1. RIDE THE CYCLONE (MCC): Its quality is sadly a perfect fit for the amateur high school auditorium vibe of The Lucille Lortel Theatre
— Write All Nite (@aintnohero) December 24, 2016
Continue reading “Tweet of Consciousness: RIDE THE CYCLONE (MCC Theater)”
2. Namely: lack of thematic focus in favor of packing play with as many intellectually witty conversational observations as possible
— Write All Nite (@aintnohero) December 22, 2016
Continue reading “Tweet of Consciousness: THE WOLVES (Sarah DeLappe, Playwrights Realm)”
2. but still can’t overcome artistically crippling feeling this story was CLEARLY written for another medium. Dramatically inert dramaturgy
— Write All Nite (@aintnohero) December 21, 2016
Continue reading “Tweet of Consciousness: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS (Nia Vardalos, Public Theater)”
THIS DAY FORWARD (Vineyard): Nicky Silver is the 21st century’s inferior AR Gurney (not really praise from me: https://t.co/IG0GobmZZG
— Write All Nite (@aintnohero) December 19, 2016
Continue reading “Tweet of Consciousness: THIS DAY FORWARD (Nicky Silver, Vineyard Theatre)”
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE (Roundabout) Many of the dramatic strengths of Mike Bartlett’s other, superior plays are not on display here. 1/)
— Write All Nite (@aintnohero) December 14, 2016
The Signature Theatre Company’s revival of “Master Harold”…and the boys by Athol Fugard – which he also directed – unexpectedly called to mind the necessity of the separation of church and state to a country’s success. Even though the play does not particularly delve into civic theology (religion is only mentioned in passing), Signature’s production served as yet another reminder of one of my more tried-and-true artistic tenets that’s just as crucial to the continued vitality of theatre as the ol’ ‘church and state’ adage is to government: the separation of a playwright from his play through the all-important intermediary of a director.
Continue reading ““MASTER HAROLD”…AND THE BOYS: Great Playwrights…make average directors”
Three recent off-Broadway productions – Horton Foote’s The Roads to Home at Primary Stages, A.R. Gurney’s Two Class Acts at the Flea Theater, and En Garde Arts’ Wilderness at the Abrons Arts Center – made me ponder how much accurately depicting the lives of specific people not often given the time of day on stage should be valued. Though holding up a mirror to nature has always been one of the foundational tenets of art, after years of audiences being treated to ‘reflections’ of almost every different type of character imaginable, I’m now left wondering if plays that achieve nothing more than presenting these now-familiar reflections can justifiably be criticized for not striving for, well, more…
After posting my thoughts regarding Theatre for One’s current residency at the Signature Theatre Company’s Pershing Square Signature Center, I received a few questions regarding the logistics of attending this abnormal event. As such, I figured it would behoove everyone if I answered them publicly here:
A magic box currently resides in the middle of the Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street through November 21, and those who dare to step inside may walk out with a newfound conception of this art form known as theatre.
Neil LaBute has spent the majority of his career deconstructing the societal taboos that most people mindlessly adopt with nary a thought to their validity. With All the Ways to Say I Love You – the first play of MCC Theater’s 30th anniversary season, of which Mr. LaBute is the playwright-in-residence – he sets his sights on exploring the morality of the hot-button issue of teachers forging “inappropriate” relationships with their underage students. Those textual air quotes are basically the crux of the play: even though almost everyone would immediately write-off such a relationship as immoral and thus inappropriate, this one-woman show strives to understand the psychology that drove the female teacher at its center to engage in such near-universally agreed upon immorality. This understanding will hopefully elicit empathy for a visibly tortured soul whose perspective they never even considered, which has long been one of the foundational goals of drama since its origins in Greek tragedy.
Continue reading “ALL THE WAYS TO SAY I LOVE YOU: Please, Sir, I Want Some More”
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