... three ages of women ... Chekhov wrote Three Sisters for production on a proscenium stage but I think he would have been thrilled to see this expansion of his work in Classic Stage's magn…
... cat's cradle ... The broad narrow playing space downstairs at the Flea has been painted the reddish sandy color that says Southwest and there's a weathered sandstone rock. In this evocat…
To read about The School for Lies, from Moliere's The Misanthrope currently playing at Classic Stage --and it's great! -- click on live link of the title. ... opposites attract ... There's a…
... departure ... What a bunch of characters! On an isolated wharf lit by a bright moon two men are engaged in a Jacob and the Angel-like struggle shooting dice. Murlie, with a tough-guy acc…
... true grits ... True Grit, filmed by the Coen brothers in 2010, is a western with a true twist, a young girl's quest for revenge and her determination to stick by the sides of the two pis…
... Surrealism in motion ... Mummenschanz creates a world in which creatures take on forms different from our world but are governed by the same laws of physics as our world. Performers dres…
... alter egos ... In the ballet Swan Lake, the White Swan princess, Odette, good and truly loving, is opposed by Odile, the Black Swan, wild and destructive, both ideally played by the same…
Let's Talk off-Broadway is very grateful to have received, 2/16/11, from Mark P. Haggard, Guest Blogger, comments onThe King's Speech, written from his humanistic as well as specifically Bri…
... Boy Meets Girl in front of Bloomingdale's ... Looking at Christmas is a delightful romp through some of the world's great Christmas stories with just enough bite to make it exciting -- a…
... but you won't read this in the comic books ... Ghost in the Cottonwoods is a tale of family sin and retribution -- it sure isn't Aeschylus or O'Neil but it's in that tradition. It's told…
Dostoyevsky's short novel, Notes from Underground of 1864, is a gripping vision of the terrors of psychological isolation and the evils that can flow from it. Often called the first existent…
X marks ... what? This is an important and fascinating play about the interplay between ideas, evidence and personalities surrounding one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time, …
... only four days ... This is an important play about the effects on individual lives of the Civil War draft riots in New York City. Since $300 would get you out of serving, it was easy eno…
... twilight of the Great Books ... Office Hours is a tender and passionate love story about -- the love Humanities professors hold for the great books of the western tradition just when the…
... a woman of vision ... Hildegard Von Bingen was a remarkable woman of the 12th Century, administrator, author, artist, physician, musician and composer, and councilor to leaders of state.…
... another wonderful Woody Allen movie ... What is it about the camera angles, the light and the naturalness of the actors that immediately let you know you're at a Woody Allen film and you…
Guest review by Robert J. Ruben ... means and ends ... Buchner's early 19th-century play (1835), in its new version by Brenton, portrays on one level the interpersonal dynamics of the reign …
... 18th-Century Post-Modern ... What a play! And what a marvelous way to get to know it! Monday, September 27, Classic Stage presented a reading of Jacques and His Master, written by noveli…
... another great first act ... The first act of Orlando is a kind of enchantment -- like falling in on Prospero's island. We are in the 17thCentury: Orlando appears as a swashbuckling young…
... Linda Thorson in a great performance ... EXIT/ENTRANCE is about two couples, one old, one young, who are much alike except for age, but that of course makes all the difference. Both men …
Dead Man's Cell Phone The North Fork Community Theatre, Mattituck, Long Island, is presenting Dead Man's Cell Phone by Sarah Ruhl three weekends in November. "... An incessantly ringing…
"DO NOT MISS "MAO'S LAST DANCER" FANTASTIC! At the Paris. Oh, boy, oh boy! and P.S. Very few people there last night--it needs some good publicity!" Irma B. Jaffe 08/28/1…
Reviewed by guest writer Mark Haggard Pageant of Failure "The Scots are fond of blaming others for their own misfortunes, especially the English." This maxim is well known to sophisticated a…
... If you like to laugh, don't miss this play ... Romance is one of the funniest plays I've ever seen. It's wicked, nasty, but totally non-stop hilarious ... what dialogue, what observation…