Wednesday, April 27 2011
Celebrity and the Celebration of Art: The Transformation of Benedict Cumberbatch
Benedict Cumberbatch’s body of work is impressive. So what has previously prevented his transformation from a highly talented, sought-after actor to bona fide international celebrity?
Monday, March 28 2011
National Theatre Live Shocks ‘Frankenstein’ Back to Life
Why did you create me? The plaintive question adorning National Theatre Live posters may echo critics’ question about the need for yet another in a long line of Frankensteins. Previous Frankensteins and monsters have been entertaining but less socially relevant. The National Theatre’s production, as directed by Oscar-winner Danny Boyle, to use a cliché, is Alive!
Tuesday, March 1 2011
Sneak Peek at ‘The Book of Mormon’
South Park creators and societal scab-pickers Trey Parker and Matt Stone are fascinated by Mormonism. A few weeks before official previews were set to begin, the creators of The Book of Mormon opened the doors to their rehearsal space and gave writers a sneak peek. Here's what we saw.
Monday, January 18 2010
Hamburg: Art, with Its Sleeves Rolled Up
You won't spot a castle or a moat or even an oversized ego in this town, as it's the work that counts in this port city. High-quality substance is valued over prima donna celebrity, as we discover from the premiere of Richard Wagner's Siegfried.
Thursday, March 19 2009
Eugene O’Neill’s ‘Strange Interlude’
The Neo Futurists take what may be O’Neill’s most gut-wrenching work and make dry hijinks from inception to final bow.
Friday, June 27 2008
Samuel Beckett: Beyond the Endgame
Beckett’s dramatic work has been largely viewed as Theater of the Absurd but make no mistake, Endgame is Waiting for Godot's evil twin.
Friday, June 6 2008
Adah Isaacs Menken: The First Broadway Star
A predecessor to virtually all stage and screen sirens, Menken thumbed her nose at the Victorian fetish for decorum that deformed the female figure, and celebrated her body electric, firm and active before being wasted from typhus or riddled by bullets.
Friday, May 30 2008
Fuse Box 2008 Part II
I felt as if a toy box had been opened and I got to spend the week playing with everything inside. It felt surreal, no, sub-real; toying with communication and twisting conventions.
Thursday, May 29 2008
Fuse Box 2008 Part I
Etiquette breaks down that fourth wall, invites you in, sits you down at its table, and serves you a glass of confusion that implies you are witnessing a suicide.
Friday, August 17 2007
Henrik Ibsen: The Courage of the Loss of One’s Convictions
This collection of Ibsen's plays is something of an event -- one that is not likely to be repeated anytime soon -- worthy of our attention and, perhaps, even our gratitude.
Friday, December 22 2006
Rock of Stages: Hello Twelve, Hello Thirteen, Hello Lust
Can Duncan Sheik -- assisted by a fleet of 100-year-old horny German teens -- save the rock musical from itself?
