Editor’s Note: due to an injury to a cast member, Pillsbury House Theater decided to mount a “reader’s theater” version of the play. I.e., script-in-hand. This is the version being reviewed by Mari Wittenbreer, below. HWTS will use its best…
Review | Lady Day At The Emerson Bar And Grill: gritty and translucent
The Jungle Theater, through June 24Lady Day at the Emerson Bar and Grill is a day-in-the-life story of singer Billie Holiday, a.k.a. Lady Day. It is more accurate to say the play is a night-in-the-life story of this popular and singularly talented, jazz singer as…
Review | Taking Shakespeare: an overly slight take on the Bard
Gremlin Theatre, through June 3rdFor those with mentors willing to invest in them, it can prove invaluable and leave a lifelong impact. In the best of these relationships, inevitably both mentor and mentee are left as stronger, better people. John Murrell‘s Taking Shakespeare, at…
Review | An Enemy of the People: a searing, must-see political thriller
The Guthrie, through June 3Copper pipes, venture capital, scientific ethics. Who knew combining these elements could make for stimulating, prescient drama? Brad Birch’s new adaptation of the Henrik Ibsen classic, An Enemy of the People, running through June 3 at the Guthrie, uses these…
REVIEW | Marisol challenges us all
Produced by Theatre Coup d’Etat at SpringHouse Ministry Center through May 19Theatre Coup d’Etat has made a brave move with José Rivera’s play “Marisol.” The premise is provocative, the action disturbing and the characters flawed and intriguing. In Rivera’s apocalyptic urban fantasy world, God is old, senile and dying, and violence…
Review | The Good Person Of Szechwan: Hensley comes full circle
Ten Thousand Things, through June 3The Good Person of Szechwan is Michelle Hensley’s last show as artistic director of Ten Thousand Things Theatre Company. In her distinguished career, she has brought her productions not just to the paying public but also free of charge to…
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 | Five Points: the production thrills, but the play needs work
Theater Latté Da, though May 6In the mid-nineteenth century, the now nonexistent Five Points in New York City was one of the nation’s most diverse neighborhoods, though it was far from a melting pot. As oppressed people groups found themselves relegated to its squalid accommodations,…