In the margins of 'Catcher in the Rye,' David Rabe writes a gut-wrenching play:
Anybody familiar with the cynicism of Rabe's Hurlyburly might be surprised by his more sentimental side.
Bio: Mark has written about the arts for Billboard, Interview and other magazines. He’s edited scores of travel guides for Fodor’s Travel and has written about his favorite destinations for Out Traveler, In Style and online. He’s also a composer, and is hard at work on a new musical set to an '80s beat.
Anybody familiar with the cynicism of Rabe's Hurlyburly might be surprised by his more sentimental side. Set comfortably in the past—the years around 1960 seems to be in vouge lately on the New York stage: think of Clybourne Park and The Columnist —it's imbued with more than a touch of nostalgia. But An Early History of Fire is gut-wrenching because it takes place in an era that many audience members remember well. We know what these characters want (maybe wanted some of the same things for ourselves), but we also realize how unlikely it is that their dreams would be fulfilled. More
Posted on May 2nd, 2012 10:40am
"It's race. Isn't it?" asks Steve, a white man who encounters resistance from his new neighbors after buying a house in a black suburb of Chicago. "You're trying to tell me that … that implicit in what you said … that this entire conversation … isn't at least partially informed—am I right?" He's the only character brave enough—or maybe foolish enough—to try to clarify the topic everyone is tiptoeing around. His high-strung wife Lindsey is appalled ("Half of my friends are black!" she blurts out), his neighbor Lena is offended ("I'm fairly certain I've just been called a racist!"), and everyone else is stunned. More
Posted on April 23rd, 2012 11:54am
In this jukebox musical disguised as a play, the music might be the biggest disappointment. Most of the songs are performed onstage as part of Garland's nightclub act (the onstage sextet sounds fantastic), but Quilter can't resist using some of them to comment on the action. He devises a scene where Mickey angrily walks out on a drug-addled Garland just so she can sing—of course—"The Man That Got Away." If that sounds a bit too on the nose, wait until she serenades a bottle of pills with "You Made Me Love You." More
Posted on April 4th, 2012 8:32am
The Maids, which Genet loosely based on a real-life murder case, is a challenging piece. Rather than recount the details of the case, Genet imagines the heightened emotions that might lead two young women to commit such a heinous crime. Without a strong enough point of view from a director, the 1947 play can come across as overexcited or, as is the case here, tedious. More
Posted on March 16th, 2012 1:44pm
Kathleen Chalfant, undoubtedly the right choice to play Fanny, never raises her voice during the entire monologue. Sometimes speaking barely above a whisper, Chalfant conveys not only her character's anger, but also her frustration and, finally, her resignation. It's as if she's passing through all the stages of grief right before your eyes. More
Posted on March 7th, 2012 5:08pm
Jane Alexander, in the title role, is a force of nature, but not in the chaotic way that critics usually mean. She's more elemental, like gravity, exerting a pull that's impossible to ignore. More
Posted on March 6th, 2012 11:19am
Uncle Peck could easily come across as a monster, but luckily he's played this time around by Norbert Leo Butz, an actor who brings an amiability to every role he plays, from the self-centered novelist in The Last Five Years to the gruff F.B.I. agent in Catch Me If You Can. He also exudes a sense of sadness that's always just below the surface. It's hard to imagine an actor more suited to play Uncle Peck, who is basically a decent man fighting a losing battle against his demons. More
Posted on February 15th, 2012 12:58pm
Encores! usually tries to present shows that are more or less what audiences heard during their initial runs on Broadway. It seems a shame that instead of letting us experience Sondheim's original score, we get a Merrily that's been tinkered with for 30 years. It's no surprise that the most successful production I've seen, the 2000 version at London's Donmar Warehouse, did the least tinkering. More
Posted on February 9th, 2012 4:11pm
In the opening scene of Molly Smith Metzler's new play, Close Up Space, David Hyde Pierce is especially funny. As Paul, a longtime editor for a boutique literary firm, he gives his new intern Bailey a withering glance (and nobody does withering glances like Hyde Pierce) when she suggests that rather than taking pen to paper, he might work more "modernly" on a computer. You can imagine the look that made-up word elicits. More
Posted on December 20th, 2011 4:54pm
Playing a bundle of neuroses is the specialty of Marin Ireland, who played a similarly tightly wound character last year in Lisa Kron's In the Wake. But she channels her inner June Cleaver with surprising ease: Her shoulders drop, her posture straightens, and a calm expression spreads over her face. Katha doesn't quite become a Stepford wife, but only because she has chosen for herself to be the perfect housewife. More
Posted on December 8th, 2011 2:39pm
