Archive for the 'Theater Reviews' Category
“Sweeny Todd” is delectable Sondheim
Food for spirit and thought, but don’t eat the pies
By Lucy Komisar
“His voice was soft, his manner mild
He seldom laughed but he often smiled
He’d seen how civilized men behave
He never forgot and he never forgave
Not Sweeney
Not Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street…”
John Doyle’s production of “Sweeney Todd” is a thrilling artistic achievement. The Stephen […]
“Monty Python’s Spamalot” outrageously brilliant political satire
Class struggle, love and the search for the Holy Grail prove a witty mix.
By Lucy Komisar
There’s nothing like an outrageous political satire written by left-wing Brits! John Patrick Shanley, who won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for “Doubt,” wondered at a Drama Desk panel on theater and politics, which I moderated last year, why most plays […]
“Hairspray” styles comic rock with serious politics
Hokey Burlesque Mixed With Ethics Livens the Score.
By Lucy Komisar
I don’t like rock ‘n roll. I loved “Hairspray,” where rock is the major musical motif. I don’t care for men dressing up in drag. I thought Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad, the overweight, tacky, attentive mother of a teenager, was terrific. This is a play […]
“The Color Purple” a woman’s musical cry of rage
Brassy blues, R&B & gospel enliven poignant melodrama
By Lucy Komisar
This brassy, bluesy, R&B and gospel melodrama, based on Alice Walker’s novel, is a feminist cry of pain and rebellion, an operetta-style protest in the tradition of “Porgy and Bess.” It’s a moving and memorable production. Playwright Marsha Norman generally succeeds in pulling the play out […]
“Wicked” a smashing political allegory
“Prequal” of Wizard of Oz targets racism and repression
by Lucy Komisar
This behind the scenes revisionist view of “The Wizard of Oz” is a political allegory about racism and discrimination. It’s fascinating as a literary work and stunning as theater. Based on the novel by Winnie Holzman, it’s an updated Animal Farm. It’s a play that […]
London: “Billy Elliot, The Musical” a pulsating appeal for freedom
A boy’s identity crisis and mine workers’ struggle set to Elton John’s music
By Lucy Komisar
The new Elton John smash musical in London is a stirring political work built around the Yorkshire miners’ strike of 1984-5. It’s a very British play, with workers mocking a giant puppet Maggie Thatcher and singing odes to labor solidarity. It […]
Las Vegas: Gladys Knight and the Pips shake up Flamingo
Doo-Wop will never go out of style in Las Vegas
By Lucy Komisar
She arrives in a cloud of smoke in a glittery pink and purple pants suit and long evening coat. She has great charm, charisma and boundless energy. She also has a powerful, eloquent voice. And she is the star performer at the Flamingo Hotel […]
“Doubt” is a riveting morality play about possible sexual abuse by a priest
Should the Mother Superior act on strong suspicion if children are at risk?
By Lucy Komisar
‘Playwright John Patrick Shanley, educated in Catholic schools in the Bronx, could hardly ignore the recent revelations of years of widespread abuse of children by Catholic priests. Clearly on the left of the political spectrum, he takes a careful, rationale look […]
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is silly, insipid musical fantasy
Beth Leavel in the title role offers the only bright witty moments
By Lucy Komisar
“The characters are two dimensional and the plot is well worn,” says “the man in the chair” (Bob Martin). He’s got it right. The nervous laughter from the audience is the kind that is elicited by TV sitcoms aimed at people who […]
BCCI and the Bushes
Lucy Komisar writes about the criminal offshore bank BCCI and the way it connected the Bushes, the Saudis, Saddam and Osama bin Laden 
in her chapter, “BCCI’s Double Game: Banking on America, Banking on Jihad,” in ”A Game As Old As Empire.”
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