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

Friday, January 31, 2014

Peter & the Starcatcher catching applause in DC


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The little show that started small, went on to Broadway, then back to Off-Broadway-- and is now touring, with a stop at Washington's Kennedy Center--  our critic love act one better than act two. . .
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Peter and the Starcatcher - The small show that made it big and now on tour with a stop at the Kennedy Center. . . Read More

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Duncan Sheik's musi and Justin Vivian Bond enliven early Breacht farce enllivens an early Brecht play



 
A Man's a Man
A Man's a Man - Though not flawless, this rarely done Brecht farce is a chance to see future characters in embryo as well as the first example of his much explored theme of man's changeability. . . Read More

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A downtown play worth seeing, but not for eeryone


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My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer
My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer - For people who "don't talk much, the sisters at the center of Brian Watkin's new play have a lot to say.. . . Read More

A too sophomoric attempt at satire


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Intimacy
Intimacy - this works hard to be a satire with something meaningful and new to say about love, sex, religion and race. But it ends up being a rather sophomoric shlock-shockspiel that relies on graphically showing things not usually seen on stage or discussed among neighbors to get attention and laughs. . . . Read More

Monday, January 27, 2014

Sunday, January 26, 2014

A giant of a play in a tiny London space. . .

London 

Our busy London critic also reviewed a London production of  a play that transferred from New York

The Body of an American
The Body of an American - In one of London's tiniest spaces at the 70 seat Gate Theatre in Notting Hill comes a giant of a play . . Read More


Rapture, Blister, Burn
  anser  
    Rapture, Blister, Burn - Gionfriddo's play balances feminist issues cleverly, with her characters reflecting on the im

Thursday, January 23, 2014

J.D. Salinger documentary omission: Holden Caulfield's theater going



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Holden Caulfield: Theater Aficionado & J.D. Salinger Documentary 

The American Masterpiece Salinger documentary  revealed a lot we knew and quite a bit we didn't know about the famous  New Hampshire  Greta Garbo.  The talking heads  focused mostly on the man at the typewriter  rather than the actual work--  for  instance,  Holden's   take on  the theater per  my essay  Holden Caulfield:  Theater Aficionado  --written  because it's unlikely  I'll  ever have a chance to review  Holden as a character in a stage adaptation.

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Holden Caulfield Theater Afficionado



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#Holden Caulfield: Theater Aficionado/ 

 Last night's  terrific American Masters documentary about the reclusive author of The Catcher in the Rye,   prompted me to   re-post  an essay I did on   the chapters in  the still  best-selling  novel focusing on   Holden's  comments on the theater--  and  a  show he actually visited.  

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Alan Sillitoe's story dramatized off-Broadway



The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner - Roy Williams' theater adaptation of the Alan Sillitoe story is a bit bumpy at times, the roots of the drama remain intact, making this a story worth re-telling. . . Read More

Monday, January 20, 2014

NY debut of a playwright worth watching


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The Clearing
The Clearing - This New York City premiere is the production this material deserves, firmly establishing its playwrightas a new voice worth noticing. . . . Read More

Sunday, January 19, 2014

No entertaining escapism with this Beckett trio




 Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby
Not I, Footfalls, Rockaby - These three Beckett plays three running in total at under a hour, provoke discussion and analysis. They literally haunt you and taunt you, forcing an engagement in a discussion on the meaning of life. .

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Loot no longer shocks, but it's still fun and funny


 Loot
Loot - Joe Orton's farce no longer sends shock waves through audiences, but when done right, as it is here, its coal-black humor and Wildean wit remains intact . . . Read More

A lively, potent revival of 1928 play--Machinal


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Machinal
Machinal - Rebecca Hall brings new life to Sophie Treadwell's 1928 tragedy of a woman destroyed by a harsh, man and machine dominated world . . . Read More

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Our Under the Radar Festival Coverage continues


The Under the Radar Festival - Blackout. . . The Record. . El Año en Que Nací or The Year I Was Born. . .I Stole Your Dad . . . JDX - A Public Enemy. . .

Sunday, January 12, 2014

A Tennessee Williams artifact worth seeing


Ten Blocks on the Camino Real
Ten Blocks on the Camino Reale - Medicine Show's useful program fills in the play's background and provides song lyrics in Spanish and English. It's good to see Medicing Show resurrect this valuable artifact from the Tennessee Williams oeuvre resurrected. . . Read More

Beautiful-- A new Jersey Boy wannabe


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 Beautiful- The Carole King Musical
Beautiful- The Carole King Musical - Jessie Mueller proves she's a triple threat talent as singer-singwriter Carole King . . . Read More

Saturday, January 11, 2014

Sunday, January 5, 2014

Peter Pan musical sequel with a big heart

London Review at curtainup.com

 Lost Boy
Lost Boy - The First World War context of this Peter Pan sequel strikes an evocative note of loss, the sad end to the "awfully big adventure". . . Read More