 | KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
Fiasco Theater's take on Shakespeare's "Two Gentlemen of Verona" @TheatreforaNewA is charming, lucid, funny, sublime & beautifully presented by this enormously talented ensemble cast. | |
Monday, May 25, 2015
Hugely Entertaining "Two Gentlemen of Verona"
Athol Fugard's Beautiful "Painted Rocks"
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
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Athol Fugard's outstanding new play "Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek" @SignatureTheatr is beautifully written and exquisitely acted rumination on South Africa during and after apartheid. This is unquestionably one of Fugard's best play, and it deserves a life beyond its terrific staging at Signature.
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Saturday, May 23, 2015
"The Flick" Proves Worthy of its Pulitzer
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
The phenomenal, mesmerizing "The Flick" now playing at the Barrow St Theatre in a perfect production of a beautifully written play by Annie Baker. Sam Gold's direction is masterful, the style is groundbreaking, and this production, which began at Playwrights Horizons, confirms that this play deserved the best drama Pulitzer Prize it won last year. | |
Carey Mulligan Illuminates "Skylight"
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
Carey Mulligan gives a stellar performance that anchors the terrific imported National Theatre production of David Hares's funny, smart & moving "Skylight" now on Broadway. | |
A Disappointing "American in Paris"
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
New Broadway musical "An American in Paris" has some nice dancing, but it is unfocused, inconsistent in style & clichéd, with a weak book that feel terribly dated. Very disappointing. | |
"Heisenberg" is an engaging two-hander
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
#MaryLouiseParker gives a fine performance in the @MTC_NYC quirky, engaging Simon Stepehens two-hander #Heisenberg. | |
Saturday, April 18, 2015
A Sublime "King & I"
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
The Lincoln Center revival of Rodgers & Hammerstein's "The King & I" is, in a word, glorious, anchored by the breathtaking Kelli O'Hara who delivers another astounding performance. The cast, staging and direction are sublime. Nothing here is radically revisionist, but the work is presented in a deeply felt, emotionally resonant way. This is one of the finest revivals of classic musicals I have seen, joining the esteemed company of Lincoln Center's prior revivals of "Carousel" and "South Pacific." | |
A Chilly "Visit"
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
Kander & Ebb's last show "The Visit" now on Broadway has a tuneful score and an excellent lead performance by the legendary Chita Rivera, but overall the work felt distant and left me cold. Having said that, John Doyle has given this show a well edited Brechtian tinted gloss that is greatly improved from the prior incarnation of "The Visit" that I saw at the Goodman Theater quite a few years ago. However, the underlying problem here is the source material that has been musicalized. | |
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Leslie Manville Anchors a Superb "Ghosts" @BAM
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
Richard Eyre's excellent adaptation of Ibsen's "Ghosts" now at BAM Harvey Theater features precise staging & a luminous performance by the astounding #LeslieManville. | |
"Wolf Hall" is a Long Haul
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
RSC Broadway transfer of "Wolf Hall: Parts 1 & 2) starts out with a bang and a solid Part 1, but Part 2 becomes repetitive & tedious. The cast is uneven, but the staging is great. Overall this is a serviceable adaptation and play, not an inspired one. | |
Friday, April 03, 2015
"Hand To God" is a Smashing Success
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
"Hand To God" is a smashing success on Broadway. It is funny, unique, fast-paced, surprising and engaging. It tackles serious themes sensitively and thoughtfully. With a perfect cast & stunning lead performance by #StevenBoyer this play appears to be bringing a much needed youthful audience to Broadway. Kudos to the producers for taking a chance on transfer from off-Broadway. | |
Thursday, April 02, 2015
Lost in iOW@
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
"iOW@" @PHnyc features hauntingly beautiful songs and a fine cast, but what's it all about? Maybe that is the point? Maybe there is no point? Beats me. | |
Wednesday, April 01, 2015
Audience Pleasing, But One-Note, "Rotten"
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
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"Something Rotten" will likely be Broadway's next big hit, but this well cast meta-musical was rather one-note for me, excepting one great truly show-stopping musical number.
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"On The 20th Century" Goes Off The Rails
| KenderTheater (@KenderTheater) |
"On The 20th Century" at Roundabout Theater has little to recommend this wan musical beyond a terrific Kristin Chenoweth & a quartet of tapping train porters. | |
Sunday, March 15, 2015
An exquisite "Mystery"; Pinkins triumphs in "Rasheeda"
One of the immeasurable joys of off-Broadway theater is discovering terrific young playwrights that offer unique and thoughtful dramatic approaches and perspectives. A fIne example of that is now on display at Lincoln Center's Mitzi Newhouse theater in the form of Bathsheba Doran's excellent new play "The Mystery of Love and Sex." I last encountered Ms. Doran's work several years ago in Playwrights Horizons' production of "Kin," which was one of the best new plays I had seen in recent years. I am thrilled to report that Ms. Doran has created another masterful dramatic work with "Mystery," a play that is a richly textured, finely layered and subtly complex exploration of love, relationships and family. Lincoln Center and director Sam Gold have given this play an exquisite production with a top-notch cast (including Tony Shalhoub, Diane Lane, Gayle Rankin and Mamoudou Athie) that expertly translates the well nuanced writing. I cannot wait to see Ms. Doran's next play.
The dangers of toxic racial environments in society at large and in the workplace are comically and disturbingly explored in The New Group's mounting of "Rasheeda Speaking." Tonya Pinkins and Diane Wiest lead the 4 person cast, and while Ms. Wiest is great, Ms. Pinkins gives a performance that is simply stunning. Together, they skillfully mine the comedic and provocative elements of this solid play that confounds, twists and cunningly subverts audience perceptions and sympathies. Admittedly, Ms. Pinkins has always been one of my favorite stage performers, but here she takes her acting to a whole new level in a difficult role that really makes or breaks the play. Unquestionably, she makes this one terriffic, and does so in a peerless manner.
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