“Doubt, a Parable” of human nature, power dynamics and moral ambiguity

“Doubt, a Parable” of human nature, power dynamics and moral ambiguity

John Patrick Shanley’s play opened in 2004, but is set forty years earlier in 1964. It deals with complex themes of suspicion, faith, and morality surrounding the possibility of child sexual abuse. The issue of pedophilia by Roman Catholic clergy in the U.S. was first publicized in 1985 when a Louisiana priest pleaded guilty to molesting boys. But even though the scandal is not raised in the play, Shanley knows that is in the minds of the audience.

“The Ally” Israeli-Palestinian argument a riveting drama set on college campus

“The Ally” Israeli-Palestinian argument a riveting drama set on college campus

If you don’t have the time to read or listen to every argument about the Israeli-Palestinian question, spend an evening at the Public Theater production of “The Ally” (ie America’s ally, Israel) and you will get it all. In an entertaining and succinct fashion. From the voices of characters who represent the various sides and in-between of the debates. Playwright Itamar Moses has presented a theatrically staged event that could easily have occurred, and parts already have in U.S. spaces, especially universities, where this story takes place. Director Lila Neugebauer allows passion to power the arguments without ever becoming nasty.

“Days of Wine and Roses” is a soaring modern operatic soap opera

“Days of Wine and Roses” is a soaring modern operatic soap opera

Kelli O’Hara is spectacular in “Days of Wine and Roses.” Sometimes her voice soars so high that you don’t pay attention to the lyrics. It’s a depressing play about two alcoholics, one who recovers and one who doesn’t. But in her operatic soprano, you can listen to the joyous sounds that that give you a lift even as what’s unfolding on stage is a downer. But this is not unusual in the canon of opera. The book is by Craig Lucas and the bracing modern music and lyrics by Adam Guettel.

“Russian Troll Farm” uses proven lies to promote Russophobic propaganda

“Russian Troll Farm” uses proven lies to promote Russophobic propaganda

If I was writing this review as a drama, where I could make things up, I would say “Congratulations to the Deep State (aka CIA & Co), which has moved from propaganda films into propaganda theater. However, Langley guys, you need some theatrical help. Your “Russian Troll Farm” at the Vineyard is the most crude, amateurish, nasty piece of pseudo-theatrical claptrap I have seen reviewing theater since 1998 when I became a member of the Drama Desk.”

“Prayer for the French Republic” compelling story of Jews’ conflicting identities of family, religion, country

“Prayer for the French Republic” compelling story of Jews’ conflicting identities of family, religion, country

Through the lens of one Jewish family in Paris, “Prayer for the French Republic” delves into the thorny issues of identity, racism, and anti-Semitism. And to what country you belong. Seen from an intimately human perspective, these divisive political debates couldn’t be more pointed or timely. The work by Joshua Harmon premiered off-Broadway two years ago and reopened on Broadway last month.

“Our Class” a Gripping Exploration of Polish Anti-Semitism and Betrayal

“Our Class” a Gripping Exploration of Polish Anti-Semitism and Betrayal

“Our Class” by Tadeusz Słobodzianek, one of Poland’s most important playwrights, is a powerful and dramatic exploration of the impact of anti-Semitism and betrayal in a Polish village during and after World War II. It is based on a true story, a pogrom 80 years ago when 1600 Jews in a Polish village were murdered by their classmates, neighbors and friends.

“The Gardens of Anuncia” is a moving, charming feminist alternative to “Evita”

“The Gardens of Anuncia” is a moving, charming feminist alternative to “Evita”

From working class kid to a master director/choreographer. That would have been story enough. But “Anuncia” is a charming, moving feminist story of a family of women who made that happen in the face of a repressive government in Argentina. Think of it as another take on “Evita,” the story of Eva Perón, who built her career on marriage with the president. This family was in the opposition.

“Spain” a muddled play about filmmakers doing a Spanish Civil War movie allegedly financed by the KGB

“Spain” a muddled play about filmmakers doing a Spanish Civil War movie allegedly financed by the KGB

The promotion for “Spain,” a new play by Jen Silverman, says, “Step into a sophisticated, slippery world where the line between truth and fiction is all in the packaging. It’s 1936, and a pair of passionate filmmakers have landed their next big project: a sweeping Spanish Civil War film with the potential to change American hearts and minds. It just happens to be bankrolled by the KGB. Unfortunately, the promo is fiction.

“All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain” a master class by Patrick Page

“All the Devils are Here: How Shakespeare Invented the Villain” a master class by Patrick Page

Patrick Page’s brilliant one-man show on how Shakespeare invented the villain is a combination of theater piece, master class and college literature lecture. In a purple pullover and vest, before a red curtain, through his acting and explanations, he shows how William Shakespeare developed his villainous characters from crudely evil to confounded with moral dilemmas, even if they defeated conscience and killed at the end. And how he dealt with the mythology of evil in popular culture, such as the Jew as rapacious money-lender and Lady Macbeth conjuring evil spirits.

“Spamalot” shows real politics as diverting musical fantasy parody

“Spamalot” shows real politics as diverting musical fantasy parody

“Spamalot” was a 1975 Monty Python film and a 2005 Broadway play famous for offending particular sectors of society. Does that hold up? Can you still insult significant groups without being cancelled? Can you attack sacred cows (vaches) without being de-platformed? On the other hand, has book and lyric writer Eric Idle taken the easy way out by sucking up to the groups that wield power in the theatrical system? And can I get away with suggesting it?

“Partnership” projects a centuries-old woman’s dilemma about money & men

“Partnership” projects a centuries-old woman’s dilemma about money & men

This play is about class and feminism, and also about the corruption of capitalism.

It is a smart satire by British playwright Elizabeth Baker staged in London in 1917. Baker started out as an office typist and wrote about office workers and shop girls and their struggles for emancipation against the bonds of class and gender. She was a supporter of the suffragist movement.

Cabaret Convention: three brilliant evenings of the American Songbook

Cabaret Convention: three brilliant evenings of the American Songbook

This annual series by the Mabel Mercer Foundation presents a selection from among the most talented and interesting established and new cabaret singers in the U.S. And occasionally a few from abroad. People attend as if it were an annual family event. And indeed, at intermission and after the show, the singers come out to the large entrance hall to hang out and chat with the cabaret community.

“The Cottage” a funny modern sex farce set 100 years ago in British countryside

“The Cottage” a funny modern sex farce set 100 years ago in British countryside

A non-salacious play about sex? Probably not these days. You’d have to go back to the last century. And that is just what Sandy Rustin does, to 1923 in fact, exactly a hundred years ago. Rustin’s sex farce, “The Cottage,” is a hokey funny slapstick shambles set in a gorgeous English country house where, instead of the ubiquitous moose head on the wall there is an end table atop the base of a stuffed dog. (Kudos for set designer Paul Tate dePoo III.) And for director Jason Alexander who manages the farce perfectly; it is very clever, never silly.

“Shucked” with country music sounds is more clever and witty than corny

“Shucked” with country music sounds is more clever and witty than corny

It’s a funny hokey clever story that catches you unawares with its smarts. Because it’s about corn. Which the folks in the story grow and is at the center of their lives. The residents of this corn town have chosen to be cut off from the world. They live in a huge wooded space and celebrate a chicken’s birthday and goats getting married.

“& Juliet” clever funny feminist rewrite of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers

“& Juliet” clever funny feminist rewrite of Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers

Don’t ban great white male authors, rewrite them! What would happen if a feminist Anne Hathaway did a revision of husband Will Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”? Where Juliet and other female characters in the story turn out to have agency? It’s a musical delight (book by David West Read, music and lyrics by Max Martin), even for someone who is not a fan of pop rock. Match that with bravura performances by Lorna Courtney in a star-turn as Juliet and Betsy Wolfe as a tough, appealing Anne, add smashing R&B and rock dancing. I loved it.

“Good Night, Oscar” about a crude crazy hit comic-pianist on 50s TV

“Good Night, Oscar” about a crude crazy hit comic-pianist on 50s TV

What you have to understand about this play by Doug Wright is television. It’s not just about television, it is television. It’s not just about the Jack Paar Show of the 1950s, or much of it, it is the show. So, forget subtlety. Push up the jokes. And hit on celebrities. Jane Mansfield is not there, but let’s talk about her.

“Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” fake hagiography about man who approved murderous CIA coups

“Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” fake hagiography about man who approved murderous CIA coups

“Eisenhower: This Piece of Ground” is fake hagiography about a man who signed off on CIA coups that killed democracies and multi-thousands of people.

Dwight David Eisenhower was U.S. president from 1953 to 61. This play by Richard Hellesen fits perfectly into the 1950s media pablum of “Father Knows Best” and “Ozzie and Harriet” that spoon-fed audiences the fake lives of families without dark spots. This play invents a president who had a few minor defects, but nothing serious. Nothing that could be called violations of international law. Or define a war criminal of which the U.S. has had many.

In “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” hope duels with defeat

In “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” hope duels with defeat

This play is proof that Lorraine Hansberry had several lives, not just that of a black woman telling a civil rights story in her famous “A Raisin in the Sun,” but also a Greenwich Village bohemian among arty people, in this script an actress and wife of a would-be folk café impresario whose friends and neighbors include a playwright, painter, and a bookstore staffer.

“Prima Facie,” “Walking with Bubbles”: Women as self-destructive or victims?

“Prima Facie,” “Walking with Bubbles”: Women as self-destructive or victims?

“Prima Facie” and “Walking with Bubbles” are about two women who get into terrible situations with men, a casual lover and a husband. In the first, a smart 20-something barrister at a London “chambers” routinely goes to bars with friends and gets drunk. After one drinking bout, she invites a colleague to her apartment. They previously had sex in his chambers office. She doesn’t want sex now; the booze made her throw up. He carries her from the bathroom to the bed and rapes her. It is fiction.

“New York, New York” wins on Stroman’s dance, misses on story

“New York, New York” wins on Stroman’s dance, misses on story

The opening is a rooftop that reminds one of an Edward Hopper painting. It’s New York post-war 1946. People are jitterbugging. Perched on fire escapes of tenements. There is a jazzy feel. A stunning number, a showstopper in a show that is full of them, features a dozen construction workers on a dizzying high girder in Hoboken with a view of the Hudson River and Manhattan skyline tap dancing along and around it. I don’t recall a dance number like it!

“Camelot,” new take on a favorite anti-war musical, gets splendid production

“Camelot,” new take on a favorite anti-war musical, gets splendid production

Aaron Sorkin’s rethink of Alan Jay Lerner’s book of “Camelot” takes it smartly into the present, with more contemporary male-female attitudes and a heavy emphasis on social justice. The politics is solid, albeit presented in a hokey fashion (this is a musical), and the magical/mystical parts of the 1960 version have been cut, though the personal stories are still rather fanciful: the doomed romances are hard to believe. Just relish Frederick Lowe’s glorious music and Alan Jay Lerner’s sophisticated lyrics, overpowering and magical. And appreciate the politics in an era of Western warmongering.

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