"Guards At The Taj" is Stunningly Beautiful

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
6/20/15, 4:45 PM Rajiv Joseph's "Guards At The Taj" @AtlanticTheater is a stunningly beautiful play that is expertly staged & directed by Amy Morton.  Among its chief virtues are two outstanding actors who give fully committed performances-  Omar Metwally and Arian Moayed.  I found it to be Mr. Joseph's best work to date.  Highly recommended.

"Come From Away" Offers a Rewarding Journey

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
6/14/15, 7:44 PM "Come From Away" at La Jolla Playhouse is a wonderful new musical focusing on the stranded US bound planes that were required to land in Newfoundland on 9/11/01.  It is a thoughtful & engaging show that features a beautiful score.  The staging and direction are inspired, and the cast is splendid.  It is a quiet and small show that deserves to be a hit.

"Bad Jews" is Quite Good

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
6/12/15, 10:54 PM Joshua Harmon's dark comedy "Bad Jews" @GeffenPlayhouse is much tamer than the Tracee Chimo starring premiere production at NY's Roundabout Theater, but its a solid production of a very good and very funny play.

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My Tony Awards Ballot [if I was a Tony Voter]

If I were a Tony Awards voter, and I am still waiting in vain for my invitation to become one, I would cast my 2015 ballot as follows.  To be clear, these are my picks, not my predictions, and I am limiting my choices to the nominations of the Tony Committee.

Best Play: The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-Time

Best Musical: Fun Home

Musical Book: Lisa Kron, Fun Home

Score: Tesori & Kron, Fun Home

Best Play Revival: Skylight

Best Musical Revival: The King & I

Director/ Play: Marianne Elliott, Curious Incident

Director/ Musical: Sam Gold, Fun Home

Choreography: An American in Paris

Orchestrations: Fun Home

Actor/ Play: (tie) Steven Boyer, Hand to God; Alex Sharp, Curious Incident

Actress/ Play: Helen Mirren, The Audience

Actor/ Musical: Michael Cerveris, Fun Home

Actress/ Musical: Kelly O'Hara, The King & I

Featured Actor/ Play: Richard McCabe, The Audience

Featured Actress/ Play: Annaleigh Ashford, You Can't Take It With You

Featured Actor/ Musical: Brad Oscar, Something Rotten

Featured Actress/ Musical: Sydney Lucas, Fun Home

Scenic Design/ Play: Curious Incident

Scenic Design/ Musical: The King & I

Costume Design/ Play: The Audience

Costume Design/ Musical: The King & I

Lighting Design/ Play: Curious Incident

Lighting Design/ Musical: The Visit

"Fun Home" finds a welcome home on Broadway

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
5/30/15, 9:52 AM "Fun Home," the musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel's fine graphic memoir, is even better & more emotionally resonant on Broadway than It was in its superb production @PublicTheaterNY .  Without question, this show deserves to  win the Best Musical Tony Award on June 6.

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No qualms in recommending "The Qualms"

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
5/26/15, 11:49 PM Bruce Norris' new play "The Qualms" is another winner for Playwrights Horizons.  It is smartly written, very funny, and deceptively complex and features a perfect cast and keen direction. Don't miss it.

Hugely Entertaining "Two Gentlemen of Verona"

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
5/24/15, 11:18 PM 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.

Athol Fugard's Beautiful "Painted Rocks"

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
5/24/15, 11:14 PM 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.

"The Flick" Proves Worthy of its Pulitzer

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
5/23/15, 9:51 AM 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)
5/24/15, 12:06 AM 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)
5/24/15, 12:03 AM 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)
5/24/15, 12:08 AM #MaryLouiseParker gives a fine performance in the @MTC_NYC quirky, engaging Simon Stepehens two-hander #Heisenberg.

A Sublime "King & I"

KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)

4/19/15, 12:42 AM 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)

4/19/15, 12:36 AM 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.

Leslie Manville Anchors a Superb "Ghosts" @BAM

	KenderTheater (@KenderTheater)
4/5/15, 6:11 PM Richard Eyre's excellent adaptation of Ibsen's "Ghosts" now at BAM Harvey Theater features precise staging & a luminous performance by the astounding #LeslieManville.