Curtainup in the Berkshires

The Tempest - Oscar-winner Olymbia Dukakis as the latest gender-bending exiled monarch . . . Read More



The North Pool -Rajiv Joseph has borrowed Agatha Christie's favorite device, planting clues and red herrings to keep her readers reading. The Miss Marple of Joseph's The North Pool, now having its Northeast premiere at Barrington Stage's St. Germain Theater, is Dr. Danielson, the Vice-principal of a large high school anywhere in the USA. . . . Read More

All My Sons - A tense and exciting production sensitively directed by Julianne Boyd with a splendid cast to deal with the secrets and lies shadowing the on the surface American as apple pie Keller family and their neighbors in an anywhere USA town in 1947. . . . Read More

New London Theater Reviews

Richard III - Returning to the Globe is its first Artistic Director, Mark Rylance, as the “bottled spider.” Hs version of the monarch is an affable spider without much bottle, so self effacing is his performance. . . . Read More



Ten Billion - Set in a reproduction of Professor Stephen Emmott’s office in the Cambridge University laboratory, this doesn’t fit into our concept of traditional theatre being a lecture in form presented by an academic and illustrated with visual aids, charts and the like. However, if using theatre helps to get the message across then Katie Mitchell and Emmott’s efforts will have been worthwhile. . . Read More

Report on the Latitude Festival 2012 - Now in its seventh year, Latitude is a festival with a difference. Not only does it draw together some of the biggest names in music . . .Read More

Slap Dash Galaxy A surprise hit and Total Award Theatre winner at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe came in the shadowy shape of Bunk Puppets’ Jeff Achtem. - . . . Read More

Mack and Mabel - Director Thom Southerland gives Jerry Herman's under appreciated musical a loving production. . . Read More

O'Neill's Anna Christie Sings@IrishRep

New Girl In Town - The Irish Repertory Company deserves a high five for its lovingly Irish-ized revival of New Girl in Town, a too-long-ignored musical from Broadway’s golden age . . . Read More

The kid is the star of this revival

A Thousand Clowns - While the iconoclastic Murray Burns is the central character in Herb Gardner's 1962 comedy, it's Russel Posner's young Nick Burns, who is the star of the Berkshire Theatr Group's revival. . . .

A preview of the NYbound Far From Heaven Musical

Far From Heaven - a sneak peek at Williamstown Theatre Festival's developmental production of the new musical based on the 2002 film . . . Read More

A promising new cult movie inspired musical

Dogfight - With a bit of luck, enough good reviews and the positive-word-of- mouth that has been generated since previews began, this new musical will follow the path that catapulted Next to Normal mto success on Broadway following its initial run at the Second Stage Theatre . . . Read More

A Cole Porter Misfire

Nymph Errant - Prospect Theatre's revival of an easy to forget long forgotten musical by Cole Porter . . . Read More

Zarkana back--shorter & better

Zarkana - The extgravaganza returns to Radio City for a limited return engagement. It's shorter and better . . . Read More

Not satisfied to play just one role. . .

New York

Macbeth - How the Tony Award winning Scottish star Alan Cumming manages performing all the characters is something to marvel over. The difficulty is not just that Shakespeare's play has so many meaty parts but that they come at you in such numbers. But succeed he does . . . Read More

The Berkshires' beautiful Colonial Theater hosts Chorus Line

Chorus Line - Fortunately, musical theater directors seem to be less impelled to diddle with firmly established works and ignore the old idage of don't fix what ain't broke. And Eric Hill, who's not averse to innovative directorial filips, is presenting the Berkshire Theatre Group's revival of Chorus Line at the gorgeously restored Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield without any attempt to update its auditioning dancers' stories, add fancy scenery or ultra-elaborate, multiple costume changes . . . Read More

New from Curtainup London

Knight Watch -Inua Ellams is credited with being at the forefront of the resurgence of spoken-word as an art form, and it’s not hard to see why. His vivid and imaginative writing places equal emphasis on form and content, and he is a captivating storyteller. .. . . Read More


Flora, The Red Menace -the score is neither as likeable, nor as memorable as the Kander and Ebb classics, and the book fails to provide any real insight into the Communism movement. Nevertheless, this production does have its merits — not least providing a showcase for the brilliant Katy Baker—- and certainly puts forward a valiant case to save the show from obscurity. . . . Read More

The Only True History of Lizzie Finn - This is the first UK production for Sebastian Barry’s play which showed 15 years ago in Ireland. Barry writes about Ireland but concentrates on the Catholic Loyalist families, whereas most Irish playwrights write about the forces of Irish nationalism. It's helmed by Blanche McIntyre an exciting director . . . Read More

Rjif Joseph first of 2 Berkshire productions

Animals Out of Paper -Given the Chester Theatre's love story theme for this summer, this season opener may be seen as a variation of the love triangle, with its three characters coming together through their relationship to origami. . . . Read More

Seriously Funny. . .and serious

Endurance - What do four Hartford insurance agents facing economic meltdown in the face of 21st century corporate American greed have in common with the heroic British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton lost in the Antarctic in the early 20th century?Everything, according to Split Knuckle Theatre’s Endurance, a splendidly physical and imaginative comedy-drama at Shakespeare and Co.’s newly renamed Tina Packer Theatre. . . Read More

Joe Penhall's new medical care play

Birthday -Disguised as a comedy Birthday is Joe Penhall’s passionate polemic on the state of the National Health Service when it comes to childbirth. Returning to the setting in the NHS of his 2000 play Blue/Orange, Birthday is set in a hospital overlooking a prison . . . Read More

A solo with oomph and a new & flawed Wilde

The Importance of Being Earnest - With Wilde's classic comedy produced so many times that it's hard not to stifle a yawn at the idea of yet another production. Therefore you can't fault director David Hyde Pierce for wanting to give his version a new twist. That twist came courtesy of Damon Runyon the creator of those famous "dem guys and dolls." . . . Read More

Dr. Ruth, All the Way -As regular Curtainup readers know, plays with just one performer holding the stage aren't exactly my favorite things. Yet, every now and then along comes a new addition to this genre that completely upends my reservations about having an actor suddenly start talking to me, turning me into the co-star and, usually a telephone into a critical plot detailing device. Dr. Ruth All The Way which just opened at Barrington Stage's newly re-named second stage, the St. Germain Stage in honor of the company and Mark St. Germain's frequent and immensely successful collaborations, is exactly such a mind changer . . . Read More