Friday, November 21, 2025
At any given moment in a theatrical season, it is likely there is a Shakespearean production being performed in both major and minor theatres and cities across the English-speaking world. The Bard’s relentless staying power is undeniable. But how do modern companies keep the work fresh and relevant, particularly the Histories, many of which are set in times, places and about people which seem to bear little significance on contemporary life in America? One simple answer is that at the root of all of these stories lie rich, complex and utterly human characters whose grappling with their struggles and delights in their
Reviews
“KNOCK!” at BAM Fisher Hillman Studio
I had the good fortune of spending an hour in the company of four Magnet Theatre actors who have travelled all the way from South Africa to jumpstart our imaginations with their unique brand of physical theatre for young children. I can think of no better joy than to hear the feather light laughter of young children totally entranced with the magic of these spellbinding theater makers. Their giggling and delight were totally infectious. My adult self took a vacation as my inner child came up for air and had a much needed, transcendent theatrical experience. I did not feel
‘FITTING ROOMS’ at Triskelion Arts
Lacan’s mirror stage provides the trampoline for Denisa Musilova’s haunting new work, “Fitting Rooms”. The rich psychological substrata of the piece allows for a deeply complex unpacking of the adult games people play in their search for identity and belonging. This is the fourth work I have seen by this meticulous Czech choreographer and I again found myself engaged in an intense dialogue with the work as it unfolded before me. It brings up questions that demand thoughtful answers and the work probes your subconscious looking for resonance with your shadow side. She sets off a series of chain reactions
“Saint Joan” at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
Three-time Tony nominee Condola Rashad stars in the title role of Saint Joan at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Her performance all but guarantees a fourth, and I expect her to win this time. She is, simply, a brilliant actor. In addition to her talents, the Manhattan Theatre Club has assembled a cast with chemistry and expert craftsmanship under the direction of Daniel Sullivan. When the weak link is George Bernard Shaw's rather long script, you have the makings of theatre at its best. The story is set in 15th century France during the Hundred Years' War, and the English are
Cirque du Soleil VOLTA Brings Its New Big Top Show to The New York Area
There is simply nothing that can compare to the circus -- the dazzle, danger and derring-do, the shrieks of joy and gasps of amazement at the sheer feats of human accomplishment, both bizarre and beautiful at the same time. The “under-the-big-top” traveling, tented circuses have been around for hundreds of years and the origins of the acts, from juggling to contortion, for thousands of years, utilized to entertain both royal courts and street corners. But like all art forms, circus has fallen in and out of fashion over the eras as increasingly sophisticated audiences demanded much more than the mere
Travesties at American Airlines Theatre
All great writers—especially playwrights—become, at some point, drunk on their own words. Ben Johnson accused Shakespeare of such literary inebriation. I think the same could be said of Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee and James Joyce—which brings me nicely to Tom Stoppard and his own great, besotted spillage of verbiage, TRAVESTIES, revived by the Roundabout Theatre Company. I first saw this play on Broadway in 1975 with the wonderful John Wood as Henry Carr. That was in my salad days, when I was green in judgment—by which I mean a lot of the play was WAY over my head. Yet I still
One Thousand Nights and One Day at A.R.T/New York Theatres presented by Prospect Theater Company
Humankind is made up of stories: the stories we tell others, those we tell ourselves, our version of the story, and even history is only a series of stories stamped with a seal of approval to be considered by the ruling power as “the truth,” though it is no more than yet another observation or opinion on what transpired. Stories have the ability to make us -- for they are the foundation where legends and heroes are born. But they also have the power and capacity to break us and tear us apart from our own kind, to separate us
The Orchestra Now Presents Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall
The Orchestra Now (TŌN) lined up their end of March concert with two well-curated pieces, one lesser known, Walter Braunfel’s Phantastische Erscheinungen eines Themas von Hektor Berlioz, Op. 25, and one renowned, Hector Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Op. 14. Violinist Coline Berland opened the evening with a commentary on Braunfel and his piece, noting the composer’s tumultuous life, beginning as a successful musician and composer in the 1920s and 30s, but falling after the 40s when his music was labeled as degenerate. Berland added that Bruanfel’s work was “straight out of the romantic vein,” and emphasized TŌN’s effort to “revive a
Music: Exploring the Sights and Sounds of ‘Symphonie Fantastique’
Recently, two opportunities arose to hear Hector Berlioz's "Symphonie Fanstatique" within days of each other. This isn't surprising - it's been a crowd pleaser since its 1830 premiere . With that also comes with a lot of "over"s" as in over-programmed and overwrought. Happily, both Bard College's Orchestra Now (TŌN ) conducted by Music Director/College President Leon Botstein at Lincoln Center's Frederick P Rose Hall and Basil Twist's landmark abstract puppet ballet at HERE encouraged audiences to forget everything they thought they knew about this music to discover it for themselves. Their thoughtful invitations to do so succeeded. Limited program notes made
Escape to Margaritaville on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre
Paul Alexander Nolan, Alison Luff and the cast of Escape to Margaritaville. Photo by Matthew Murphy. Photo above: Jimmy Buffett and cast. When April in New York City is ushered in by a blanket of snow, everyone could use a little getaway to somewhere warm, wonderful and inviting, far away from the hustle and bustle of city life, where one could entertain the unthinkable - to relax. For East Coast snowbirds who didn’t get the chance to fly south to Florida, or the Midwestern family of four who opted for The Big Apple instead of the Caribbean cruise, Escape From Margaritaville,