150 years ago, Louisa May Alcott wrote a book called Little Women about four sisters struggling with the hardships of living in Massachusetts during the Civil War. That book has since gone on to inspire countless film and theater adaptations…
Category: Theater
Awake And Sing!: a 1930s era gem
“She’s so beautiful. She’s like French words.” “Life shouldn’t be printed on one dollar bills.” “I got a yen for her, and that ain’t Chinese coins.” Can a play containing gems like this ever really be bad? Not really, and…
Once: heartfelt and streetwise
You know what busking is, don’t you? When a talented (one hopes) musician plays for free on the street, opening his guitar case (or fiddle case, or mandolin case, as the case may be) in hopes of catching a few…
West Of Central: extraordi-noir
Austene Van makes one heck of a good private dick and Christina Ham’s new play at the Pillsbury House Theatre makes the most of it. Ham’s noir-ish West of Central has a complex plot that involves Van and real estate…
Review | Dial M For Murder: Dial M For Misogyny, Masculinity and Morals (or lack thereof)
You probably know Dial M for Murder better as a film by Alfred Hitchcock. Gremlin Theatre’s season opener reminds us it came first as a stage play (of the same title). And on Gremlin’s new thrust stage in the buzzing…
Review | Night, Mother: essential, actor-driven theater
Rarely does the need arise to talk someone off a cliff. In popular art, when this situation is dramatized, exceptional people often find the perfect words to provide hope.  Marsha Norman‘s stunning play Night, Mother rejects this contrivance and shows…
Review | The Legend of Georgia McBride: a joyous, charming celebration
Since taking the helm, Guthrie artistic director Joseph Haj has pushed the venerable theater into greater diversity, both in tone and in representation. With The Legend of Georgia McBride, the theater ventures into new territory on both fronts with a…
Review | Legally Blonde: zippy and zesty, if a touch contrived
Snappy. Snazzy. Fizzy and frothy. Abrim with pizzazz and pure musical intensity. Real good. All these adjectives (and then some) apply to Artistry Theater‘s amazing production of Legally Blonde (in Artistry’s comfortable Schneiderman Theatre, through August 19). The plot of…
Review | Hand To God: brilliant puppetry
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…
Review | West Side Story: a lovely production of a true American classic
West 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?…