Ode to Joy
Craig Lucas
Theatre Communications Group (TCG)
New York, NY (2016)
$14.95
Review by Kitty Drexel
(NY, NY) I cannot take seriously any play that describes its lead female role as “intimidatingly bright” in its character description. It’s the kind of description that communicates to any intelligent reader that the the playwright has no business writing “strong female characters.” I read the rest, but my heart wasn’t in it. Continue reading
SOMETHING ROTTEN!
Conceived by Karey Kirkpatrick and Wayne Kirkpatrick
Book by Karey Kirkpatrick and John O’Farrell
Music and lyrics by Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey Kirkpatrick
Directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
Music directed by Phil Reno
Now through January 1, 2017
St. James Theatre, a Jujiamcyn Theater
246 W. 44th Street
New York, NY
(Between 7th & 8th Avenues)
Something Rotten! On Facebook
Review by Kitty Drexel
(New York, NY) It is a perk and a privilege to write complimentary reviews for people I know or used to know in a different life. There’s a certain joy in spinning a glowing critique for someone who deserves it. My joy is incalculably multiplied when done for a personal acquaintance. It’s best if it’s a surprise. It’s even better if it’s a special occasion. Continue reading
© 2016 The Players; poster for the concert on Oct. 28, 2016
Presented by The Players
Concert featuring Alice Ripley and music director/accompanist John Fischer
Oct. 28, 2016 at 9PM and 10:30PM
16 Gramercy Park South
New York, NY 10003
The Players on Facebook
“Live From 16 Gramercy Park” concert series on Playbill
Review by Kitty Drexel
A special thank you to Joe Gehring for securing tickets to the event and a private tour of The Players (which was super cool).
(New York, NY) Over the weekend, I had the privilege of catching one of two intimate concerts performed by Alice Ripley at The Players social club in NYC. They are the first in a new series called “Live From 16 Gramercy Park.” Ms. Ripley sang a fine set of her own songs and performed, to great applause, a set of musical theatre repertoire. With a 10:30PM start time, It was a glorious (and late) night. Continue reading
John by Annie Baker
Published by TCG (NYC) in June 2016
$14.95 paperback
$30.00 hardcover
www.tcg.org
Review by Kitty Drexel
I was given a gratis copy of John by TCG in return for my review. My opinions are my own. Anyone who thinks otherwise can fight me.
TCG summarizes the play thusly, “the week after Thanksgiving. A Bed & Breakfast in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A cheerful innkeeper. A young couple struggling to stay together. Thousands of inanimate objects, watching.” The truth is much creepier than that.
Elias and Jenny are traveling through Gettysburg on a mini-vacation. They are a textbook example of pre-breakup behaviors: they don’t value each other’s struggles or input. They are distant to the point of unintentional neglect. They are staying at Mertis’ freezing cold bed and breakfast. Mertis has awkward boundaries. She doesn’t read between the lines. Neither do they. As the play unfolds, the couple is forced to confront their self-absorbed assumptions regarding each other. Everything and nothing is a metaphor for their experiences. Continue reading
Review of The Book of Grace by Suzan-Lori Parks
Published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG)
New York, NY
$14.95
Review by Kitty Drexel
The Book of Grace is a three-person drama set in rural Texas near the Mexican/American border. Grace is a kind-hearted waitress who stubbornly believes in hope and the human capacity for good. She invites her step-son Buddy home to reunite with his father, Vet. Vet is an honored border security guard obsessed with the wall with abusive tendencies. Buddy is the adult-son, military dropout that Vet abandoned for a new life with Grace. While all three search for common ground, Vet’s unforgivable sins surface to haunt their new lives. The Book of Grace is a companion piece to Parks’ Topdog/Underdog. Continue reading
TCG book cover
Review of Choir Boy
Written by Tarell Alvin McCraney
Published by Theatre Communications Group (TCG)
New York, NY 2015
Press release, including production credits, here
Hard copies and ebook copies of Choir Boy can be purchased here.
Review by Kitty Drexel
(New York, NY) Charles R. Drew Prep School for Boys is a christian organization founded on the mission to turn black boys into strong, ethical men… So long as the boys obey authority without question, these boys will grow into men who will do as they are told. This is how Charles R. Drew is expected to run. The reality is quite different. Continue reading
Photo Credit: Jeremy Daniels; Who’s Das Man? You’re Das Man.
Presented by Charlie Fink, Lee Seymour
Produced by the New Musical Foundation, Inc
Music & Book by Marshall Pailet
Lyrics & Book by A.D. Penedo
Based on a screenplay by J.T. Allen
Directed by Marshall Pailet
Music directed, arranged, accompanied by Rona Siddiqui
Choreography by Misha Shields
Performances are ongoing
The Actors Temple
339 W 47th St, between 8th and 9th Ave,
New York, NY 10036
Review by Kitty Drexel
On occasion Geeks go to NYC. On occasion we review shows while we’re there. This is one such review.
(New York, NY) Sweet Mary Mother of God did George W. Bush, Colin Powell and, most specifically, Dick Cheney screw over the American people with the Iraq war. To say that the events leading up to and immediately after were FUBAR, would be putting it lightly. There were no weapons of mass destruction; the US pointlessly wasted lives, resources and oodles of money to appease Republican impotent bloodthirst. The people never received a refund or even a proper apology for this BS. Thank merciful Zeus the arts are here to save us from horrible truths. In particular, thank Pailet & A.D. Penedo for writing Who’s Your Baghdaddy? Or, How I started the Iraq War, a delightful treatment of the events of 2001 that gives them the severity and respect they deserve*. Continue reading
Photo by Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures
Presented by New Rep Theatre in partnership with the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA Boston Chapter).
Written by Arthur Miller
Directed by Jim Petosa
Sept. 5 – 27, 2015
Arsenal Center for the Arts
Watertown, MA
New Rep on Facebook
Review by Kitty Drexel
(Watertown, MA) It is no wonder that America didn’t suspect that Adolf Hilter was a major threat to Europe, Germany, or the world. His staff lead a campaign that depicted him as a congenial yet private Everyman with a love of children and the outdoors. This branding made Hitler out to be a decent guy, not the Jew, intellectual, and LGBT hating dictator he was. America didn’t recognize Hitler for the power-hungry villain he was until it was almost too late. Marketing works, people. Raw Story has an excellent, rather brief article up. I highly suggest reading it for theatrical and historical perspective. Continue reading
Photo found on Umbrella Facebook page. Currently uncredited.
Presented by Umbrella Arts
By Tony Kushner
Directed by Nancy Curran Willis
The Umbrella
Concord, MA
October 3 – October 18, 2014
Umbrella Arts on Facebook
Review by Craig Idlebrook
(Concord, MA) In 100 years, Tony Kushner’s sprawling masterpiece of Angels in America might be studied by school-kids, much like the Odyssey. That might be the right setting, providing a full semester to fully take in this script. Kushner asks us to follow along as he pinballs between real and surreal, politics and religion, gay culture and religion. Each well-developed scene feels like a glistening jewel of a short story, complete in pacing and characters, but it can be very hard to understand how these pieces come together into one cohesive story. If you’re watching the play for the first time, it can feel like reading a New Yorker magazine from cover to cover in one sitting. Continue reading
NEW YORK, NY – Broadway, Off-Broadway, and up-and-coming NY talent raise their voices for reproductive rights at the Don’t Speak Cabaret Benefit at the Metropolitan Room on Sunday, October 26 at 9:30pm.
Jessica Phillips (Leap of Faith, Law & Order, SVU), Sarah Drake (New England premieres Next to Normal and Carrie), Sean Harkness (Windham Hill Records [Sony/RCA/BMG]) , Samantha Owen (Forbidden Broadway), Erick Pinnick (A Christmas Carol, The Tin Pan Alley Rag), T. Oliver Reid (After Midnight, Mary Poppins) donate their talent and time to raise awareness and celebrate women’s strength and freedom. Rebecca Elliott, Morgan Frazer, Becca Kidwell, Anna Kirkland, Molly Maynard, Clare Mione, and Parker Scott also lend their voices for the cause.
All proceeds from the event go to The Center for Reproductive Rights. Continue reading
