Entertainment - Thursday, October 1, 2009 8:07 - 6 Comments
Skirball’s Othello Director Tries to Fill Empty Seats at Crappy Show
Apparently, sitting through the current production of Othello at the Skirball Center is worse than getting smothered. Ben Brantley’s review of Peter Sellars’ recent mounting described it as “exasperatingly misconceived,” and I’ve only heard from one person who managed to sit through the entire show. He’d announced this particular feat with an air of disappointed triumph that one might use after finishing the last page of a Mitch Albom novel. “Oh, yeah, I stayed till the end. All the way till the end.” He’d made it, but was it worth it?
I decided to find out if the reactions to the show were really that negative, and walked over to the theater around intermission last night. The scene was, in fact, pretty brutal. I basically haven’t seen a theatrical exodus that large since sitting through a community theater production of Clue: The Musical in Northern Michigan. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone, but the handicapped Eastern European with a stutter did it.
On Campus - Friday, April 3, 2009 10:57 - 3 Comments
“Move Over Mrs. Markham” Misses The Mark
In one of the early scenes from last night’s production of “Move Over Mrs. Markham,” the main character, Joanna Markham, goes behind a downstage wall to mix a drink off stage. In a surprising and effective feat of lighting, the wall is illuminated from behind, revealing a scrim and allowing the audience to watch her shadow move about as she makes her preparations. The moment provides an interesting perspective on the otherwise flat set. If only such stage magic could have been used to reveal more depth to the decidedly one-note characters.
The show was presented by the “Tisch New Theatre,” a sorely needed new program aiming to provide non-acting NYU students the chance to perform. Of course, organizations such as CAST and Gallatin Theatre Troupe already exist to fulfill such a purpose, but these group’s productions are on a much smaller scale than the one attempted last night at Skirball. Indeed, the last thing one could say about “Mrs. Markham” was that it scaled anything back. The problem was that the scale was a little off. Continue…
Entertainment - Friday, December 12, 2008 9:33 - 0 Comments
Sex, Drugs, and Indecision in ‘Spain’
The subtitle of Spain calls the play “a f*cked-up comedy.” This label is not completely accurate. While the show is definitely a comedy, featuring copious copulation and minor substance usage, the play itself is not “f*cked-up.” In fact, it won the Outstanding New Play Award from NOW Magazine in Toronto. The Bridge Theatre Company’s current production, which runs through December 14, is seamlessly directed and solidly performed, such that the only f*cked-up thing about it is intentional: the characters are codependent to the point of inertia.
Eric (Todd d’Amour) is unemployed and struggling at the center of a strange, subtle love triangle. When his girlfriend Beth (Esther Barlow), an artist, returns from a six-month trip to Italy, Eric must distance himself from his friend Jared (played by the playwright, Michael Rubenfeld) in order to devote more time to his rocky relationship with Beth. Continue…
Entertainment - Friday, October 31, 2008 11:18 - 0 Comments
“Speed-the-Plow” Preaches to the Anti-Hollywood Choir
The first thing I think of when I hear David Mamet’s name is Steve Martin in a black suit. Glengarry Glen-what? This should give you an idea of how much of a Mamet-phile I am. Funny, then, that the new revival of his 1988 play Speed-the-Plow turned out to be exactly what I expected: a brisk satire of Hollywood featuring a minuscule cast of characters shooting angry repartee at each other within confined settings.
This play’s first production in 1988 was completely overshadowed by the fact that Madonna starred as its leading lady. Now, in this first-ever Broadway revival, fans of cable TV drama have their day as the stars of Entourage, Mad Men and Pushing Daisies comprise the entire cast. Yes, that’s Jeremy Piven reprising his TV role as lovably abrasive Hollywood agent, Elizabeth Moss reprising hers as meek but quietly ambitious secretary, and Raul Esparza just being fucking angry all the time. Get that man some coffee, please. Continue…
