)
Gint by Romulus Linney. Adapted from Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. EgoPo at Christ Church Neighborhood House (05/01/14)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre For Phindie.com (04/12/14)
Three Sisters by Anton Chekov, translated by Curt Columbus. Arden Theatre (03/29/14)
Don Juan Comes Home from Iraq by Paula Vogel. Wilma Theater For Phindie.com (03/27/14)
Skin & Bone by Jacqueline Goldfinger. Azuka Theatre. (03/09/14)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Lantern Theater Company (02/16/14)
True West by Sam Shepard. Theatre Exile at Plays & Players. For Phindie.com (02/06/14)
Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes. Arden Theatre (02/01/2014) For Phindie; Short version posted by CurtainUp.com
NERDS Book & lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner. Music by Hal Goldberg. Philadelphia Theatre Company at Suzanne Roberts Theatre (12/15/13)
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas. Adapted by Lantern Theater Company. St. Steven’s Theater. (11/12/13)
17 Border Crossings: Voyage of Imagination by Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. Thaddeus Phillips. FringeArts. For Phindie. Com (11/16/2013)
Cock by Mike Bartlett. Theatre Exile at Studio X (10/24/2013)
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Curio Theatre Company at Calvary Center for Culture and Community, West Phila (10/18/13)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Quintessence Theatre Group at the Sedgwick. (10/16/13)
Hannah by John Rosenberg. Hella Fresh at Papermill Theater, Kensington (10/12/13)
Nice & Fresh by Smokey Scout Productions. Four pieces: Protection by John Rosenberg, Lay of the Land (Dance performance) by Meg Foley, Bortle 8 is the True Darkness by Chris Davis,
Sadie Remembered by Josh McIlvain. At Moving Arts of Mount Airy (10/04/13) For Phindie.com
Bunny Bunny by Alan Zweibel. 1812 Productions at Walnut Street Theater’s Independence Studio on 3. (09/26/13)
Avenue Q, Music and lyrics by Jeff Marx & Robert Lopez. Book by Jeff Whitty. Mazeppa Productions at Christ Church Neighborhood House (07/18/13) Phindie.com
Heroes by Tom Stoppard, adaptation of Gerald Siblyras Le Vent des Peupliers .Lantern Theater (05/23/13)
The Gambling Room by John Rosenberg. Hella Fresh at Papermill Theater, Kensington (05/20/13) Phindie.com
Heroes by Tom Stoppard, adaptation of Gerald Siblyras Le Vent des Peupliers .Lantern Theater (05/23/13)
Failure: A Love Story by Philip Dawkins. Azuka Theatre at Off-Broad Street Theater (05/09/13)
North of the Boulevard by Bruce Graham. Theatre Exile at Studio X (04/25/13)
Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire. Walnut Street Theatre (03/28/13)
Under the Whaleback by Richard Bean. Wilma Theater (03/14/13)
To Fool the Eye adaptation of Anouilh by Jeffrey Hatcher. 1812 Productions at Mandell Theater, Drexel University (02/23/13)
Endgame by Samuel Beckett. Arden Theatre, Arcadia Stage (02/06/13)
Assassin by David Robson. InterAct Theatre (01/23/13)
The English Bride by Lucille Lichtblau. Theatre Exile at Studio X (11/15/12)
Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain. Arden Theatre (11/14/12)
The Liar by David Ives, adapted from Corneille. Lantern Theater (11/09/12)
The Exit Interview by William Missouri Downs. InterAct Theatre (10/25/12)
Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika by Tony Kushner. Wilma Theater (10/13/12)
The Edge of Our Bodies by Adam Rapp. Theatre Exile at Studio X, South 13th St. (09/15/12)
Etched in Skin on a Sunlit Night by Kara Lee Corthron. InterAct Theatre Company. Adrienne Theater (06/13/12
Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches by Tony Kushner. Wilma Theater (06/07/12)
Tulipomania: The Musical. Book, music, lyrics by Michael Ogborn. Arden Theatre Company (05/31/12)
Asymmetric by Mac Rogers. New City Stage Company, Second Stage at the Adrienne (05/24/12)
A Behanding in Spokane by Martin McDonagh. Theatre Exile, Christ Church Neighborhood House (04/26/12)
Slip/Shot by Jacqueline Goldfinger. Flashpoint Theatre Company, Second Stage at the Adrienne (04/19/12)
Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard. Wilma Theater (03/22/12)
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater (03/15/12)
Knives in Hens by David Harrower. Theatre Exile at Studio X (2/16/12)
The Scottsboro Boys, Book by David Thompson, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb. PTC, Suzanne Roberts Theatre (02/09/12)
A Raw Space by Jon Marans. Bristol Riverside Theatre (02/02/12)
Microcrisis by Mike Lew. InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne (01/26/12)
Act A Lady by Jordan Harrison. Azuka Theatre at First Baptist Church (11/10/11)
Red by John Logan. PTC at Suzanne Roberts Theatre (10/20/11)
The Aliens by Annie Baker. Theatre Exile at Studio X (09/16/11)
Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical. Adapted by Erica Schmidt, music by Andrew Sherman, conceived by Susan L. Schwartz. eXposed Theatre Company. Mascher Performance Space Philly Fringe (9/10/11)
Heavy Metal Dance Fag by Tribe of Fools. Live Arts Festival (09/08/11)
Savage/Love and Tongues by Sam Shepard and Joseph Chaikin. Philly Fringe (09/04/11)
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. Pig Iron Theatre Company. At Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Philadelphia Live Arts (09/04/11)
Dancing Dead by Brian Sanders’ Junk. Loft Building. Philadelphia Live Arts (09/03/11)
Whale Optics by Thaddeus Phillips and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. Prince Music Theatre. Philadelphia Live Arts (09/03/11)
Buried Child by Sam Shepard. Temple Repertory Theater at Randall Theater. Tumblr blog: theatrendorphin (07/08/11)
Playing Leni, Madhouse Theater Company. Skybox at Adrienne Theatre (06/01/11)
Vigil by Morris Panych. Lantern Theater Company. St Stephen’s Theater (05/26/11)
Saturn Returns by Noah Haidle. Theatre Exile. Christ Church Neighborhood House (5/4/11)
Superior Donuts by Tracy Letts. Arden Theatre Company (03/18/11)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Wm. Shakespeare. Lantern Theater (03/16/11)
The Understudy by Theresa Rebeck. Wilma Theatre (01/05/11)
That Pretty Pretty; or, The Rape Play. By Sheila Callaghan. Theatre Exile. Christ Church Neighborhood House (11/21/10)
Silverhill by Thomas Gibbons. InterAct Theatre Company. Adrienne Theater (11/07/10)
Ghost-Writer by Michael Hollinger. Arden Theatre (09/25/10)
Carrie by Brat Productions. Novel by Stephen King, play by Erik Jackson. Underground at the Wolf Bldg (10/08/10)
Cankerblossom by Pig Iron Theatre Company. Christ Church Neighborhood House. Philadelphia Live Arts (09/04/10)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare. Mauckingbird Theatre Company. In Residence Randall Theater, Temple U (08/28/10)
Henry V by William Shakespeare. Classical Acting Academy of the Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre (08/08/10)
Survive! by Adrienne Mackey and Swim Pony Productions. Underground at the Wolf Building (06/12/10)
Sunday in the Park with George. Book by James Lapine, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Arden Theatre (06/08/10)
Leaving by Vaclav Havel. Wilma Theater (05/26/10)
Henry IV Part I by William Shakespeare. Lantern Theater (04/07/10)
The Eclectic Society by Eric Conger. Walnut Street Theatre (02/04/10)
Golden Age by Terrence McNally. PTC at Suzanne Roberts Theatre (01/28/10)
Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo. Wilma Theater (01/07/10)
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz. InterAct Theatre Company at Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre (10/28/ 09)
Coming Home by Athol Fugard. Wilma Theater (10/21/09)
The History Boys by Alan Bennett. The Arden Theatre Company, N. 2nd St. (09/30/09)
Fatebook: Avoiding Catastrophe One Party at a Time by New Paradise Laboratories. Live Arts at N 5th St at Poplar (09/10/09)
Never the Sinner: The Leopold and Loeb Story by John Logan. Mauckingbird Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theater (08/13/09)
Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes by Yussef El Guindi. InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theater (04/15/09)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater (04/08/09)
At Home at the Zoo by Edward Albee. PTC at Suzanne Roberts Theatre (04/03/09)
What You Will by William Shakespeare at Bristol Riverside Theatre (02/14/09)
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams at the Walnut Street Theatre (01/23/09)
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok, adapted by Aaron Posner at the Arden Theatre (01/17/09)
Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Mauckingbird Theatre Co. Adrienne Theatre (01/15/09)
Unusual Acts of Devotion by Terrence McNally at Suzanne Roberts Theatre (11/07/08)
Candide, novel by Voltaire adapted by Hugh Wheeler at the Arden Theatre (09/19/08)
The Happiness Lecture by Bill Irwin at PTC’s Suzanne Roberts Theatre (05/25/08)
Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl at the Wilma Theater (05/07/08)
Dear World Bristol Riverside Theatre (05/04/08)
Bug by Tracy Letts, Theatre Exile at Christ Church Neighborhood House (04/30/08)
Roosters by Milcha Sanchez-Scott, Theatre Exile at Christ Church Neighborhood House (02/06/08)
Black Gold by Seth Rozin, InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theater (01/31/08)
M. Butterfly by David Henry Hwang, Philadelphia Theatre Company at Suzanne Roberts Theatre (01/24/ 08)
Age of Arousal by Linda Griffiths, the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (12/12/07)
The School for Wives by Moliere, Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, CurtainUp.com (11/15/07)
Mr. Marmalade by Noah Haidle, Theatre Exile at Christ Church Neighborhood House, CurtainUp.com (11/07/07)
Being Alive conceived by Billy Porter, music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, Suzanne Roberts Theatre, CurtainUp.com (10/31/07)
Last of the Boys by Steven Dietz, InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theater, CurtainUp.com (10/24/07)
Flamingo/Winnebago by Thaddeus Phillips and Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental at Painted Bride Art Center, Phila Live Arts Festival CurtainUp.com (09/02/07)
HAIR: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical book & lyrics by Gerome Ragni & James Rado, music by Galt MacDermot. Prince Music Theater, CurtainUp.com (06/02/07)
The Dishwashers by Morris Panych at Independence Studio on 3, Walnut Street Theatre, CurtainUp. com (04/19/07)
The Life of Galileo by Bertolt Brecht, translated by David Edgar at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (04/18/07)
Chekhov Lizardbrain by Pig Iron Theatre Company at the Latvian Society, CurtainUp.com (03/29/07)
Enchanted April adapted by Matthew Barber from the novel by Elizabeth Von Armin at the Walnut Street Theatre, CurtainUp.com (03/22/07)
Caroline or Change book & lyrics by Tony Kushner, music by Jeannine Tesori at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (03/14/07)
Enemies, A Love Story adapted by Sarah Schulman from the novel by Isaac Bashevis Singer at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (02/16/07)
La Ronde by Arthur Schnitzler translated by Charles McMahon,
Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, CurtainUp.com (02/09/07)
Hearts & Soles by Bruce Graham, Michael Hollinger, and Arden Kass by Theatre Exile at Christ Church Neighborhood House, CurtainUp.com (02/08/07)
A House With No Walls by Thomas Gibbons by InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theater, CurtainUp.com (01/25/07)
Dex & Julie Sittin in a Tree by Bruce Graham at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (01/18/07)
Red Light Winter by Adam Rapp by Theatre Exile at Christ Church Neighborhood House, CurtainUp.com (10/27/06)
Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig by InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne Theater, CurtainUp.com (10/25/06)
A Prayer for Owen Meany, novel by John Irving, adaptation by Simon Bent at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (09/20/06)
Amnesia Curiosa by Geoff Sobelle and Trey Lyford at the Amphitheatre of Pennsylvania Hospital, Live Arts Festival, CurtainUp.com (09/08/06)
P’s & Q’s by Lee Ann Etzold and MyKIndaPony at the Ethical Society, Live Arts Festival, CurtainUp.com (09/07/06)
Every Day Above Ground by SaBooge Theatre Company at Wilma Theater, Live Arts Festival, CurtainUp.com (09/02/06)
Spark Festival 10 For 10. Theatre Alliance-sponsored, at Mum Puppettheater, CurtainUp.com (07/20/06)
Some Men by Terrence McNally. Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players, CurtainUp.com (05/17/06)
Reinventing Eden by Seth Rozin. InterAct Theater Co at the Adrienne, CurtainUp.com (04/12/06)
Richard III by William Shakespeare, by Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, CurtainUp.com (03/29/06)
Novecento by Alessandro Barrico, by Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen’s Theater, CurtainUp.com (02/01/06)
Opus by Michael Hollinger at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (01/19/06)
Shakespeare in Hollywood by Ken Ludwig at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (12/07/05)
Adrift in Macao, book by Christopher Durang, music by Peter Melnick, Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players, CurtainUp.com (11/04/05)
The Lady from the Sea by Henrik Ibsen at the Lantern Theater Company, St. Stephen’s Theater, CurtainUp.com (10/06/05)
I Am My Own Wife (Two actor version) by Doug Wright at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (09/29/05)
Pay Up by Pig Iron Theatre Company at The National (119 Arch) Live Arts Festival, CurtainUp.com (09/08/05)
Planetary Enzyme Blues by New Paradise Laboratories. Written by Whit MacLaughlin. Live Arts Festival, CurtainUp.com (09/01/05)
Outrage by Itamar Moses at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (05/25 /05)
Raw Boys by Dael Orlandersmith at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (03/15/05)
Anyone Can Whistle book by Arthur Laurents, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim at the Prince Music Theater, CurtainUp.com (01/29/05)
Chasing Nicolette book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg, music by David Friedman at the Prince Music Theater, CurtainUp.com (12/11/04)
The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (12/08/04)
The Arabian Nights by Mary Zimmerman at the Arden Theater, CurtainUp.com (10/20/04)
Last of the Boys by Steven Deitz. Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, CurtainUp.com (10/10/04)
Un-American by Coffin, Gorbey, and Hunt for Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen's Theater, CurtainUp.com (09/10/04)
Jesus Hopped the A Train by Stephen Adly Guirgis at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (05/26/04)
God of Desire by Dick Goldberg, by InterAct Theatre Co at the Adrienne, CurtainUp.com (05/12/04)
According to Goldman by Bruce Graham, by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players Theater, CurtainUp.com (03/27/04)
In the Heart of America by Naomi Wallace, by InterAct Theatre Co at the Adrienne, CurtainUp.com (02/18/04)
Embarrassments, a musical by Laurence Klavan and Polly Pen at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (12/05/03)
Resurrection Blues by Arthur Miller at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (9/24/03)
Cafe Puttanesca by Michael Ogborn at the Arden Theater, CurtainUp.com (9/18/03)
La Vie en Bleu, book by Bruce Lumpkin and Bill Van Horn, Walnut Street Theater, CurtainUp.com (9/17/03)
Rrose Salevy Takes a Lover in Philadelphia by New Paradise Laboratories at Festival Gallery, Fringe Festival, CurtainUp.com (09/05/03)
Drummer Wanted by Richard Maxwell at the Arden Theater, Fringe Festival, CurtainUp.com (08/29/03)
A Picasso by Jeffrey Hatcher by Philadelphia Theatre Co at Plays & Players, CurtainUp.com (06/01/03)
Red by Chay Yew at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (05/28/03)
Pacific Overtures, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by John Weidman at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (05/28/03)
Desperate Conversations: Two One-Acts by Tennessee Williams by Random Acts of Theater at the Triangle Theater, CurtainUp.com (05/18/03)
James Joyce Is Dead And So Is Paris by Pig Iron Theatre Company at Christ Church Annex, CurtainUp.com (04/12/03)
Big Love by Charles L. Mee at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (03/26/03)
The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players, CurtainUp.com (03/19/03)
Cowboy Mouth by Sam Shepard at Shubin Theater, CurtainUp.com (02/09/03)
Three Plays about Love & Romance, The Problem by A.R. Gurney and The Proposal by Anton Chekhov at the Triangle Theater, CurtainUp.com (02/08/03)
King Hedley II, by August Wilson by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players, CurtainUp.com (02/06/03)
The Magic Fire, by Lillian Groag at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (12/11/02)
Like Crazy Like Wow: 50s Humor with a Holiday Twist, by 1812 Productions at The Adrienne, CurtainUp.com (12/06/02)
Every Good Boy Deserves Favor, by Tom Stoppard and Andre Previn at Verizon Hall of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, CurtainUp.com (11/22/02)
It's Better With a Band, lyrics by David Zippel at the Prince Music Theater, CurtainUp.com (9/25/02)
Daedalus: A Fantasia of Leonardo Da Vinci by David Davalos at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (9/21/02)
Dirty Blonde by Claudia Shear at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com, (09/18/02)
The Dead by James Joyce book by Richard Nelson, Music by Shaun Davey at the Arden Theater, CurtainUp.com (05/21/02)
Jambulu by Mary Fengar Gail by InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne, CurtainUp.com (01/23/02)
Closer by Patrick Marber at the Arden Theatre's Arcadia Stage,
CurtainUp. com (01/15/02)
Les Liaisons Dangereuses by Christopher Hampton at the Wilma Theatre, CurtainUp.com (11/30/01)
Baby Case by Michael Ogborn at the Arden Theatre, Haas Stage, CurtainUp.com (10/16/01)
Lady in the Dark by Moss Hart, Ira Gershwin, Kurt Weill at the Prince Music Theater, CurtainUp.com (10/5/01)
Patience by Jason Sherman at the Wilma Theater, CurtainUp.com (9/24/01)
The Pavilion by Craig Wright at the Arden Theatre, Arcadia Stage, CurtainUp.com (9/20/01)
Camila by Lori McKelvey at the Walnut Street Theater, CurtainUp.com (9/12/01)
Passion by James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim at the Wilma Theatre, CurtainUp.com (5/23/01)
The Baker's Wife by Joseph Stein and Stephen Schwartz at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (05/15/01)
Charlotte: Life? or Theatre? by Elise Thoron at the Prince Music Theater, CurtainUp.com (03/10/01)
Perfect Pie by Judith Thompson at the Wilma Theatre, CurtainUp.com (03/07/01)
Picasso at the Lapin Agile by Steve Martin at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (03/06/01)
Exit Wounds by Dennis Raymond Smeal at the Arden Theatre, CurtainUp.com (02/16/01)
No Niggers, No Jews, No Dogs by John Henry Redwood. Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players, CurtainUp. com (01/31/01)
The Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players, for CurtainUp.com (10/25/00)
Spin by Robert William Sherwood at the Wilma Theatre, for CurtainUp.com (9/27/00)
Rags by Joseph Stein at the Walnut Street Theater, curtainUp.com (9/13/00)
Cherry Docs by David Gow at the Wilma Theatre, CurtainUp.com (5/10/00)
New and Noteworthy in Philadelphia
[CurtainUp.com & theatrendorphin tumblr blog
Capsule reviews of notable productions and Fringe shows
Phindie.com
Fringe and short articles]
Cited and quoted in Solo Play Feature, Part Two: Theater Pros (actors, playwrights, directors and critics) Talk About the Solo by Elyse Sommer for CurtainUp.com (09/16/14)
The Object Lesson by Geoff Sobelle at Christ Church Neighborhood House. Presented Fringe (09/15/13)
And Tell Sad Stories of the Deaths of Queens by Tennessee Williams by Blue Suede productions at London Grill. Fringe Arts (09/09/13)
Holly’s Dead Soldiers by Walsh, Williams and Davis. At Bruce Walsh house, Northern Liberties. FringeArts (09/08/13)
Saint Joan, Betrayed by Aaron Cromie and Mary Tuomanen, StudioX. FringeArts (09/08/13)
Traveling Light by Lindsay Harris Friel, Liam’s Sofa Cushion at Skybox @ the Adrienne FringeArts (09/08/13)
Antihero by Tribe of Fools at Church of the Crucifixion. FringeArts (09/07/13)
The Society, by Jo Stomgren Kompani. At Painted Bride. Presented Fringe (09/06/13)
Ajax, The Madness by Attis Theatre. At Wilma Theater. Presented Fringe (09/05/13)
Afterthoughts on Uncle Tom’s Cabin: An Unfortunate History by EgoPo (06/09/13)
Studio X-hibition Theatre Exile’s New Play Development Series. FLESH by Michael Hollinger (05/06/13) (Article)
Red Eye to Havre de Grace by Thaddeus Phillips’s Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental and the Wilhelm Bros. At Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Philadelphia Live Arts. For CU (09/14/12)
Zero Cost House, by Pig Iron Theatre Company and Toshiki Okada. At Arts Bank. Philadelphia Live Arts. For CU (09/13/12)
Bang by Charlotte Ford. At Christ Church Neighborhood House. Philadelphia Live Arts Festival. For CU (09/08/12)
Barbie Blended: A Pop Rockin’ [New] Musical by Theatre Underground. At Gershwin Y. Philly Fringe. For CU (09/8/12)
Othello, Desdemona, and Iago Walk Into a Bar by Mark Kennedy [ad hoc theatre project] At The Trestle Inn. Philly Fringe. For CU (09/09/12)
Chomsky vs Buckley, 1969 by Bruce Walsh. At his home in Northern Liberties. Phila Fringe. For CU (09/10/12)
Ivona, Princess of Burgundia by Witold Gombrowicz. The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium. At Walnut Street Studio 5. Philly Fringe (09/2012)
Hamlet-Machine and MedeaPlays by Heiner Muller. Underground Arts at the Wolf Bldg. For Tumblr Blog. (04/29/12)
The Temperamentals by Jon Marans. Mauckingbird Theatre Company at the Adrienne Skybox. (04/12/12)
Private Lives by Noel Coward. Lantern Theater Company.
St. Stephen’s Theater. (12/22/11)
Ordinary Days by Adam Gwon. 11th Hour Theatre Company. Skybox at the Adrienne (12/04/11)
Gruesome Playground Injuries by Rajiv Joseph . Theatre Exile at Philadelphia Shakespeare Company. Review on theatrendorphin tumblr blog (12/01/11)
[title of show] by Mauckingbird Theatre Company. Upstairs at the Adrienne [01/15/11)
The Sun Also Rises (The Select) based on Hemingway novel by Elevator Repair Service. Arts Bank. Live Arts (09/17/10)
Karl Marx in Soho by Iron Age Theatre Co. Twelve Gates Gallery, N. Cherry St. Philly Fringe. (09/12/10)
Sanctuary by Brian Sanders’ JUNK. Theater East at the Hub 5th and Fairmount. Philadelphia Live Arts. (09/11/10)
!El Conquistador! By Lucidity Suitcase International and Thaddeus Phillips. Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Philadelphia Live Arts (09/10/10)
L’Heure Exquise: A Pastiche on Songs by Gabriel Faure. Cory O’Niell Walker. First Unitarian Church, Chestnut St. Philly Fringe (09/04/10)
Fantasy Football: The Musical? A Bro-mantic Comedy. In a developmental reading by 11th Hour Theatre Company. UArts
(07/25/10)
Mort by New Paradise Laboratories and UArts. UArts (02/20/10)
Any Given Monday by Bruce Graham. Theatre Exile at Plays & Players Theatre. (02/11/10)
Chekhov Lizardbrain (revisited) Pig Iron Theatre Company. Arts Bank. (12/10/09)
The Brothers Flanagan. At Fergies Pub. Philly Fringe. (09/13/09)
The Power of Magic: Commedia for Everyone. By Ombelico Mask Ensemble. At Betsy Ross House courtyard. (09/10/09)
Shakesploitation II: Iambic Boogaloo. Iron Age Theatre. Front Street. Philly Fringe. (09/09/09)
Welcome to Yuba City. Pig Iron Theatre Company. The Festival Hub. Live Arts. (09/06/09)
Urban Scuba. Brian Sanders/JUNK. Gershwin Y. Live Arts. (09/04/09
Spark Showcase 2009 Five new short plays. Plays & Players
(06/19/09)
Slightly Irregular: An Evening of Short Plays and Comic Interludes.
Apprentice Program presentation. Arden Theatre (06/16/09)
Hairspray book by Mark O’Donnell and Thomas Meehan based on John Waters film. At the Walnut Street Theatre (12/23/08)
The Government Inspector by Nickolai Gogol, translated by
Dark Play or Stories for Boys by Carlos Murillo. At Theatre Exile (11/19/08)
Rock ‘n’ Roll by Tom Stoppard. At the Wilma Theater. (09/25/08)
Disco Descending by Karen Getz. At Suzanne Roberts Theatre. Live Arts(08/28/08)
Sweet by-And-By by Pig Iron and Teater Slava at Arts Bank (08/29/08)
Animal Tales by Don Niro. Galloping Abbey Productions at Pennypack Park. Philly Fringe (08/30/08)
Kid Simple by Azuka Theatre Collective at the Latvian Society (08/31/08)
A Streetcar Named Durang: Two Burlesques and a Nightmare by Christopher Durang. Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium. Etage Cabaret, (09/02/08)
Pichet Klunchun and Myself by Jerome Bel. At Arts Bank (09/05/08)
A Priest Walks into a Bar by Vagabond Acting Troupe at L2. 22nd & South St. (09/10/08)
Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day by Jan Fabre. At Suzanne Roberts Theatre (09/11/08)
The Melting Bridge by Tatiana Mallarino and Thaddeus Phillips. Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. At Plays & Players (09/12/08)
Othello by William Shakespeare. Lantern Theatre Company at St. Stephen’s Theater (04/17/08)
Machine World Gospel by David Commander. Philly Fringe Festival, at The Performance Garage (09/12/07)
Addicted to Bad Ideas: Peter Lorre’s Twentieth Century by World/Inferno Friendship Society. Philly Fringe Festival at World Café Live (09/09/07)
Explanatorium by Headlong Dance Theater at the Rotunda, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (09/09/07)
Isabella by Pig Iron Theatre Company, at Ice Box Projects Space, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (09/08/07)
Sweetie Pie by Madi Distefano for Azuka at Plays & Players Theater, Philly Fringe Festival (09/07/07)
The Importance of Being Earnest, Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival, Walnut Street Theatre Studio on 5 (06/23/07)
Orson’s Shadow, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Plays & Player’s Theater (05/09/07)
Glengarry Glen Ross, Theatre Exile, Christ Church Neighborhood House (05/04/07)
The Taming of the Shrew, Lantern Theater Company (04/04/07)
Tiny Dancer: A Scottish-Jewish Musical, Prince Music Theater Independence Foundation Stage (03/17/07)
Spring Awakening by Wedekind, EgoPo Productions, Adrienne (03/15/07)
Children of Fatima, Theatre Catalyst 2nd Stage at the Adrienne (09/28/06)
Cloud 9 and A Number by Caryl Churchill, Wilma Theater (05/15/06 and 05/18/06 respectively)
Killer Joe by Tracy Letts. theatre exile, 2nd Stage at the Adrienne
(04/30/06)
Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare. Shakespeare’s Globe at Zellerbach Theatre (11/30/05)
Winesburg, Ohio Book and lyrics by Eric Rosen; Music, additional lyrics by Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman. Arden Theatre (10/19/05)
Shakesploitation by Andy Grigg. Iron Age Theatre & Centre Theater, Philadelphia Fringe (09/16/05)
Red Eye to Havre de Grace by Thaddeus Phillips and The Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental, Philadelphia Live Arts Festival (09/15/05) Re-posted by Phindie.com 09/12/12
Measuring Man by Mum Puppettheatre (Arch St) (09/10/05)
Quinnopolis vs Hamlet by Quinnopolis (Dalton, Beck, and Mullen) Walnut Independence Cabaret Series, Philadelphia Fringe (09/03/05)
Blue/Orange by Joe Penhall. InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne (05/29/05)
Four by Christopher Shinn. Azuka Theatre Collective at St. Stephen’s Theater (05/21/05)
Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg. Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players (05/18/05)
Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Philadelphia Shakespeare Festival
(04/15/05)
Much Ado About Nothing by Wm Shakespeare. Lantern Theater Company at St. Stephen's Theater (03/31/05)
Whores by Lee Blessing. InterAct Theatre Company at the Adrienne (01/20/05)
Night and Day by Tom Stoppard. Wilma Theater (09/28/04)
Hell Meets Henry Halfway by Adriano Shaplin and Pig Iron Theatre Company at Plays and Players. Live Arts Festival (09/12/04)
Be All My Sins Remembered by Royale Fakespeare Company
Christ Church. Philly Fringe (09/12/04)
The Lives of Bosie by John Wolfson Hedgerow Theatre at the Arts Bank. Philly Fringe (09/10/04)
Skewed Shakespeare by Random Acts of Theater at the Triangle Theater (09/05/04)
Hotel Pool by the Headlong Dance Theatre at the Sheraton Pool
(09/03/04)
The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter, by Vagabond Acting Troupe, 2nd Stage at the Adrienne (06/03/04
The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? by Edward Albee, by PTC at Plays & Players. (05/27/04)
The Comedy of Errors by the Lantern Theatre Company at St. Stephen's Church. (04/15/04)
Santaland Diaries and Seasons' Greetings at the Triangle Theater
(12/19/03)
Something Wonderful Right Away: Improv for the Holidays. 1812 Productions at the Adrienne. (12/17/03)
Patti Smith: Words and Music at Zellerbach Theater, U of P. (10/16/03)
Bat Boy, The Musical by Laurence O'Keefe, libretto by Farley and Flemming. 1812 Productions at the Adrienne (05/21/03)
Britney's Inferno by the Headlong Dance Company at the Arden Otto Haas Stage (09/05/02)
Aida, Elton John and Tim Rice, at The Forrest Theatre (06/30/02)
Madame Ranevskaya, an adaptation of The Cherry Orchard, by Yuri Belov at The Adrienne, 1812 Productions (05/15/02)
Copenhagen by Michael Frayn at the Forrest Theater (04/23/02)
Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith at the Wilma Theater (03/02)
God's Man in Texas by David Rambo, InterAct Theater Company at the Adrienne (11/2/01)
Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players (10/17/01)
The Laramie Project by Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players (6/7/01)
Candide by Bernstein/Sondheim et al, Prince Music Theater (5/19/01)
This is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan by Philadelphia Theatre Company at Plays & Players (4/18/01)
The Weir by Conor McPherson at the Arden Theatre (11/8/2000)
Los Angeles/Hollywood
For Engine28.com
Earnest Rock & Roll Jesus with a Cowboy Mouth wants more in the rock dept Hungry River Theatre Company. Hollywood Fringe. Blog. Engine28.com (06/19/11)
TVK: Outrageous and appealingly smarty-pants. Lind and Honett. Hollywood Fringe [Film]. Blog. Engine28.com (06/19/11)
Pure Shock Value rocks Hollywood Fringe [Film] Furious Theatre Company. Blog. Engine28.com (06/18/11)
5 Things about RADAR Festival’s Titus Redux by The New American Theatre & Not Man Apart. Blog Engine28.com (06/17/11)
5 Things About Ground to Cloud & 5 Things About Myth and Infrastructure. Theatre Communications Group breakout session. RADAR L.A. festival. Blog. Engine28.com (06/17/11)
‘2 Dimensional Life of Her,’ Revisited. By Fleur Elise Noble. RADAR L.A. festival. Review/Article. Engine28.com (06/16/11)
New York
I, Horatio by Anthony P. Pennino. At Teatro Latea at the Clemente, FringeNYC (08/26/15)
Dig Infinity! by Oliver Trager. At 64 E 4 (formerly La Mama), FringeNYC (08/25/15)
Julian and Romero by Alex Perez. At Flamboyen at the Clemente, FringeNYC (08/25/15)
This Side of the Impossible by Sebastian Boswell. At Under St. Mark’s, FringeNYC (08/24/15)
The Uncertainty Principle by Adam Strauss. At Under St. Mark’s, FringeNYC (08/24/15)
The Broccoli Murder by Mark D’Mayo. At Under St. Mark’s, FringeNYC (08/23/15)
Creative License by At Lynn Redgrave Theater, FringeNYC (
Loose Canon by Brian Remo and Gabriel Vega Weissman. At Kraine Theater, FringeNYC (08/
The Magic Jukebox : New York City World Tour by ,FringeNYC (08/21/15)
The Boys Are Angry by Jilly Mae Eddy ,FringeNYC (08/21/15)
Red-Eye to Havre de Grace by Thaddeus Phillips and the Wilhelm Bros at New York Theatre Workshop (05/07/14)
Ten Blocks on the Camino Real by Tennessee Williams. At Medicine Show Theatre, 52nd St. NYC (01/10/14)
JDX- A Public Enemy by tgSTAN. At The Public Theater. Under the Radar Festival NYC (01/09/14)
Kemble’s Riot. By Adrian Bunting. At The Players Theatre. FringeNYC (08/17/13)
I (Honestly) Love You by Damon Lockwood. At Kraine. FringeNYC (08/16/13)
Occupy Olympus. Magis Theatre Company. At Flamboyan. FringeNYC (08/16/13)
Cowboys Don’t Sing. At Theatre 80. FringeNYC (08/15/13)
Landscape with Missing Person. At LATEA. FringeNYC (08/15/13)
Lollapacoacharoozastock Music Festival. At Subculture. FringeNYC (08/15/13)
BARCODE At LaMama. FringeNYC (08/14/13)
The Human Fruit Bowl At Celebration of Whimsey. FringeNYC (08/13/13)
Bellini and the Sultan by Turkish American Rep Theatre & Entertainment. At Robert Moss Theater. FringeNYC (08/13 /13)
Gertrude Stein SAINTS! Theatre Plastique At LaMama. FringeNYC (08/12 /13)
Breaking Kayfabe. At Lynn Redgrave Theater. Fringe NYC (08/12/ 13)
The Nightmare ‘Dream’. At 14th St Y. FringeNYC (08/11 /13)
The Mirror Show Episode 1: Pilot The Understudy Escapes. Book & lyrics by Levendorf: / Music, Score by Drew. At 440 Studios - Moss Theater. FringeNYC (08/18/12)
GRIMM: A New Musical by writer/composer Ken Kruper. At HERE Theater. Fringe NYC. (08/17/12)
The Underdeveloped and Overexposed Life and Death of Deena Domino by Hartman and Rudick. At Kraine Theater. FringeNYC (08/16/12)
Snow White Zombie. At Living Theatre. FringeNYC (08/15/12)
Dark Hollow: An Appalachian Woycezk by George Büchner. Adaptation, music, lyrics by Elizabeth Chaney. At Theatre 80. FringeNYC (08/14/12)
Alice & The Bunny Hole At La MaMa. FringeNYC (8?13/12)
2 Households, 2 Assholes: Shakespeare's R&J by Samuel Muñoz and Aaron Muñoz At Soho Playhouse. FringeNYC (8/12/12)
The Hunchback Variations: A Chamber Opera. Music by Mark Messing, Libretto by Mickle Maher (adapted from his play) 59 E 59 Theaters, New York. (06/05/12)
The Agony and The Ecstasy of Steve Jobs by Mike Daisey. At The Public Theater. Theatrendorphin Tumblr Blog (02/25/12)
Love Sick by K. Poe. Produced by AirPort Bar Productions. At Theater for the New City. Theatrendorphin Tumblr Blog (02/24/12)
Krapp’s Last Tape by Samuel Beckett. At BAM. For tumblr blog (12/13/11)
Elysian Fields by Chris Phillips. At Kraine Theater. FringeNYC (08/19/11)
Hamlet by Wm Shakespeare. Bama Theatre Co. At Connelly Theatre. FringeNYC (08/22/11)
Killing John Grisham by Jack Moore. At Teatro SEA (08/20/11)
The Legend of Julie Taymor or The Musical That Killed Everybody. Book, Travis Ferguson, Music Dave Ogrin, lyrics by both. At Bleeker Theatre. FringeNYC (08/21/11)
Walls & Bridges by Scott Murphy. Teatro SEA FringeNYC (8/19/11)
Courtney & Kathleen: A Riot Act. At LaMama (08/19/11)
Lenny’s Dead At Kraine Theatre, Fringenyc (08/18/10)
Rites of Privacy At HERE Center, Fringenyc (08/18/10)
Richard 3 At La Mama Theatre, (08/19/10)
Friends of Dorothy: An Oz Cabaret At La Mama Theatre, Fringenyc (08/19/10)
Platinum At Lucille Lortel Theatre, Fringenyc (08/20/10)
Eternity in an Hour At New School Theatre, Fringenyc (08/20/08)
Invader? I Hardly Know Her At Soho Playhouse, Fringenyc (08/20/10)
Jurassic Parq: A Broadway Musical At La Mama Theatre, Fringenyc (08/21/10)
Lemonade: A Play of World Domination by Tom Noonan At Paradise Factory, Fringenyc (08/21/10)
Schoenberg by John Fisher at Bleecker Street Theatre. NY International Fringe Festival (08/17/08)
O! Balletto text by Fabritio Caroso (1600) adapted by Lane Gifford at Theatre 80, St. Marks Place. NY International Fringe Festival (08/17/08)
Blanche Survives Katrina in a FEMA Trailer Named Desire at Players Theatre. NY International Fringe Festival (08/17/08)
Self-Portrait Schiele at Connelly Theater. NY International Fringe Festival (08/16/08)
The Umbrella Plays at Walkerspace. NY International Fringe Festival (08/16/08)
The Redheaded Man at Barrow Theater. NY International Fringe Festival (08/16/08)
Perez Hilton Saves the Universe (or at least the greater Los Angeles Area) at Bleecker Street Theatre. NY International Fringe Festival (08/15/08)
Tough Guys Don’t Shoot Blanks at Barrow Theater. NY International Fringe Festival (08/15/08)
La Vigilia at Connelly Theater. NY International Fringe Festival (08/14/08)
Nudists in Love Bleecker Street Theatre. NY International Fringe Festival (08/14/08)
Kiss and Make Up by Kevin Hammond and Mark Weiser. NY International Fringe Festival (08/21/07)
Chekhov Jazz by the Rebecca M Quintet. NY International Fringe Festival (08/21/07)
The Life and Times of Martin Luther by The Colonel’s Men. NY International Fringe Festival (08/20/07)
Catch the Fish by Jon Caren. NY International Fringe Festival (08/20/07)
Action Jesus by Leslie Harrell Dillen. NY International Fringe Festival (08/20/07)
Night by Phillip Gerson. NY International Fringe Festival (08/19/07)
Lost in Hollywoodland or Slugwoman from Uranus, by Alex Wexler. NY International Fringe Festival (08/19/07)
The Bicycle Men by Lewman, Liss, Nutter & Rubano. NY International Fringe Festival (08/20/06)
Corleone: The Shakespearean Godfather by David Mann Performance. NY International Fringe Festival (08/20/06)
Olsen Terror by Chris Wells. NY International Fringe Festival (08/20/06)
Open House by Partial Comfort Productions. NY International Fringe Festival (08/19/06)
Diving Normal by Electric Pear Productions. NY International Fringe Festival (08/18/06)
Reservoir Bitches by McManic Productions. NY International Fringe Festival (08/19/06)
How The West Was Spun by The Coyote Company. NY International Fringe Festival (08/18/06)
Moral Values: A Grand Farce or Me No Likey the Homo Touch-Touch by Sue Us Directly Productions. NY International Fringe Festival (08/18/06)
Angel City, Geography of a Horse Dreamer, and Chicago,
three plays in the Sam Shepard Festival by Michael Chekhov Theatre Co at the Big Little Theatre (07/04-05/06)
Feud: Fire on the Mountain by NY Theatre Experiment. NY International Fringe Festival (08/12/05)
Fluffy Bunnies in a Field of Daisies by Matt Chaffee. NY International Fringe Festival (08/13/05)
You Again: A Musical About Cloning by Bill Gullo. NY International Fringe Festival (08/13/05)
Dance With Me, Harker by Wallis Knot Theatre Co. NY International Fringe Festival (08/14/05)
The Imaginary, All-True Leni Riefenstahl Show by Jen Ryan. NY International Fringe Festival (08/24/04)
Terrible Infant by Chris Van Strander. Inversions Theatre.Inc. NY International Fringe Festival (08/25/04)
Bootleg Islam by Negin Farsad. NY International Fringe Festival (08/26/04)
Ashira69 by The Tennessee Project. NY Fringe Festival (08/20/03)
Brain Freeze by John Kawie. NY Fringe Festival (08/19/03)
The Shanghai Gesture by John Colton, revised by Joanna Chan, at the Bank Street Theatre, CurtainUp.com (10/26/02)
A Will of His Own by Jean Francois Regnard at The Pearl Theater, CurtainUp.com (04/07/01)
Zip Code of Atlantis by Larry Myers at Theater for the New City, CurtainUp.com (04/06/01)
American Hieroglyphics by Larry Myers at Theater for the New City, CurtainUp.com (04/10/00)
Other cities
Always… Patsy Cline by Ted Swindley. Bristol Riverside Theatre (12/29/14)
Little Women, The Broadway Musical. Book by Allan Knee, Music by Jason Howland, Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein. Bristol Riverside Theatre (5/6/11)
Mrs. Packard by Emily Mann. Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton NJ, CurtianUp.com (05/11/07)
Hamlet by Shakespeare. Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton NJ, CurtainUp.com (05/11/05)
Tete A Tete by Raphael Burdman at Bristol Riverside Theatre
CurtainUp.com (03/18/04)
Fraulein Else adapted by Faridany from Schnitzler novella,
Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton NJ, CurtainUp.com (01/15/04)
Wintertime by Charles L. Mee at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ, CurtainUp.com (10/17/03)
Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz at Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ, CurtainUp.com (9/17/03)
Yellowman by Dael Orlandersmith at McCarter Theatre Center, Princeton, NJ, CurtainUp.com (01/13/02)
Print Articles and Essay Reviews
"Joe Dante," The Encyclopedia of Major Film Directors, ed. James M. Welsh and John C. Tibbetts (New York: Facts on File, 2002)
Robert Pinsky, Our Premier Poet-Scholar. (video) Review. R. Shafer, producer, IUP: March 2000.
"The Inspector General," Video Versions, ed. Thomas L. Erskine (Westport CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000)
"Petrified Forest," Video Versions, ed. Thomas L. Erskine (Westport CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000)
"Separate Tables," Video Versions, ed. Thomas L. Erskine (Westport CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000)
"The Waltz of the Toreadors," Video Versions, ed. Thomas L. Erskine (Westport CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2000)
"Little Caesar," The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film, ed. John Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998)
"Mogambo," The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film, ed. John Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998)
"Oliver Twist," with John Tibbetts, The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film, ed. John Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998)
"The Shape of Things to Come," The Encyclopedia of Novels into Film, ed. John Tibbetts and James M. Welsh (New York: Facts on File, 1998)
Cited in:
Gangsters and G-Men on Screen: Crime Cinema Then and Now
Gene D. Phillips. Rowman & Littlefield, 2014. P. 12.
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FringeNYC Review
I, Horatio When Fortinbras tells his men to clean up the dead bodies and prepare a soldier's funeral, Horatio takes umbrage, for Hamlet was a prince. With broad comic acting set against Horatio's angst, Anthony P. Pennino's erratic, inventive plot takes off. Banished from Elsinore with three days to live if he doesn't vacate Denmark, Horatio is obsessed with the idea of building a stage so he can honor Hamlet's memory by mounting a play at a village pig festival. Blake Merriman's acting task is truly daunting, for this is not the mild Horatio we know. Insanely inconsistent except in the constancy of his love for his sweet prince, it's No more Mr. Nice Guy. Erratic and violent, he kicks, knifes, and enslaves poor stuffed-shirt outlandish Osric (Alexander Stine). And when he pops a wig on pretty-boy player (Barry Sheppard) the play's only sensible character, he creates a pseudo Ophelia that he can fall in love with. As the bizarre village innkeeper with an S&M operation in the cellar, Courtney Moors keeps the laughs coming with dead right, wacky comic acting. Evil murdering King Fortinbras (Peter Collier), who comes to see the pig festival show, aims to cheer up mopey, melancholy Denmark. He can't tolerate soliloquies. When he hears the opening words of Horatio's show: "To be," he slumps dramatically in his chair, bored to death. With a play full of internal irreconcilable differences, witty ideas, noble aims, and absolute nonsense, the task of directing something caught between a frolic and a nightmare is a darn near impossible task for Matt Bayer, who acquits himself remarkably well. At the end, strains of Trent Reznor provide a perfect topper. At Venue #3. 70 minutes. [Osenlund] CurtainUp.com
FringeNYC Review
Dig Infinity! Oliver Trager wrote, directed, and stars in Dig Infinity! He lives his Lord Buckley, whose groove goes beyond imitation. A bebop humanist who lived a crazy life, Buckley was at one time mixed up with and financed by Al Capone. He toured for the troops in WWII and appeared on Ed Sullivan, but mostly in this work we learn how he enjoyed hanging out with fellow founding hipsters and inspiring a new generation of cool cats. You can hear the flipped out angel who provided Kerouac with inspiration with his self-described "jazz semantic": "Hipsters, flipsters and finger poppin' daddies, knock me your lobes." A cool drummer (Boris Kinberg) and hip, multi-instrument musician (John Kruth) provide important musical accompaniment. Lord Buckley, who recently checked out of the breathing community, awaits the adjudication of his case. He's stoned when he meets with Orpheus, his advocate with the Big Kahuna. Orpheus (Russell Jordan), a DJ with a radio show, must meet his quota with this, his last customer before he, himself, crosses the river to the other side. (Orpheus also seems to be Charon.) Eventually "The Hip Messiah" pays the ferryman to cross the river. Having lived in his own spaced-out dimension, he has carried "The Nazz's" message, which is to stay cool. And he has spread the news that the universe is a house of love. At Venue #11. 90 minutes. [Osenlund] CurtainUp.com
FringeNYC Review
The Uncertainty Principle Although the title might suggest that this Adam Strauss solo performance concerns Martin Heidegger, his commentary is a wide-ranging inquiry into uncertainty by way of OCD, penises and vaginas in general, his 30 lb. penis in particular, and the primal dramas of Moses, Abraham and Isaac, and Jesus. He longs for certainty, although that's the big problem with religions, isn't it? Uncertainty is the only thing that can save anyone from religions and the astonishing number of deaths in their wake. Strauss's performance secret seems to lie in his demeanor and approach, which I'd describe as deceptively laid back, like a grassed-over dormant volcano that everyone says is nothing to worry about. It looks like the old written essay format has morphed into standup. Not that old social commentators like Mark Twain, for instance, didn't do speaking tours, they did. And essayists still publish, but we're living in a TED Talk or TED wannabe world. Directed by Jonathan Libman, Strauss provides social commentary and makes observations: "We are literally becoming our Iphones. I phone, I phone, I phone." He's increasingly concerned about the misuse of words and how specificity is being eroded. (I hear you.) Dismayed by "The Wheelchair Guy," Stephen Hawking, Strauss appears to be holding out for Isacc Newton and the certainty of gravity. What all this has to do with his penis isn't exactly clear, although religion and sex loom large in his philosophies and his "redemptive narrative arc." It's entertaining to watch him make his leaps and sideways slides of faith and faithlessness. At Venue #8. 1 hour. [Osenlund] CurtainUp.com
FringeNYC review
Loose Canon Brian Remo and Gabriel Vega Weissman, in their first foray into playwriting, have crafted six short plays in the style of giants. Bravo! The great playwrights being spoofed are instantly recognizable. Sophocles's The Elmae (followers of Elmo the Muppet) features a tragic chorus of friends, jealous that Jason got a birthday cake from COSTCO and anguished that he received a Tickle Me Elmo. Shakespeare's tragicomedie concerns two workers at AMAZON who have been caught in a scheme and now fear that their reviews "will be from the web untimely ripped." Then at the café in IKEA we encounter a barrage of Moliere's vicious little twists of phrase in rhymed couplets: "Unless you quit your rude Shenanigans I'll leave here and buy at Raymour & Flanigans!" And "Ikea's trick is ecumenical. Everything here is identical." At TACO BELL a whining employee who longs to move to a big metropolis is asked, "Why haven't you visited? It's like a half mile away." And everyone knows it's Mexican-ized Chekhov. The clever sketch is also kind of long. That's Chekhov too. The next piece, an assault on an airline's economy steerage seating, opens with a woman sitting in a garbage can. So obvious I won't even name the playwright. Finally, a vicious, slacker Mamet work is set at PETCO. At one point the boss screams, "Can you unfuck my business??" This skit calls to mind the old joke: A bum asks a professor for a buck. The prof replies, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be. That's Shakespeare." The bum says, "Fuck you. David Mamet." The Loose Canon playwrights ably demonstrate that there is a use for English majors! This comically astute pairing of classics with big commerce is absolutely priceless. At Venue #10. 1 hour, 30 minutes. [Osenlund] CurtainUp.com
FringeNYC review
The Magic Jukebox: New York City World Tour Don't miss this one. The Magic Jukebox, a series of comedy sketches that feature pumped up energy and original music, is the result of a collaboration by ensemble members, six or seven more writers, and musicians in the live band. Among the insane bits, actors in pillow and comforter costumes sing inimitable lyrics like, "You know our thread count doesn't match the amount of our devotion." Bullshit Angels answer a bullshit prayer about Syria, and a black R&B girl group composed of white girls offers relationship advice. Someone sold his soul for an amazing magic jukebox, and there's a barbershop quartet in someone's head. These multi-talented performers decode dolphin songs and various aliens invade, one of which resembles an H.P. Lovecraft Cthulu. This very welcome sheer nonsensical musical, performed by a vibrant cast, is well directed by Lizz Leiser and Kacie Laforest. Backed by a rockin' little band, The Magic Jukebox is a crowd pleaser from start to finish. At Venue #5. 1 hour, 15 minutes. [Osenlund] CurtainUp.com
Musical NERD fest at Philadelphia Theatre Company
I think you're a genius—Gates to Jobs I think you're right.—Jobs to Gates
Kevin Pariseau and Stanley Bahorek in center (Photo credit: Paola Nogueras)
Nerds is drawing plenty of attention at Philadelphia Theatre Company [PTC], where it premiered eons ago in 2007. After resuscitation at North Carolina Theatre [NCT] early this year, it's back, refreshed by its original creators, Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner (book and lyrics) and Hal Goldberg (music). Casey Hushion of NCT directs the production with a mostly new New York-centric creative team and cast. A surprisingly traditional song plot for the computer-age musical sets the trajectory. And the engine that drives it is the relationship between two central oppositional figures, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. They provide classic character doubling — born the same year (1955) and starting out with similar visions — their polarized demeanors are exaggerated for theatrical payoff. Jobs (Matt Bradley) is charismatic, while Gates (Stanley Bahorek) is insecure. Jobs is cool, Gates is not. Both of these driven guys under-appreciate their co-founders, Steven "Woz" Wozniak and Paul Allen respectively. And both will co-opt others' ideas and do whatever it takes in their pursuit of revolutionary technologies. Neither rival comes off as sterling. "The world is full of sharks, so strap on a fin." But the two Silicon Valley billionaires who started small and altered everything aren't hardened tough guys. They air their insecurities in song. Perfect for a show steeped in the idea of computer tech wizardry, the sophisticated set features a huge motherboard backdrop with doo-dads, ever-changing winking lights and killer projections. Microsoft and Apple's tech and business matters get glossed over and fairytale-ized in the service of musical comedy. Understandable. Who wants to sit in on business deals or a snoozy courtroom session, for example? So they cut to the lite-love interests (dynamic duo Brianna Carlson-Goodman and Lexy Fridell) who hijack computer/ moral compromise issues and obscure the tedious facts and details. But it might have been good to get the computer/legal-speak clincher down pat before going for the kiss. Nerds, strictly hustle and bustle over substance, is a lot of fun. Scattered like fishermen's' chum to start the nibbles are adolescent nerdy little sexual innuendos that, of course, crack everyone up. There are also good jokes, and the songs are hugely entertaining because, for the most part, the nimble lyrics with their funny riffs presume that the audience gets it and didn't just fall off the old turnip truck. The leads are wonderfully cast, and the strong, energetic ensemble knows how to get down. (Benny Elledge does an awe-inspiring Woz.) Nerdy members sing and dance at the Homebrew Computer Club. The faux villainous MIB staff at IBM performs a sharp, comical dance to "A Step Ahead." The downer song, "Down and Out in Silicon Valley," works. There's an inspiring assemblage of past heroes in "Think Different," and the sign-off number, "I Wanna Get Down and Nerdy," pumps it up. Still, Nerds could use a 'keeper' song that rises above the story's immediate circumstances. The finale lightly addresses Steve Job's passing, which must be acknowledged, and Nerds picks up its gleeful forward momentum again -after the bows-- and ends on an exhilarating note. The standing O at the end was no pro-forma ritual. Based on indications from two scientific barometers, it looks like this thing's got legs:
1) Good ladies room chatter at intermission. (No one talks during a bomb.)
2) My dragged-along "I hate musicals" companion was captivated.
NERDS Book & Lyrics by Jordan Allen-Dutton and Erik Weiner Music by Hal Goldberg Directed by Casey Hushion
Cast: Stanley Bahorek, Rob Morrison, Matt Bradley, Benny Elledge, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Lexy Fridell, Blake Segal, Raymond J. Lee, Catherine Ricafort, Alyse Alan Louis, Kevin Pariseau Scenic Design: Lee Savage Choreographer: Joshua Bergasse Lighting Design: Jason Lyons Sound Design: Nevin Steinberg; Orchestrations: Adam Blau; Music Director: Matt Doebler Costume Design: Thomas Charles Legalley, based on design by Alejo Vietti Projection Design: Daniel Brodie
A CurtainUp Review
By Kathryn Osenlund 12/15/2013
A Child's Christmas in Wales Stage version review
And I remember that we went singing carols once, when there wasn't the shaving of a moon to light the flying streets.
Dylan Thomas
Photo: Mark Garvin
The Lantern Theater Company’s performance space is littered with plastic: White plastic bags, inflated like balloons, cling to the backdrop in clusters. Plastic sheeting, bunched and scattered, sprawls across the floor. White constructions representing snow drifts hide more plastic bags. Inside these bags well-made little houses are discovered. The ensemble, like children, will play with them, carry them, and sometimes wear them on their heads. Preciously, small handfuls of “snow” will be sprinkled on houses and heads.
In Dylan Thomas’s A CHILD’S CHRISTMAS IN WALES co-created and adapted for the stage by Charles McMahon, and designed and directed by Sebastienne Mundheim, four actors,Charlie DelMarcelle, Doug Hara, Geneviève Perrier, and Amy Smith perform selected details of a recitation with unhurried dance-like moves. Among the show’s many mixed scale props are puppets, a little fire engine, a small model of a room, and an ingenious coloring book page. Yards of fabric cleverly become smoke, but mittens, hat and scarf are made of diaphanous material where warm wool is wanted. But it’s as if each of these separate design projects took on its own life, and thus remains abstracted and disparate in a piecemeal production that never pulls together into a coherent whole. This show may be intended to look like a workshop in make-believe rather than a conventional presentation.
I waited for an atmospheric lighting trick or whatever miracle it would take to transform the mostly flat-lighted set into a space of wonder, and infuse the stage with life. But it never came. Eventually, bottles are lighted and just momentarily they shimmer like snow globe lanterns, but the general lighting doesn’t dim down enough to allow the impact of their much needed effect.
One of Dylan Thomas’s wonderful story moments is handled particularly deftly. The narrator, talking about the category of “useless presents” tells of receiving a packet of cigarettes: “You put one in your mouth and you stood at the corner of the street and you waited for hours, in vain, for an old lady to scold you for smoking a cigarette, and then with a smirk you ate it." Director Mundheim makes the point simply, with just actors and attitude, and no props other than the candy cigarettes dangling from their mouths.
Robert Kaplowitz’s sound design supports the narrative with an array of well selected and admirably timed noises as well as lovely snatches of original music.
Innovative theater that takes chances is a great thing. But sometimes we can see that the choices made don’t work. Adults acting like children is not charming. And Dylan Thomas’s work really isn’t a children’s story, but a mature, droll, and warm trip down a Welsh memory lane. This production’s exploratory, extemporaneous take is evidently at its secret heart more about evoking memory in general than building and sustaining the mood of a boy’s long ago snowy Welsh Christmases.
Gender-blind casting is a very good thing, except when it isn’t. This fiction-enhanced show-and-tell remembrance of a boyhood would be better served with a grown man doing the telling and a boy doing the showing. But that would require a children’s cast, which might be one reason why this story hasn’t been brought to the stage until now. Not to take anything away from Geneviève Perrier, a wonderful performer with a clear voice and fluid acting skills, but having a woman narrator perform as a woman and then as a boy, in a work that was written to be a man’s telling of a boy’s tale doesn’t admit the deep resonances of the story.
Despite all the creations and fine custom-made objects that went into this production, it comes up short on magic partly due to the cluttered disarray of the set and the awkwardness of grown up actors cutely playing children. It never gathers the accumulating elegiac quality of Dylan Thomas’s narrative. Although in his 1952 recording he sounds like he may have been half in the bag, his immense charm imbues his story with a rich glow that this production hasn’t been able to attain. Those who have known and loved the story and the famous recording may be disappointed with the Lantern production. Still, audience members unfamiliar with Dylan Thomas’s tale are more likely to find joy in it.
Lantern Theater Company production
Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund for CurtainUp.com
17 Border Crossings for Armchair Travelers
Thaddeus Phillips
Photos by Mark Simpson
They say write what you know. Thaddeus Phillips, suitcase in hand and worlds in his head, knows from traveling across borders. Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental has always been travel based. With co-creators Tatiana Mallarino and Patrick Nealy, and director Rebecca Wright, Phillips has concocted something special with 17 BORDER CROSSINGS.
“Let’s assume you’re traveling, he says,” placing the audience as the sojourner, And he whisks us off.
But in the opening moments, noting the solo actor sitting at a table, there’s a passing thought of other story-telling presentations. Mike Daisey comes to mind. However, any similarity to desk-bound narration is short-lived as Phillips walks, tap dances, and rolls around, acting out all the parts, absorbing accents, and doing dead-on impersonations of petty officials.
Another possible initial misconception: It looks like this might be fairly low-tech, what with the wooden chair and table. But anyone who knows Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental is not fooled. I believe I’ve caught all Lucidity’s stuff performed here since FLAMINGO/WINNEBAGO in ’07 — all massive coordination jobs. Some in the room will have seen Phillips’s LOST SOLES way before I picked up on him.
Imagination? There’s oodles as the performance delves into remembered or constructed incidents and imagined territory, with shifts in perspective you wouldn’t have thought of. As the tales being told and the design merge together, the few items onstage will be turned every which way, performing close service to the narrative. A long, hanging, sometimes slightly waving, light-bank tricked out with multiple lighting contraptions (and some sound) provides practical backup and illusion. The sound design features all kinds of transportation noises, music, and incidental sounds. Working with Phillips, lighting designer Maria Shaplin and sound designer Robert Kaplowitz have created a constellation of evocative atmospheres.
As we move from border crossing to border crossing, it’s fascinating to wonder what’s next in this adventure and education. Easy-going, but extremely efficient, Phillips dispenses lots of information through fragments of individual situations, along with a twist of sardonic flourishes. Engaged with the content, and never losing sight of the whimsical, he keeps the focus on the story. I’d caught part of the show the night before and was surprised to see that all the details aren’t necessarily done exactly the same way each time. Little differences fit into the always-moving agenda. He never neglects the details, like remembering to turn on and off a “horrific green Communist fluorescent light” when it’s called for. And it’s surprising that such an experienced traveler can so minutely describe flight anxiety.
In the FringeArts theater’s comfortable seats, we armchair travelers participate in the discoveries that virtual travel affords. Even as Phillips’s fancy footwork throughout his rich space-and-time travel extravaganza entertains, we may learn something too, beyond the abuses of officialdom and the acquisition of some foreign words. (“You mysteriously begin to understand Portuguese.”) Elusive things hang in the air – like finding meaning in life by living authentically within the confusion of human experience, and like gaining empathy with desperate people, and reaffirming the importance of compassion. At the end I have a smile on my face —along with virtual jet lag.
Thaddeus Phillips
Kathryn Osenlund for Phindie.com
Less tortured soul -- More action figure HAMLET
Josh Carpenter (L) Sean Bradley (R) (Photo credit: Shawn May)
The play opens formally at a long banquet table draped with a white cloth. Claudius addresses the guests. A freeze-frame then holds the company as a sullen, angry Hamlet carries on about the marriage. Compression works well: Claudius dispatches various duties, and short pieces of the story begin to gel. Artistic Director Alexander Burns, who directed the play, opened the performance with a brief welcoming speech about how Quintessence wants to build an audience for progressive, classic theater. For a fairly new company, Quintessence approaches Hamlet in a surprisingly traditional way. Although just about every Hamlet production involves cuts to the text in the interest of time and action, the curious thing in this case is the choice made of what to lose. In an interview with newsworks.org, Burns said he wanted an action-packed play that would proceed "from big moment to big moment." Looks like he's following the Elmore Leonard rule: "Skip the Boring Parts." Just a few things about that. Among the missing are some of the great fun bits. Just one example is Hamlet's riff on being played: Hamlet: "Will you play upon this pipe?". . . Guildenstern: "I have not the skill." . . . Hamlet: "Do you think I'm easier to be played on than a pipe? Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, you cannot play upon me." Key moments that impact on an understanding and appreciation of Hamlet have also been abridged or axed. Among these would be: Polonius and Claudius's eavesdropping on Ophelia; the audience seeing that Polonius is hidden in Gertrude's closet (or curtain) before his accidental murder; Claudius and Laertes discussing the poisoned sword scheme. Audience lack of knowledge about the secretly poisoned sword lessens key pressures of the duel scene. And the handling of the poisoned cup is so surreptitious that those unfamiliar with the story could be confused. These and other deleted scenes provided clarity and set up dramatic irony and audience anticipation. Without them action scenes don't have the impact that Shakespeare intended. In addition to cropping, things are shifted around and stitched up. Hamlet's "To Be" soliloquy, for instance, is brought in earlier. The rearrangement, which favors certain character dimensions over others, subtly reduces the complexity that is Hamlet. Was the idea to make way for a more energetic and fiery hero by dealing with inconvenient indecisiveness sooner? If the self-questioning treatise on consciousness vs obliteration is handled earlier-on, you can cunningly shape perceptions and clear the way for a more eager, engaging and hearty Hamlet — less tortured soul and more action figure. Josh Carpenter has put in the work and labored over imparting the messages of the soliloquies, and it shows. He lets them play out fast, though, and Hamlet becomes fairly histrionic, where a slower delivery would provide a more Hamlet-like counterpoint to the action. On the other hand, this Melancholy Dane has lots of spark, and Carpenter handles the comedy exceptionally well.(Polonius: "Do you know me, my lord?" . . . Hamlet: Excellent well; you are a fishmonger."") Hamlet, in fighting form, attired in a small faux fur jacket and sunglasses, toys with Polonius, who suspects method in his madness. John Preston's Polonius is a rare treat. This may be the best scene in the show. (Sidenote: Preston's take on the gravedigger is notable.) Rachel Broadeur's low-key Ophelia comes into her own in her mad scenes, and she does justice to David Cope's original song. E. Ashley Izard is a more gracious than usual Gertrude, and Ralph Edmonds' Claudius recalls a quintessential Republican businessman (no offense). Sean Bradley's Laertes emerges well despite a dearth of lines. Matt Lorenz holds his own as Horatio, a kind of thankless role. Daniel Fredrick's Rosencrantz and Osrick are quirky, Alexander Harvey as Guildenstern has good impulses. Griffin Stanton-Ameisen does a fine job in several roles and Sonja Field acquits herself well. Even with lines tightened up, moved, and key scenes dropped, the performance time isn't trimmed overmuch. It still lasts a fairly typical two and a half hours, not counting intermission. It's interesting to note that with all the cuts, Fortinbras is kept in. This is where many a production chooses to chop. I like seeing Fortinbras onstage at the end, showing the larger frame in which this tragedy has transpired. But would I sacrifice the missing pieces for it? Hmmm. Burns's sound design ties everything together with well-timed, striking and appropriate thunder, noises and effects. Music, both stark and luminous enhances the production. The Sedgwick in Mt. Airy was built as an art deco movie palace in 1928. The interior was essentially gutted in the late 60s, except for a few features including some decorative ceilings. Now an arts and cultural center, the Sedgwick offers huge performance spaces. Quintessence, taking full advantage of the deep space, has had two seating areas for the audience constructed at the level of the stage, which runs down the center of the space. The huge, long, wide and sturdy performance platform sits quite high, allowing for groundlings around it. A beautiful piece of construction, the clever and versatile sectional platform is used in a number of ways. During scene shifts a disciplined crew, like a black ops team, moves in, dismantles it, and readies it for the next use. This expert handling between scenes contributes to the professional feel of the show. Hamlet by William Shakespeare Directed by Alexander Burns
Cast: Josh Carpenter, E. Ashley Izard, Ralph Edmonds, John Preston, Rachel Broadeur, Sean Bradley, Matt Lorenz, Daniel Fredrick, Alexander Harvey, Griffin Stanton-Ameisen, Sonja Field Scenic Design: Quintessence Theatre Lighting Design: Ellen Moore Costume Design: Jane Casanave Sound Design: Alexander Burns Original Music: David Cope Oct 9 - Nov 23, 2013 2 hours and 30 minutes including one 15 minute intermission
Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund for CurtainUp.com based on 10/16/2013 performance, Quintessence Theatre Group at Sedgwick Arts & Cultural Center, Germantown Ave, Mt. Airy, Philadelphia
http://www.curtainup.com/hamletphila13.html
Afterthoughts on EgoPo’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin: An Unfortunate History
EgoPo’s show closes at Plays & Players in Philadelphia tonight[06/09/13]. I finally got to see it at the end of the run. The finale of their American Vaudeville Festival, Uncle Tom’s Cabin: An Unfortunate History is not actually vaudeville. Adapters Lane Salvadore and Glenn Odom have taken ideas and language directly from the vast panorama of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel to produce a theatrical exhibition that serves as a corrective to early versions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which included Minstrel shows and vaudeville.
This production attempts to illuminate the characters on both sides of the antebellum racial divide and to reclaim the authentic image of Tom, which time has hijacked. Stowe’s noble Uncle Tom, misrepresented and maligned for years as the embodiment of a black-on-black insult, just isn’t that simple. Neither a firebrand nor an ass kisser, he lives and dies holding his own as a principled man. Activists may have wanted his character to be more than the non-violent Christian that he was. But the condemnation in the moniker, “Uncle Tom,” is revealed to be misplaced.
Ed Swidey (Uncle Tom) and all of the actors’ heartfelt attention to their difficult parts and their ensemble work pays off in audience empathy. Remarkable and constant scene shifts work like a charm, and music and sound integrate with the acting and scenic concept to create an attractive pageant.
The special twist of race-reversed casting --which has attracted attention to EgoPo’s production-- creates complexities that are both enlightening and, well, not so enlightening. There are inconsistencies. A case in point:
Steve Wright does a straight and earnest interpretation of Augustine St. Clair, a well intentioned white slave owner who lacks the courage of his convictions. However, Tiffany Bacon as his unsympathetic and spoiled wife, plays her role for laughs —a sitcom African American mama with ‘tude. And while this odd portrayal of a 19th century Caucasian woman certainly confuses the race-switch issue, it also generates all the laughs in this serious show. Each flounce in her outsize interpretation produces appreciative chuckles from the audience.
The key scene where Simon Legree chases escaping slaves, Eliza and son, across the frozen Ohio River is done in slo-mo (which had been utilized early on in a lengthy pre-show pantomime). It works here as well, but bales of hay conscripted as ice floes on the Ohio cheat us of the prominence that simple ice and water images could have given this critical dramatic scene. The memorable “Run Eliza run” chase in "The Small House of Uncle Thomas," the play-within-a-play in The King and I, comes to mind. That scene left a lasting imprint.
A niggling, but disconcerting detail is the pronunciation of pivotal character Little Eva’s name as “Ava.” Little Eva (pronounced Eva) has long been an established piece of Americana.
This worthwhile theatrical undertaking is bolder in concept than in execution, partly due to the fact that it simply gets bogged down by more content than can reasonably be fit in. Lifting out 45 minutes of pertinent yet unnecessary digressions could have lightened its burden. A show that’s just too long, even a show with a commendable aim, taxes audience endurance. Finally a recited ending statement is redundant after the long show has already said what it has to say.
People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like
Julie Czarnecki and Danielle Herbert
Is this the play that launched a thousand plaudits and earned the top awards and nominations? I ask because this show, directed by Bernard Havard, moves along more at TV laugh track pace than by character-motivated timing. And the plot line that played so well in NYC seems too thin to sustain a nearly two-hour play. What's up? I know for a fact it's not the cast. These are wonderful actors. Actually I wanted to see this play at the Walnut Street Theatre because I didn't want to miss seeing some of them in their latest venture. In Good People, while we discover that some characters are deep down good people, most of the talk is about "nice" rather than "good," and not all these people are very nice. Margie (Julie Czarnecki) has had a tough and, she believes, unfair life as the single mom of a severely challenged adult daughter. She can be very nice. She can also be mean-spirited to others, although she takes offense when she gets it back from them. Shot through with resentment, Margie goes on the attack when the opportunity presents itself. The first act has the look of literal kitchen sink naturalism. Margie's long conversations with her nice boss (Jered McLenigan), self-serving landlady (Sharon Alexander), and mouthy friend (Denise Whelan), are rife with local color and hokey humor, revealing life in Southie (tough South Boston). However, the gloss of realism quickly recedes in a sustained barrage of stagey one-liners from two characters who are designed to operate only at comic level. The pace picks up somewhat in the second act at the yup-scale home of Mike (Dan Olmstead)— a rather repressed doctor who got some breaks and made it out of the 'hood. He and his upper middle class black wife, Kate, have personal issues to resolve. With all the stereotypes, a cultured black woman provides a nice twist on the typical social class thing. Danielle Herbert's bright Kate is a needed breath of air. Margie shows up at their house, a malicious bull in their upmarket china shop. As things fall apart it's cruel and funny, and people in the theater laugh. BTW, it's curious, isn't it, that onstage the f-word always draws the biggest laughs? Fuck this or that. Ha ha. Never heard that word before. My theater companion who hails from Boston commented that the actors' approximations of Southie accents, while uneven, aren't bad. Visually the Walnut's Good People is great. As in the Broadway production, scene changes are neatly accomplished with an efficient rotating set. In addition, Robert Klingelhoefer's well-planned scenic design incorporates clever, versatile drops and flats that frame the scenes. The social comparison theme dominates. A not-so-secret secret is somewhat guardedly revealed, along with discoveries of who is or is not good people. The Walnut, or WST, defines what constitutes theater for a large swath of Philadelphia's theater-going public. Known for catering to its large subscriber audience, WST generally selects shows with a proven track record for its mainstage. The theater's third and fifth floor stages take more chances. Award winning Good People comes across more sitcom than humorously gritty and real. But as Abe Lincoln (probably erroneously) is credited with saying: People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like.
Produced in association with Fulton Theatre, Lancaster PA
Through April 28 at WST
Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire
Directed by Bernard Havard
Cast: Julie Czarnecki, Jered McLenigan, Sharon Alexander, Denise Whelan, Dan Olmstead, Danielle Herbert
Scenic Design: Robert Klingelhoefer
Lighting Design: Shon Causer
Costume Design: Colleen Grady
Sound Design: Jacob Mishler
Review by Kathryn Osenlund for CurtainUp.com
My Teddy Bear smokes cigars when I am asleep
By Alexa
Posted on wall at Mercer Cafe, Philadelphia, PA
A theater experience you won't soon forget
Brian Ratcliffe, Pearce Bunting (Photo by Alexander Iziliaev)
Wilma Theater presents the North American premiere of Under the Whaleback, which premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre in 2003. Richard Bean, who also penned the wildly popular One Man, Two Guvnors, wrought this sea drama. He hails from Hull, a once thriving English fishing town where for generations upon generations men went down to the sea in ships. (Hull just sounds so remote that I forgot that I've actually been to the port of Hull. I wonder if some in the audience may be surprised to recall that they've been there also. The docks to the east of town are the embarkation points for North Sea ferries to Rotterdam and Zeebrugge.) This story conjures the large commercial fishing boats that for years filled the harbor of the once flourishing, but lately declining town. The fishing industry collapsed after the Cod Wars in '76, suddenly, and portentously in this case, leaving the town's young men, who had been destined for that perilous occupation, with bleak prospects for finding steady work. You never know what director Blanka Zizka may have up her sleeve. The Wilma's stage seems to have disappeared. In its place is the bow of a large sidewinder trawler. However, no active display of the kind of work involved on a commercial fishing boat will take place, because the play's action transpires in a cutaway of the crew's quarters located under the whaleback (that is, down the companionway and inside the trawler's raised bow). Except for the underlying and ever-present understanding that they are at the mercy of the sea, the men's conversation in their berth under the whaleback runs much like that of lads in a pub-carrying on, complaining, and cracking jokes at each others' expense. They weigh in, for instance, as someone plans to marry a woman he doesn't love, and they extol the exploits of a local character. The bonds among the men, along with the strong sense of enclosure during a sea journey, prick memories of other sailors like the men in the bunks and benches of the tramp steamer in Eugene O'Neil's sad, intimate play, Bound East for Cardiff. And the larger picture of the town's steady loss of men going down to the boats and many ultimately to the deep, brings hovering associations with Synge's Riders to the Sea. To the beautiful, heavy tradition of sea plays Richard Bean contributes more heartache, mixed with a good measure of dry and earthy comedy. The tragedy, full of undercurrents of anxiety and roguish laughs, develops over a space of time; its three acts operate like short plays connected by generational links. Each act presents a different time, and in each the same basic set represents a different vessel. At the start it's 1965 and we meet Cassidy, an outrageous drunk and fisherman's legend in his own time. He passes on knowledge and a package to a fresh faced young crew member, Darrell, who has just come aboard. The second act, set in 1972, accomplishes a few things: It reveals that tragedy already has made an appearance, discloses information about men on the sidewinder, and looks forward to their plans for the future-- just as another massive storm hits. By the third act, set in 2002, the boat has become an emasculated museum exhibit with sanitized audiotaped commentary presided over by an older Darrel. The action quickly goes over the top, as a young man with a mission arrives, bringing tension to new heights, or some might say to new lows. The radical off-putting game-changer is slightly reminiscent of the "Stuck in the Middle With You" scenario in Reservoir Dogs. The pressure drops at the end. The looming, strong visual presence of set designer Matt Saunders' boat dominates the space, at times listing dangerously, aided by hidden hydraulics. Odd, though, that in a seafaring play there are no lighting configurations or projections that suggest the sea, and there's not a drop of actual water. The only representation of water is aural, carried through Daniel Perelstein's potent sound design. Almost a century ago Eugene O'Neill explored the use of a fog horn to good effect in Bound East for Cardiff . You could say theatrical sound has seen some development since then. In Under the Whaleback, background sounds of wild wind, roaring sea, and assertive yet plaintive horns emerge in the dark. Rising ever more dramatically, the ominous clamor of crashing waves converges with a sound suggesting loud powerful wind, and grows so enormous that it envelops the boat and all the people in the theater in dark, mind-shaking, frightening noise. All the actors in this Wilma production are quite extraordinary. Notably, Pearce Bunting was born to be Cassidy. Keith Conallen plays key roles of Norman and Pat with a vengeance. Philadelphia audiences have seen Conallen's work in several productions in recent years and he just gets more amazing all the time. H. Michael Walls infuses his role of Bill, an older hand, with loads of appealing personality. The whole cast, which includes Brian Ratcliffe, Ed Swidey, Ross Beschler, and Gaby Bradbury, is completely engaged in the piece, and their new unaccustomed accents are believable and blend right in without drawing undue attention. That's an accomplishment. Kudos to the voice and dialect coaches. Under the Whaleback sucks you into a theater experience you won't soon forget, with ties to the past and warnings for the future. It's a story of Hull, and by extension a tale of many towns left behind with populations set adrift, forced to face vanished prospects. Life in the trawlers was dangerous, but it was honest labor. Lives lost at sea are tragic. So are lives with no future. Under the Whaleback by Richard Bean Directed by Blanka Zizka
Cast: Ross Beschler, Gaby Bradbury, Pearce Bunting, Keith Conallen, Brian Ratcliffe, Ed Swidey, H. Michael Walls Scenic Design: Matt Saunders Lighting Design: Allen Hahn Costume Design: Oana Botez Sound Design: Daniel Perelstein March 6- April 7, 2013 WILMA Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund for CurtainUp.com
You may not have thought of ENDGAME as a hopey-changey thing
Endgame
"The act of existing is a striving as pathetic as it is comic." Kierkegaard
Scott Greer as Hamm, Credit Mark Garvin.jpg (Photo credit: Mark Garvin)
The Arden's Endgame setup is a far cry from the playwright's specific requirements, which are minimal: a bare interior with grey light, two small windows, a door, a picture, two ashbins and an armchair on casters. This production, rather than going for timeless, is tied to contemporary time in a blighted U.S. urban setting. Kevin Depinet's massive, evocative set, which could be a smashed underground parking lot or a refuge under a ruined highway access ramp, slowly precipitates an atmospheric dust. The characters, trapped by circumstance and physical limitations, are emotionally tethered to each other by bonds that we, and maybe they, only partially understand. There's Hamm (Scott Greer), a large and domineering blind man who can't walk; Clov (James Ijames) his servant/caregiver, who can't sit; and Nagg (Dan Kern) and Nell (Nancy Boykin), his parents, who have been relegated to ashcans (in this case a chemical drum and a 55 gal drum). All await the end, the finish. Hamm complains, "Why this farce day after day?" Beckett wrote from a place of introspection, and his take was essentially that there is nothing to express, and it's the artist's obligation to express it. The late critic and scholar Martin Esslin believed that for the audience Beckett's work is about the experience of being there and being affected, not by what is said, not by social issues, but by the quality of the experience of being that's communicated. The expectation may be that this theatrical experience will be austere and economical, but the enormous influence of the sad, off-kilter set and the effect of the rich acting bring out more facets than Samuel Beckett would ever have approved. No doubt his ghost has already walked out on the show and in some spectral court pressed charges against the theater for trampling on the playwright's prerogative. Although by all accounts the writer couldn't tolerate his work being reduced to a message by having meaning applied to it, this audience gets a helping hand determining meaning. Beckett-admiring director Edward Sobel makes surprisingly divergent choices, finding a pragmatic path through the absurd, elusive play, lending a whiff of William James along with the expected James Joyce. Actors wring meaning from every syllable in most un-Beckett-like fashion. Scott Greer, brilliant in the lead role of Hamm, compels attention through the force of his mindful acting, particularly when Hamm achieves the dawning of regret. Kerns and Boykin as Hamm's parents are vividly comprehensible despite their pitiful and ridiculous situation. James Ijames, as Clov, the only one who can move about, is not quite in sync with the other actors. Operating on a plane of abstraction where style trumps substance, he seems almost inadvertently to take a more typical approach to the absurdist work. Less ambiguous than the writer intended, the production's articulated set and Sobel's divergent reading do not ruin the evening's entertainment. But it's a different take on the play. This Endgame pops with life. Not happy life, of course, but life marked by resignation and a kind of dignity. Yet here futility is shot through with a ray of hope. You may never have thought of Endgame as a hopey-changey thing, but the hint of change hanging in the dusty air of this particular production dangles the possibility of escape in the midst of existential despair. You could say the director is taking these characters on a walk down the garden path, for no one gets a pass out of this play. Not just any old playwright's work gets the tribute of multiple directors' versions, the way Shakespeare, Beckett, and the best playwrights of all time do. It is the work of huge artists that is continually re-imagined, re-examined, and relocated. Understandably, the playwright's ghost might be irate about the Arden production. But time moves on, and maybe it's ok if it's good theatre but not strictly speaking good Beckett. Maybe it's time to re-imagine Endgame whether Beckett would approve or not. Endgame by Samuel Beckett Directed by Edward Sobel
Cast: Scott Greer, James Ijames, Dan Kern, Nancy Boykin Set Design: Kevin Depinet Lighting Design: Thom Weaver Sound Design: Daniel Perelstein Costume Design: Millie Hiibel Jan 17 to Mar 10, 2013 80 minutes
Philadelphia, PA. Arden Theatre, Arcadia Stage.
Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund for CurtainUp.com
Assassin, David Robson's potent play at InterAct
Dwayne A.Thomas and Brian Anthony Wilson photo: Rozin
InterAct Theatre Company presents the World Premiere of David Robson's fictional drama inspired by the fateful, but legal, collision of Jack Tatum and Darryl Singley in a 1978 preseason football game. Assassin is not a documentary play about Tatum-Singley, but their calamity serves as the jumping off point, and the playwright takes it from there in his story of Lucas and Turner. Assassin, which is nothing like the acted-out essay it first appears to be, quickly becomes a twisty ride that turns through discoveries, irony, and exposure. For starters, the tale begins as former football star Frank Lucas waits for former football player Lyle Turner to arrive for a meeting. But the man who shows up isn't Lyle. It's his lawyer. Frank (Brian Anthony Wilson) and Lewis, the lawyer (Dwayne A. Thomas) discuss a proposed televised meeting of Frank and Lyle, a "reunion of the legends" at an upcoming Super Bowl post-game show. Motivations for this meeting, some perhaps unconscious and some less than candid, range from deep need to earnest concern to callous self-interest. Frank is loose; Lewis is uptight. Under the direction of Seth Reichgott, Dwayne Thomas holds his own in the tough and uneasy Lewis role, hitting all the marks that need to be hit. Wilson, a suitably big guy, is Frank the football assassin who hates the new rules aimed at attenuating football violence. "The game is about fucking people up." With lightning changes from Mr. Friendly Guy, to troubled soul, to scary, and back again, Wilson is nothing short of mesmerizing. Humor's in the mix too. The Assassin doesn't know what to make of a black man who claims that his all-time football hero is Terry Bradshaw. The engine under the action is fueled not only by the legitimate passions unleashed, but also, regrettably, by the contrivance of on-cue and not entirely credible drinking, aimed at getting the characters where they need to be quickly enough to act on their impulses and connect with each other in stage time. But speeded-up drinking happens a lot in dramas both good and bad. And this one is good. Frank and Lewis discover each other's demons and face their own illusions as their stories emerge, converge, and diverge both in the larger context of sports violence and within the confines of a bland, standard hotel room meticulously designed by Dirk Durossette. InterAct's potent and timely production of Assassin commands attention. In an amazingly apropos coincidence, the NFLPA has just announced their $100 million grant for the brand new Harvard Integrated Program to Protect and Improve the Health of professional football players. I guess our guy, Frank Lucas, won't like that much. Assassin by David Robson
A co-production with Act II Playhouse.
Directed by Seth Reichgott
Cast: Brian Anthony Wilson, Dwayne A. Thomas Set Design: Dirk Durossette Lighting Design: James Leitner Sound Design: Ashley Turner Costume Design: Maggie Baker Jan 18 - Feb 10. 80 minutes Adrienne Theater, 2030 Sansom Street.
Reviewed by Kathryn Osenlund for CurtainUp.com