By far the most interesting character in Robert Askins‘s hootful Hand To God (the Jungle Theater, though Aug 19) is a puppet, Tyrone. Seriously. Tyrone goes from a meek rendition of “Jesus Loves Me” to laugh-out-loud potty-mouth, to owning a…
Author: John Olive
Review | West Side Story: a lovely production of a true American classic
At the GuthrieTheater, through August 26West Side Story (at the Guthrie, through Aug 26) was first produced on Broadway in 1957 and since then it has emphatically entered the international canon, averaging 5,000 productions per year. No other play has this kind of presence. Shakespeare?…
Interview With Janet Preus: author of Welcome To Hell
Editor’s Note: Janet Preus’s wonderful Welcome To Hell recently closed at Open Eye Figure Theater. Because it had a very short run (a single weekend) and because Preus is a longtime reviewer at www.HowWasTheShow.com, we chose not to fully review…
Review | Equivocation: Jacobean swells having fun
Walking Shadow Theatre Company, performing at the Gremlin, 550 Vandalia, St. PaulSince 2004, Walking Shadow Theatre Company has been the area’s premier provider of historical drama: Hatchet Lady, Carrie Nation, Angel Of Destruction (19th century U.S.); Marie Antoinette (18th century France); Gross Indecency, The Three Trials Of Oscar Wilde (19th century…
Review | Underneath The Lintel: a hoot
Theater Latté Da, through July 1Underneath The Lintel (Theater Latte Da, at the Ritz Theatre) is, to say the least, an unexciting title, but Glen Berger‘s rollicking and rip-roaring play is the bomb. In it, a “librarian” (she has no other name) finds a book returned…
Review | Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner
Guthrie Theater, through May 27Sit in the corner and try not to belch. It’s repulsive. Behave yourself. Cynical Critic: Yes, sir. Go ahead. And don’t shout. CC: Ahem. There’s only one reason the Guthrie did Todd Kreidler (working with William Rose‘s screenplay)’s Guess Who’s…
Review | Follies: rough-hewn charm
Artistry Theater, through May 6Like the recent The Music Man, Follies (Artistry Theater, through May 6) exudes sturdy but rough-around-the edges sweetness and charm. Director Benjamin McGovern has done a crackerjack job casting Follies, (music and lyrics by the great Stephen Sondheim, book by…
Review | The Skriker: Churchillian theatricality
Fortune’s Fool Theatre, through April 22Newness: a relatively new (to me anyhow) theater, Fortune’s Fool. FF has done a half dozen plays, plays by Dan Pinkerton, Kira Obolensky, etc. Now they are performing a newish (well, seldom produced in any event) play by the great…
Review | The Wolves: breezy charm
Jungle Theater, through April 29The Wolves (Jungle Theater, through Apr 29) concerns a group of young women, 9 by my count, prepping for a series of soccer games. Soccer-haters (a category that includes myself) take note: you don’t have to watch these women play.…
Review | The Great Divide II: wonderfully uneven
Pillsbury House Theatre, through March 25The Great Divide II is a collection of 5 short one acts presented without intermission by Pillsbury House Theatre (through March 25), a follow-up to last season’s successful The Great Divide. The plays – by Andrew Rosendorf, Christina M. Ham,…