Thursday, April 3, 2025
Neither Michael (Imana Breaux) nor Sean David (Adrain Washington) would recognize their present-day San Francisco hometown. The aspiring artists' relationship, told in Ntozake Shange's a photograph/lovers in motion, develops during the late 1970s-early 1980s before SF's gentrification for the super rich and high tech. While SF is not a "character",characters define themselves by it. A rare revival of Shange's 1977 play is presented by The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc.'s plays through the end February at Theatre St. Marks. Directed by Shange's sister and long-time collaborator Ifa Bayeza, a photograph/lovers in motion has the same lyricism found in her landmark for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf
Reviews
“Blues for an Alabama Sky” at Theatre Row
Pearl Cleage wrote “Blues for an Alabama Sky” in the mid-1990s, and it is astonishing that it has taken so long for a play set at the cusp of the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Depression to make it to New York. Thanks to the Keen Company, the wait is over, and this production makes the wait worthwhile. Angel (Alfie Fuller) is a singer living with Guy (John-Andrew Morrison), a flamboyant costume designer and unapologetic gay man whose ambition is to design costumes in Paris for Josephine Baker. Across the hall lives Delia (Jasminn Johnson), who campaigns for reproductive rights and
10 Foot Rat Cabaret At Under St. Marks
Photography by Gregory Levine – Pictured Dancer Andrea Palesh I truly believe to understand the heart of a production you must understand the theater the production is in first. Since the 1970’s Under St. Marks Theater has been home to an abundance of experimental and mainstream productions. I’ve been very lucky to have attended several events at this venue over the years. Even having had the opportunity to produce a piece through the theater for a weekend of plays and pieces about Donald Trump back in 2016. Located on St Marks Place between 1st Avenue and Avenue A in the heart
BORDER PEOPLE at Gural Theatre at the A.R.T/New York Theaters
Border People is an exquisite ode to the determination of the human being to survive and thrive in spite of curve balls, challenges, deserts and high walls that block the "easy" road. It is crammed full of wonderful people whose life stories gently play your heart strings - all of them expertly introduced and embodied by Dan Hoyle. This writer, actor, journalist, conversationalist, joy wielder, wordsmith is a gifted theatrical magus - a wise man bringing the myrrh to the birth of new perspectives. Dan is like the theater version of X-Men's "Mystique" effortlessly transforming into a completely new person in
Matthew Bourne’s ‘Swan Lake’ at New York City Center
"DO NOT FEED THE SWANS" reads the sign posted at the edge of the lake The Prince (James Lovell) staggers towards. Drunk, unhappy and unloved, he's ready to end it all when The Swan (Matthew Ball) who has haunted his dreams appears. Like a real swan, he and his flock are beautiful. Further defining their species and most unlike the traditional ballet kind, they are aggressive. This flock will bite off whole hands of those daring feeding them. Guided by the moonlight, Tchaikovsky's music and Sir Matthew Bourne's spectacular choreography, the Prince and Swan form an unbreakable union defying both
DOCTORS JANE AND ALEXANDER at HERE
DOCTORS JANE AND ALEXANDER is a deeply intimate journey through the deconstructed thoughts of the playwright, Edward Einhorn, as he wrestles with memory, nostalgia and doubt. UNTITLED THEATER COMPANY No. 61 presents this world premiere that interrogates Einhorn's lineage as the grandchild of the famous doctor, Alexander Wiener, who discovered the RH factor in blood. While this is the jumping off point, the piece is far more complex and layered as a mediation on the challenging bonds of one's blood family. Einhorn sets out to discover as much as he can about his enigmatic grandfather through interviews with family members in order to
‘The Transfiguration of Benjamin Banneker’ at La MaMa
Imagine being a primarily self-taught scientist who wrote several almanacs, built a clock that ran 50 years, corresponded with Thomas Jefferson and was so brilliant performing measurements you were invited to survey what become Washington, D.C. With those accomplishments you'd rate a statue in the Nation's Capital, right? Afraid not. Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806) has a Park, but still no monument. The current administration and their congressional minions are too busy building false facades to themselves to recognize the accomplishments of a great African-American thinker - or any for that matter. In place of permanence and as a precursor to Black History
Under the Radar Festival: THE UNKNOWN DANCER IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
When the lights come up, one immediately observes what could only be a silverback gorilla. The gait, the strut, the way he pounds his chest and paces the stage -- anyone who has seen a nature film or visited a zoo would find these distinctive characteristics undeniable. But why is he there, what is this about? Suddenly and unexpectedly, after the attendees have spent some time with the ape, the performer morphs into a couple, then an obnoxious and rowdy child, followed by a gentle yet absent-minded mother, a passionate but perturbed photographer and, finally, an annoyed older man. This
Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) Presents ‘Timon of Athens’
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) approximates that the Bard wrote Timon of Athens and King Lear between 1604-1606. Lear is a masterpiece about dysfunctional families, abuse of power and neglecting the elderly. Timon is a "problem" play Shakespeare co-wrote with Thomas Middleton offering neither redemption nor emotional satisfaction. Though Timon might pose problems in a required rote humanities class and repertory justification, the rise and fall of a historic figure from Plutarch provides a cautionary tale: what happened to Timon can happen to anyone, the moral being the rich stick to their own kind. Not exactly the perfect benefit night offering. Since the protagonist lives in frivolous, dangerous times, the
New Ohio Theatre for Young Minds presents UP CLOSE FESTIVAL
Being the reviewer is fun stuff but can be awkward - particularly when covering children's theatre, when the only reactions that matter most are from those wearing glittery unicorn horns and holding a parent or grandparent's hand. Therefore, it's heartening that New Ohio Theatre takes such good care keeping them entertained and informed at their second UP CLOSE FESTIVAL. Rather than a seasonal story, UP CLOSE is about community; specifically, the Village. Kids and their adults are divided into small groups and enter the theatre via a secret knock (it really works!). They are greeted by Pizza Rat (Marisol Rosa-Shapiro), emcees their hour-long (give