Grandiloquent @ the Lucille Lortel Theatre

-


The Play: Grandiloquent; comedian Gary Gulman’s solo show chronicles how his childhood as a precocious kid not embraced by other kids and not always appreciated by adults turned him into the funny guy he is today

Written by: Gary Gulman        Directed by: Moritz von Stupelpnagel

One good thing: Gulman is very funny and very smart and so although stand-up isn’t usually my thing, I laughed a lot and was really tickled by his witty literary and pop cultural allusions, ranging from Immanuel Kant to Sesame Street's Grover

One not-so-great thing: I wish Gulman trusted the audience more and allowed us to make the connection between his angst and his comedy instead of underscoring it in the final part of the show, making this yet one more Hannah Gadsbyesque confessional about how a comedian feels conflicted about using his psychic pain to make people laugh

 

 

 


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