Franklinland @ Ensemble Studio Theatre

-


The Play: Franklinland; the sometimes fraught relationship between fathers and sons is filtered through a somewhat comic treatment of the fractious one between Founding Father Benjamin Franklin and his son William who sided with the British 

Written by: Lloyd Suh        Directed by: Chika Ike

One good thing: Designer Riw Rakkulchon’s picturesque set is richly detailed, especially given what must have been a limited budget

One not-so-great thing: Franklin is portrayed as such a preening buffoon that it throws the whole story off-balance

 

 


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