Samm-Art Williams’ play, Home, first produced in 1979 by the Negro Ensemble Company at St. Mark’s Playhouse, moved to Broadway in 1980, where it earned Tony and Drama Desk nominations. In researching this article, one source called the play a comedy. It is not so easily pigeon holed. To be sure, there is humor in … Continue reading “Home” at International City Theatre
Immersive theatre has been around for a while now and productions pop up all across the country. That key word “immersive” tells an audience that they will be immersed in a story, entering a world of interaction with the performers, in places definitely not proscenium theatres, black box theatres, theatres-in-the-round or any other kind of … Continue reading “Kaidan Project: Walls Grow Thin”
Rachel Bonds’ new play, Curve of Departure, now in its world premiere run at South Coast Rep, deals with the intimate adjustments any family goes through when the trajectory of the individuals lurches off course in unexpected ways. There is nothing really new here. Robert Burns said it best, “The best laid schemes o’ mice … Continue reading “Curve of Departure” at South Coast Repertory
Conor McPherson’s adaptation of August Strindberg’s The Dance of Death is a bitter, superbly black comedy, which is said to have inspired such Twentieth Century playwrights as Eugene O’Neill, Jean Paul Sartre, Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter and most notably, Edward Albee, whose now classic play Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a direct descendent. Odyssey … Continue reading “The Dance of Death” at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble
Eric Overmyer, best known for his work on such hit premium television series as The Wire, Treme, Boardwalk Empire, Bosch and more, is also an accomplished playwright. His quirky, whimsical play, On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning, now in production at Little Fish Theatre, features three Victorian women adventurers on a journey into … Continue reading “On the Verge, or The Geography of Yearning” at Little Fish Theatre
Tearrance Arvelle Chisholm’s remarkable play, Br’er Cotton, is as current as this morning. Powerful and passionate, Br’er Cotton reaches into the past as it reflects the miserable, torn, disaffected present. Ruffrino (excellent Omette Anassi) is a Black teenager consumed by the injustice he sees around him and the never-ending tragedy of Black men of all … Continue reading “Br’er Cotton” at Lower Depth Theatre Ensemble
In the theatre, nothing is more fun than a door-slamming farce like Michael Frayn’s Noises Off or Georges Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear. Why door slamming? It is because the exact timing of entrances and exits done with maximum energy fuels the comedy. When perfectly done, the effect is a roar of gut-busting laughter … Continue reading “Boeing Boeing” at Little Fish Theatre
