Saturday, November 23, 2024
Theatre-maker Madeline Sayet straddles many identities that often contrast and sometimes conflict. She's half Mohegan (on her mother's side) and half Jewish (on her father's side). Sayet is also an actress/director and an academic who found joy and solace in escaping through Shakespeare. But she can't shake the painful scars of colonialism that haunts her people's present and flavors their future, where erasure is imminent if the next generation doesn't keep the Mohegan language and traditions alive. It's a heavy burden for a young woman searching for her place in this world and a sense of belonging. In her solo show,
Reviews
FC Bergman’s 300 el x 50 el x 30 el at BAM Next Wave
How does one describe the foreboding feeling of the calm before the storm? What might you witness if you peeked into the homes of a small community before a raging tempest transpired? In the US and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) premiere of 300 el x 50 el x 30 el by the daring, provocative Belgian theatre company FC Bergman, you don’t have to guess. Instead, you are granted fly-on-the-wall access to the private moments of ordinary people with quirky and bizarre habits, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing. The Harvey Theater at BAM Strong is transformed into a quaint European
What Kind of Woman — the cell theatre
Every actor, writer or musician starts out with a side hustle to make ends meet. In the case of actor and playwright Abbe Tanenbaum, it was organizing people's apartments. While working with one client, she found twenty letters from women in the pre-Roe era seeking abortion services from her client. These letters and her client's past inspired this show. With that as a foundation, this could have been less pleasant than watching a 1950s Soviet propaganda film about periodontal disease. The ease with which it could have turned preachy, maudlin or just plain tedious is obvious. Tanenbaum skillfully avoided these dangers
Public Works’ Musical Adaptation of “As You Like It”: Free Shakespeare in the Park
The 60th anniversary of The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park series was memorable. It opened with risk and ended with a reward. The first of the two productions for summer 2022 was Richard III, directed by Robert O'Hara and starring Danai Gurira in the title role. It seemed to be the summer of Richard III, and the choices made by The Public's version and other productions worldwide (notably in Canada and the UK) were the source of many conversations, press articles, and hot debates. In contrast, it's hard to imagine anything but praise for the delightful, exuberant modern musical
The Butcher Boy: A New Musical at Irish Repertory Theatre
Adaptations are tricky. The best ones manage to cover the key points and honor the tone of the source material without getting bogged down by too many narrative details. These elements must also work well with the tools of the chosen medium. The Butcher Boy, a new musical now playing at Irish Repertory Theatre, achieves the benchmarks of a solid, imaginative adaptation, despite the oddball choice of transforming Patrick McCabe’s acclaimed 1992 novel about a schoolboy’s descent into mischief, madness and murder as the world around him collapses in a small Irish town in the 1960s. The Butcher Boy features a
Theatre4the People and the Matthew Corozine Studio present ‘Under the Dragon’s Tail’ by Isaac Byrne
Real experts like E. M. Forester and Virginia Woolf knew what reviewers go out of their way explaining in wordy detail: there is no such thing as a simple plot. Like offline real life, a scripted tale's truths and lies depend on the teller. Playwright and director Isaac Byrne takes four familiar plotlines and tweaks them anew in Under the Dragon's Tail, four short plays performed by superbly talented members of Theatre 4the People (t4tp) at Matthew Corozine Studio Theatre. Snakes are modern-day descendants of dragons. Ophiology is the scientific study of snakes and an appropriate title for the first play on the
Cassandra Rosebeetle and JL Marlor’s ‘The Final Veil’ at the cell theatre
Co-Creator/Co-Choreographer/Director/Producer/Lead Performer Cassandra Rosebeetle and Co- Creator/Composer/Librettist JL Marlor describe The Final Veil as a movement opera. Unlike traditional opera, The Final Veil is scored for a string quartet and best experienced in a smaller space like the cell theatre. The female and non-binary quartet of singers and trio of dancers form a unified ensemble - a nuanced rethinking of Ancient Greek and grand opera choruses. The resulting hour-long work is devastating. The "final veil" refers to the last moments of Franceska Mann (Cassandra Rosebeetle) life. The German invasion of Poland starting World War II ended her promising career. The 25-year-old Jewish dancer was first
Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park: Richard III
It’s important, if not essential, for theatre makers to be ambitious and take risks. Equally crucial, especially in today’s climate, is considering diversity and inclusion when casting. However, when a production tries to tick all the boxes at once, that can muddle the play’s message. The latter is the unfortunate result of the production of Richard III, directed by Robert O’Hara and starring Danai Gurira in the title role. Though the efforts and intentions were admirable and excellent performances were given by all, throwing in everything and the kitchen sink made the show fall short of its possible impact by presenting
Loveghost @ Blackrose L.A.
Back in L.A. for the first time in a while as my presence was requested at Blackrose L.A. I couldn't resist the opportunity at seeing a live musical event. Blackrose LA is a new venue and will soon rival The Viper Room as the preeminant music venue in Los Angeles As the Pandemic eases up and quietude passes, more and more opportunities to write about live events are rearing their opportunistic heads. A random call in New York brought me here to check out this dramatic, eye-catching and dazzling event at Blackrose LA. headlined by LA mainstay, Loveghost. The entertainment for the
“Richard III” – Shakespeare in the Park
This summer, the Public Theater is celebrating the 60th season of Shakespeare in the Park, and it is one of the events that makes living in New York City a privilege. The first of the plays presented this year is the history play, "Richard III." Cards on the table right up front, "Richard III" is my favorite Shakespeare play, and the Wars of the Roses is a period in history I studied at some length. In short, I am an enthusiast, and readers deserve to know from whence these remarks come. Above all, this play is about power, its uses and mostly