By Ande Jacobson
Dragon Productions’ current show, “Marvin’s Room”, is vaguely reminiscent of that famed late 1970s soap opera parody “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”. The story reads like a soapy satire, particularly in Act 1, though it’s not quite as bizarre as the aforementioned show. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
American playwright Eugene O’Neill, son of Irish immigrant actor James O’Neill and Mary Ellen Quinlan, lived a varied life pursuing two distinct careers, the second of which spawned his rich classics drawn from his first career at sea and from characters based on members of his immediate family. O’Neill’s “A Moon for the Misbegotten” is his last completed work, and premiered on stage in 1947. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Twenty years ago, a favorite children’s story hit the Broadway stage in a colorful, musical adaptation that sailed to eight 1991 Tony Award nominations and won three of them. The story was “The Secret Garden”, and it has delighted audiences since its debut. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
It’s the holiday season, and one of the perennial favorites is that iconic 1946 Frank Capra film, “It’s a Wonderful Life” – the story of George Bailey and of Clarence Odbody, his guardian angel. George, like many of us, doesn’t realize the tremendous impact he has on the lives he touches, until, when he’s in his darkest moment, considering chucking it all after experiencing a rather unfortunate series of downturns, Clarence enters and shows him what life would be like in his hometown were he never born. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
TheatreWorks is presenting another world premiere with “Clementine in the Lower 9”, a new play by Dan Dietz dealing with the fallout and personal tragedy of a New Orleans family following hurricane Katrina. Dietz patterned his play using the Greek tragedy form, specifically on Aeschylus’ “Agamemnon” and infused it with blues music created by composer Justin Ellington. Though not a musical, the music is central to the mood, imagery, and tone of the play. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Dragon Productions Theatre is known for presenting avant-garde works, but where do they come from? Their current production of playwright Colette Freedman’s “Sister Cities” has an interesting genesis. Inspired by her best friend Jill Gascoine’s claim that she was retiring from the stage and would only act again if she could play a corpse, Freedman set out to write a play built around a dead body. Of course she couldn’t have a corpse as a central character without a compelling back story, including something about the corpse’s family and how the death occurred. Drawing from her own experience and recalling her aunt who had Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”, she wove ALS into the story as well. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Enter the world of vaudeville, the original variety show, and for the performers a tough life traveling from city to city, trying to keep their acts fresh. A Broadway sensation loosely based on the memoirs of stripper Gypsy Rose Lee that debuted in 1959, “Gypsy” takes us into that world as we follow the mother of all stage mothers, Momma Rose, doing her level best to promote her daughters Baby June and Louise and take them to stardom while the age of vaudeville fades away. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
War, loss, the future, family, and career comprise many of the themes in Lanford Wilson’s “Fifth of July”. This is the first play written (and the last chronologically) in Wilson’s Talley Trilogy following the Talley family. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Picture a 19th century English country estate, complete with a residence surrounded by picturesque grounds extending as far as the eye can see in Sussex. Then picture a somewhat smaller country cottage amidst a modest estate in Devonshire. From there, envision lodgings near Portman Square in London, and finally a manor house in Somersetshire. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
City Lights Theater Company has a reputation for presenting edgy and provocative works, and its current production of “Nine” is no exception. Debuting in 1982 and winning five Tony Awards that year, “Nine” is a musical extravaganza, full of life, color, and romantic fantasy based on Federico Fellini’s semi-autobiographical film, “8 1/2”, with a book by Arthur Kopit and music by Maury Yeston. Continue reading
A Good Reed Review 