Friday, April 19, 2024
Though hurricanes, the stormy skies and the trail of destruction they bring raged across America at the tail end of summer, all was calm and serene as professional artists and community participants alike graced the Delacorte Theatre for one last time before 2025. The production was a jubilant musical take on Shakespeare’s final play, The Tempest, as envisioned by Public Works, currently helmed by Lauire Wooley, featuring well-crafted, richly varied and genre-bending music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez and simple yet playful choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher. Ancestral spirits from Seneca Village and the Isle of Manahatta, the homeland of the
Tag: shakespeare
Free Shakespeare in the Park’s HAMLET at The Delacorte Theater
If last year was “The Summer of Richard III,” with numerous productions worldwide and varying portrayals of the “poisonous bunch-backed toad,” including The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park version directed by Robert O’Hara (see my StageBiz review here), then 2023 is “The Tale of Two Hamlets.” Two Public Theater productions featuring the titular tragic prince were running simultaneously at the time of Free Shakespeare in the Park’s Hamlet’s opening, the second being James Ijames’ excellent, Pulitzer-Prize winning modern-day riff on the Hamlet tale, dubbed Fat Ham, which transferred to Broadway and closed July 2 after an extension (see
Quinn’s Quixotic, Quagmire & Laughs At The Lucille Lortel Theater
PHOTOS BY: MONIQUE CARBON Colin Quinn has been a New York City mainstay for over 35 years. He’s remembered as far back as the mid-nineties when he was the co-host and announcer for MTV’s trivia show, “Remote Control”. I can still hear Colin’s voice in my head right now introducing the show's host, the late Ken Ober, “The Quiz Master of ’72 Whooping Cough Lane”. Many will also remember his iconic “I’m Going Back To Brooklyn” parody. There is also, of course, his very memorable stint as SNL’s News Correspondent in the early 2000s. He’s been at the forefront of comedy
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
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
“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
Fat Ham at The Public Theater: Succulent Joy Triumphs Over Tragedy
For a play premiering on Memorial Day weekend, what could feel more festive than a family gathering at a backyard barbecue served with a side of Shakespeare, a heaping portion of pop culture references, simmered in family drama, seasoned with violence and a dash of glitter to taste? Ay, there's the spice rub! Shakespeare's plays have had many adaptations and updated versions that take creative licenses with the Bard's works and themes. A favorite choice is the tale of the brooding, tragic prince with intense and questionable family dynamics. The Guardian recently published a piece examining the obsession that dramatists of stage and
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
DruidShakespeare: Richard III at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival
DruidShaekespeare's Richard III is a bruising experience, which is as it should be. The Irish troupe's contribution to the tenth anniversary season of Lincoln Center's White Light Festival (playing thru November 23rd at John Jay College's Gerald W. Lynch Theatre), absolutely fulfills the festival's mission of looking and listening without distraction for greater understanding. Shakespeare never hides Richard's ambition and watching it played out in the ugliness The War of the Roses created makes it inevitable. Director Garry Hynes has the perfect Richard in Aaron Monaghan. No one would ever mistake him for a weakling, but when things don't go his way his voice becomes high pitched like a
Mobile Unit’s THE TEMPEST at The Public Theater
The stormy start to May has served as a fitting setting for the debut of The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit production of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, that washed up on its home shores near Astor Place after a three-week, 17 stop tour to correction facilities, homeless shelters, libraries and community centers across all five boroughs of New York City. The Mobile Unit really puts the “public” in The Public Theater, whose prestigious productions continue to sell out, garner audience and critical praise and conquer both the commercial (anyone heard of a little historical musical about a dead politician called Hamilton?) and