THE OUTER SPACE at the The Public Theater

In The Outer Space at the Public Theater – the best musical of last season – the inimitable Ethan Lipton utilized the ludicrously wide range of his musical voice to leave Earth far behind, both literally and figuratively, to obtain new, creatively absurd and absurdly creative, allegorically-resonant perspectives on the existentialism of Earth-bound existence.

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THE LIGHTNING THIEF: THE PERCY JACKSON MUSICAL

Since The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical – based on a popular young adult book series – is now going on tour, my belated thoughts on its New York City engagement at the Lucille Lortel Theatre earlier this year have become relevant once more:

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946: THE AMAZING STORY OF ADOLPHUS TIPS (St. Ann’s Warehouse)

Kneehigh’s 946: The Amazing Story of Adolphus Tips at St. Ann’s Warehouse is more sophisticatedly resonant than a large majority of theatrical kiddie fare, mostly because it sensitively touches upon mature aspects of war that other youth-focused shows mistakenly deem objectively inappropriate for children.

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EVERYBODY (Signature): A BBJ Capsule

Like much of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ dizzyingly thought-provoking work (mostly for better but sometimes for worse; it makes writing about his plays in a focused manner consistently difficult, as the numerous seemingly dichotomous parentheses will attest), his Everybody – a contemporary…revival? adaptation? translation?…of Everyman that played at the Signature Theatre this season – intellectually operates on too many levels to comprehensively process in a solitary viewing. Unlike the declaratory way that such morality plays are often taught, Everybody post-modernly liberates and connects Everyman simultaneously from and to, respectively, its historical roots, allowing both plays to resonate with various audience members in as many different ways as there are different types of people in the crowd.  Continue reading “EVERYBODY (Signature): A BBJ Capsule”

SELL/BUY/DATE (Mtc): Docu-Dramas; less of the former, more of the latter please

Anyone familiar with Sarah Jones probably knows her as an expert monologist, a performer capable of not merely playing but quite literally inhabiting various characters from ALL walks of life, regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, or any of the other facets of personal identity.

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