Six Characters @ LCT3

-


The Play: Six Characters; this riff on Pirandello’s absurdist classic boldly attempts to take on both the issue of how black creatives are treated in American theater and the growing threat of fascism in this country

Written by: Phillip Howze   Directed by Dustin Wills

One good thing: It’s refreshing to see a black playwright diving into the tricky waters of experimental theater

One not-so-great thing: Plays like these need to set the rules of the game early or to provide clear entry points so that audiences know how to interact with them and this one fails to do either

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Romeo + Juliet @ Circle in the Square

-
Image
The Play: Romeo + Juliet; this 21st century spin on the classic love story, which features inclusive and gender-bending casting, music by the hip producer and frequent Taylor Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff and Gen-Z idols Kit Connor and Rachel Ziegler in the title roles, is designed to appeal to young theatergoers and other young people the producers obviously hope to attract  Written by: William Shakespeare        Directed by: Sam Gold One good thing: Connor is everything you’d want in a Romeo: swoon-worthy, suitably sensitive and able to speak the Bard’s language beautifully One not-so-great thing: All the double and triple casting— one example: Juliet’s Nurse and the hothead Tybalt are played by the same actor — makes it hard to follow who’s doing what to whom, especially since costume changes are so rare and so random     
Read more

The Ask @ The Wild Project

-
Image
The Play: The Ask; the generational clash between a young nonbinary fundraiser and a wealthy older feminist donor Written by:  Matthew Freeman  Directed by: Jessi D. Hill One good thing: Nicole Wee’s smart set, aided by Moira Stone’s spot-on props, capture the essence of the older woman, who’s wonderfully played by Betsy Aidem One not-so-great thing: The play isn’t able to rise above the level of a they-said-she-said debate and suffers in comparison to the similar but more skillful smackdown between generations in  N/A which ran earlier in the summer  
Read more

Once Upon a Mattress @ the Hudson Theatre

-
Image
The Play: Once Upon a Mattress, a joy-filled revival of the fractured fairytale version of The Princess and the Pea Book by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller; Music by Mary Rodgers; Lyrics by Marshal Barer Adapted by Amy Sherman-Palladino    Directed by Lear deBessonet One good thing: Michael Urie and Sutton Foster are pitch-perfect as the hapless Prince Dauntless and the unconventional Princess Winnifred who wins his heart; but the show’s MVP may be Sherman Palladino's smart revisal which adds some contemporary sensibility without sacrificing any of the show's old-fashioned goofiness One not-so-great thing:  Lorin Latarro is such a creative choreographer that I wish the production had made a little more room for her to show off what she—and of course the dance-nimble Foster— can do  
Read more