Monday, November 18, 2024
I have had delicious earworm of “Anything Goes” since I saw this vivacious production at Theatre Row. Musicals Tonight! is having an epic 20th anniversary spring season with work that is truly exceptional. I had the great pleasure of seeing their brilliant “Boys From Syracuse” last month and with “Anything Goes” this month they are exceling at knocking our socks off. This 1934 Cole Porter classic must have been a joyful oasis and vital antidote to the Depression years. I left feeling so optimistic about everything - "It's delightful, it's delicious, It’s de-lovely! It has an infectious happiness about it
Author: Jacquelyn Claire
Time No Line at La Mama’s Ellen Stewart Theatre
John Kelly is a conduit for all nine muses. He vibrates with artistry that seems to pour unrestricted through him –there is no resistance to the inspiration he is receiving. In this “live memoir” his mastery of dance, voice, art and text are used to elevate your senses so you feel the best parts of yourself activated and engaged. This production hit me on a cellular level and I left the theater forever changed by his ability to raise one’s frequency to the stratosphere. John Kelly shares fragments of 40 years of journal writing that act as the jumping off point
Theater Review: ‘STIFF’ At The Barrow Group Main Stage Theatre
My stomach muscles are “STIFF” from laughing like an unblocking drain during the performance of this funny bone tickling show-within-a-show. It’s got a “Noises Off” (Michael Frayn) kind of farce funniness to it where we are privy to the behind the scenes machinations of a show on the verge of exploding. Hearty thigh slaps and the elbowing of my plus-one in the ribcage at every punchline, has meant this production has indeed left its mark on us in hilarity bruises –the best kind. It’s one of those shows that I think will be around for a long time because the
Finding Fellini at the Series of One Festival, La Mama
Finding Fellini is a theatrical ode to risk takers, big dreamers and delicious hedonism. It’s a mighty memoir about one woman, Megan Metrikin, who leaves the brutality of Apartheid South Africa in search of her muse –Federico Fellini, in Rome. You slip down the rabbit hole with her and emerge into a wonderland of palpable sensuality, exploration and adventure. It’s a wild, obsessive, funny, filmic experience about the power of art to lift you out of any political or emotional doldrums. Her fascination with Fellini starts when her father joins the censor board in SA with the sole purpose of being
Theater Review: ‘The Boys From Syracuse’ at Theatre Row’s Lion Theatre
This (almost) all male cast of “The Boys From Syracuse” are more effervescent than a fountain of Moët, more energized than the peloton at the Tour de France and more versatile than a bobby pin. They aren’t just reviving an old 1938 George Abbott, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart classic; they seem to be jump starting a Cadillac Sixty Special. So much gorgeous style wrapped up in a sleek vintage frame. Director and choreographer, Jonathan Cerullo has created an exceptional explosion of craft, timing and talent. His staging is inspired. It’s like watching a Broadway hit contained in a cupboard or
Backstage at Prague-New York Effects #7
Backstage at Prague-New York Effects #7 Talking Humor with Robert Janc, Mirenka Cechova and Quentin Heggs, Jacquelyn Claire, Interviewer Czech Center New York started a project entitled “Prague-New York Effects” two years ago. It’s a transatlantic cultural program that sees an artist from Prague collaborating with an Artist from New York. The artists meet in NYC for a residency that culminates in a performance. The team then travel to Prague to perform there. This is the 7th performance in the series and blends three styles of stand up comedy from ironic storytelling to clown humor to improvisational stand up. For this production
Let Me Cook for You
Let Me Cook for You Theaterlab Snapshot Review: Completely Engaging Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer Theaterlab presents “Let me cook for you” - an exquisitely intimate dinner party play. Only twelve audience members are given the opportunity to “dine” with Orietta Crispino as she sates your hunger with a masterful memoir. It’s one of those truly unique New York theatrical moments that you want to witness. Orietta is making us dinner. Along with celery, peppers and marinated tofu you’ll get to savor the delicious ingredients of foreign accents, past desires, impossible hungers, horoscopes, myths, numerology and blemished beauty. She carves up her past in bite size
The Trial of Faith
The Trial of Faith Hudson Guild Theatre Snapshot Review: Intense Theatrical Battle Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer It’s a fitting time to draw inspiration from the life story of Joan of Arc to explore themes of dysfunctional patriarchy, the futility of war and strong female warriors who would rather submit to being burnt at the stake than to denounce their beliefs. It’s an intense theatrical battle as ‘Joan of Arc’ takes on the English at Orléans and the Bishop of Beauvais, Pierre Cauchon, at her rigged ecclesiastical court trial, after being captured. The salacious segments of her story are told through music, dance and drama. We’re
Romantic Trapezoid
Romantic Trapezoid Theatre Row -- Lion Theatre Snapshot Review: Deliciously Clever Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer Rachel Reiner Productions presents “Romantic Trapezoid” - a deliciously clever theatrical romcom by Victor L. Cahn. As we left the theatre after the show, an enthralled audience member exclaimed, “that was charming, really charming”. And it was. Three superb actors, one great text and a director with a strong eye for detail ensures a production that is deeply satisfying to watch. It’s rich in plot twists that one obviously doesn’t want to give away. So perhaps I will say we have a woman, Melissa, who has a big slice of cake
Prague-New York Effects #7
Prague-New York Effects #7 Bohemian National Hall Snapshot Review: Delightful Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer Prague-New York Effects is a Czech Center NY project that fosters collaboration between artists from Prague and New York City. They are given a residency at The Bohemian National Hall where they create an original work together. The transatlantic dialogue results in a performance in NYC and then the artists head to Prague to perform at the Palác Akropolis. For the seventh installment of this inspirational project, Miřenka Čechová, Robert Janč and Quentin Heggs sought to explore the differences and similarities between Czech and American humor. The performance opened with Miřenka