GROSS INDECENCY
Friday, September 4th, 2009RECOMMENDED
When contemporary theatergoers hear the name Oscar Wilde, probably the first thing that pops into most of their heads is Wilde’s oft-performed classic comedy The Importance Of Being Earnest, or perhaps one of his many famous sayings. (“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” “Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination.” “One should always play fairly when one has the winning cards.”) The Oscar we meet in Moisés Kaufman’s Gross Indecency (subtitled The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde) is quite a different one.
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VISITING MR. GREEN
Saturday, August 29th, 2009
The “Odd Couple Two-Hander” has become something of a Colony Theatre specialty over the past few years. Take a mismatched duo, put them in the same space, and watch the sparks fly. The two characters can be the same sex or opposite, they can be the same age or decades apart, and the space in which they find themselves can be indoors or outdoors. All that is required is that those sparks start flying.
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40 IS THE NEW 15
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Five former high school classmates turning 40 reflect on the ways their lives have changed over the past quarter century in 40 Is The New 15, a new musical by Larry Todd Johnson and Cindy O’Connor. Though “workshop” would be a more appropriate description of this not quite fully-staged production, tuneful, clever songs, an engrossing storyline, and a quintet of fine performances make this an entertaining, moving, and very promising evening of musical theater.
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DOG SEES GOD
Sunday, July 26th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Bert V. Royal’s Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead imagines the lives of a group of high schoolers suspiciously similar to teenage versions of Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. Though legal considerations require a “has not been authorized or approved in any manner by the Charles M. Schultz Estate” disclaimer, fans of the comic strip will recognize CB (whose pet beagle has just been put down for rabies, though not before tearing to shreds “a little yellow bird who used to hang around”), Beethoven (a sensitive i.e. gay piano prodigy), Tricia (née Patricia formerly Patty, of the Peppermint variety) and her best friend Marcy (who used to spell her name with an –ie), Matt (a once dirt-cloud-plagued kid turned tough guy germo-homophobe), and Van (a stoner currently mourning the death-by-fire of his beloved blanket). CB’s sister and Van’s (neither of whom are referred to by name) complete the gang.
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THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’ The Light In The Piazza is the most exquisite musical to come from Broadway in many years. The story of a mother and daughter who travel to Italy in the summer of 1953, Piazza was nominated for eleven Tony awards in 2005 and won six, including one for Guettel’s score. Most of its other wins were in design categories, most notably for Michael Yeargan’s superb scenic design. In fact, the Broadway and touring company sets were so breathtakingly beautiful that at times they may even have overshadowed the material, particularly Lucas’ complex, haunting music.
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EQUUS
Saturday, July 4th, 2009
Let’s play a game of word association. I say “Equus” and you say the first thing that pops into your head. Here goes. “Equus.” All right, what was your answer? Was it
a) Horse? b) Richard Burton? c) Psychiatrist? d) Nudity? e) Broadway?
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INSANITY
Sunday, June 28th, 2009RECOMMENDED
Dorian, The Ghost And Mrs. Muir, Lizard, Yo Ho Ho—A Pirate’s Christmas, Pest Control, Insanity. Has any theater company created and staged more world premiere musicals than the NoHo Arts Center Ensemble, and all in the past five years? We’re not talking just world premieres here, but ambitious, big-cast Broadway-style musicals. I somehow doubt that anyone else has a track record to top James J. Mellon and Scott DeTurk’s. No wonder there’s excitement whenever book writer-director Mellon and composer-lyricist DeTurk debut a new show.
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THE UNSEEN
Friday, June 26th, 2009NOT RECOMMENDED
My idea of a perfect theatergoing month would be one in which twenty shows out of twenty would merit a WOW! review. I realize that this would only bolster the erroneous impression that, as one person put it, “Steven Stanley has never met a show he didn’t like,” but I’ve never understood reviewers who consistently pan what they see and then keep going back for more. I go to the theater because, quite frankly, nothing makes me happier.
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