At first I was puzzled by the audience reaction to Haven Theatre’s opening night performance of Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare’s goriest play (and possibly his worst). Over and over, there was uproarious laughter […]
It’s the most famous slammed door in theater history. And it’s the most satisfying slammed door for a feminist. It’s 1879 and that exit signifies Nora Helmer’s departure from husband, children and […]
Trap Door Theatre’s latest production is the enchantingly titled Lipstick Lobotomy by playwright Krista Knight, directed by Kate Hendrickson. It’s a half-true, half-imagined story of friendship between John F. Kennedy’s younger sister […]
Nostalgia is a hot commodity lately, likely due to the rather dismal present and threat of an even more dire future. Taking a look back at simpler times can be a balm. […]
The Boys in the Band was revolutionary when it was first performed off Broadway in April 1968, in its portrayal of the lives and loves of gay men. The producers had difficulty […]
In the last few months, I’ve seen a lot of plays about racism, sexual identity, immigration, crime, anger and angst. So it was a nice change of pace to see Do You […]
Alabaster is a city in northern Alabama (a suburb of Birmingham actually). It’s also a soft stone, a form of gypsum, that’s translucent, easily carved and often used for decorative objects. After […]
Bug starts out like a Sam Shepard play. Two lost souls in a seedy Oklahoma motel room. Fools for love. Agnes (Carrie Coon) is a waitress who’s dreading her ex-husband’s release from […]
Later this month, a new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma will open in cinemas, starring Anya Taylor-Joy (Thoroughbreds, “Peaky Blinders”) as the titular matchmaker with questionable, if endearing, motives. Meanwhile, Chicago […]
If I told you I saw a play about the Latin American debt crisis and it was fabulously entertaining, would you think I was crazy? Well I did and you shouldn’t. In […]
How to Defend Yourself by Liliana Padilla takes an important topic—how women can defend themselves in a rape culture—and treats it with some sincerity about woman using their bodies to fend off […]
It begins with storytelling, a dark fairytale to set the tone—one from the Brothers Grimm about a defiant little girl who doesn’t know her place– so God kills her. This tale is […]
