By Ande Jacobson
An annual tradition since its second season, Slices presents an entertaining evening of eight original one-act plays chosen from submissions (over 20 this year) by members of the Pear Playwrights Guild. Pear Slices 2011 adds a new dimension with each play depicting the “American experience” in some fashion and marks the 60th Pear Avenue Theatre production. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
“Intensely fascinated” by an alarming crime recounted by a friend, British playwright, Peter Schaffer, poured his creative energy into his 1973 play, aptly entitled Equus, Latin for horse, against which the crime was committed. Knowing only one horrible detail of the event, scaled back for theatricality, Schaffer posits a possible explanation of the tragedy through a psychological study into the depraved mind of Alan Strang, a 17-year-old, working as a part-time stable boy, and Dr. Martin Dysart, the psychiatrist treating him. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
Originally conceived by Rebecca Feldman as an improvisational play for The Farm, William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin worked with Feldman to flesh out “C-R-E-P-U-S-C-L-E” into a full length, one act musical – “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee”. After a winter workshop and a short Off-Broadway trial, adding some additional material from Jay Reiss, “Spelling Bee” debuted on Broadway in 2005. The show was subsequently nominated for six and won two Tony Awards. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
(Originally appeared on Facebook on Sunday, March 6, 2011)
Tabard Theatre Company’s 10th season closes with Stephen Sondheim and James Goldman’s Follies Concert Version, a rather bold departure from their usual family oriented faire. As Tabard’s Executive Director Cathy Spielberger Cassetta explains in her program note, this is a “Tabard Too!” production carrying a PG-13 rating. This is also a show that celebrates the magnificence of Broadway in a way that very few can. Continue reading
By Ande Jacobson
(Originally appeared on Facebook on Saturday, February 26, 2011)
Arthur Miller’s iconic play, Death of a Salesman, is a slice of Americana, in some ways ageless, in some ways married to the time in which it was written. A tragedy packed with emotion that should take the audience through Willy Loman’s hopes and dreams for himself and his family, and ultimately, his deterioration and final demise. The story mixes “present day”, which is the post World War II era, with memories and imagination, nay, hallucinations of the past creeping into the present as Willy’s life spirals out of control. Continue reading
A Good Reed Review 