Curtainup Founder & Editor Elyse Sommer's Epilogue -- I've passed the torch for reviewing and editing new theater productions on and off-Broadway and elsewhere. However, I'll continue to sound off here with my take on Live and Onscreen Entertainment. As for Curtainup's extensive content since 1996-- it's all sill available at www.curtainup.com

Monday, March 12, 2012

No shortage of solo plays. . .

The popularity  of  solo  plays  continues  undiminished--  Of  the three  seen and reviewed  in the last ten days,   the standout was  a streamlined  version of  the Greek Classic,  An  Iliad--  two quite different  but outstanding actors  alternate  performing it--

 New York

The Maria Project- a solo performance piece presented during Domestic Violence Awareness Monthas a part of its “80 Voices” campaign. . . .


An Iliad- Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson have turned Homer's epic war poem into a spell-binding performance piece. . . .

New Jersey
Summer in Sanctuary
- Al Letson’s solo-play is not dissimilar from the raconteur style and informal format that defined the monologues of Spalding Gray . . .

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Our busy, busy London theater critics:

London
Don Juan Comes Back From the War - This 1936 play is a brilliant updating of the Don Juan legend for post-world War I Germany, in which the downward spiral of the anti-hero suggests the country’s descent into moral oblivion. . .

Floyd Collins — This production may have its flaws, but its strong cast and remarkable setting still provide a rare and exciting opportunity for an audience to experience this haunting and challenging musical.

The Leisure Society- I came away asking if this were biting satire or merely shallow. The latter I fear is my response! . . .

Snookered- Ishy Din'splay about the first British generation of young Asian Muslim men, snookered or caught between two cultures. . . .

Goodbye to All That- A play by Luke Norris about the over 70s discovering love and the fallout from a late romance. . . .

All New People- Zach Braff's dark comedy makes the journey across the Atlantic successfully . . .

Hay Fever - Not Coward’s best play as it lacks any subtly and is more caricature but Howard Davies has given it a very good production . . .

’Tis Pity She’s a Whore- Visceral, moving and disturbing, this is a production that wears its bloodied heart on its sleeve, bringing this classic play pulsating into the 21st Century.. . .

In Basildon- What is more satisfying than a well written dark comedy of human behaviour with underlying and enduring themes and a sense of place? Don’t miss this one by David Eldridge . . .

Sunday, March 4, 2012

The best new play in NY is dowtown. . .



Tribes- A terrific, sad yet often funny play by a young playwright who has something to say — actually quite a few things — and knows how to enliven her story and her characters with pungent dialogue.. . .