Mat Smart is, imo, an unsung master. His plays reveal astonishing diversity, of subject matter, and narrative intensity. Here are some Smart titles, many of which I would wager you’ve never heard: the deliciously funny The Royal Society of Antarctica;…
Review | Guys And Dolls: a stand-up production
A love story played out last night at the Guthrie. The actors playing the beloved stock characters — street-wise gamblers, Chicago gangsters, Bible toting missionaries and air-headed show girls made the audience fall head over heels in love with Guys…
Review – Dry Powder: throws you headfirst into a world of deals and moral qualms
Dry Powder, (Dark & Stormy Productions, through June 29), written by award-winning playwright Sarah Burgess, is a dark comedy set in the flashy high-rises of high finance and private equity. The play does not ease into the dizzying dance of…
Review | To Let Go And Fall: an affecting study of love and aging
Cello music is, it has to be said, mournful, lugubrious and, well, a little creepy. “It’s not gloomy,” asserts the young son in A Little Night Music. “It’s profound.” IOW, ya gotta be in the mood and, luckily, at the…
Review | Dear Evan Hansen: a musical for today
“Dear Evan Hansen†has arrived in Minneapolis and it’s a hot ticket; the Orpheum Theatre was packed for opening night. Winner of multiple 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Score, the show astonishing technical flash with a moving…
Review | Blood Knot: apartheid redux
What a difference a production can make. I saw Blood Knot by Athol Fugard some time ago at an out of state venue and was not impressed. The play seemed to have little depth past the rather obvious conceit of…
Review | Small Mouth Sounds: meditative comedy
Six characters in search of an authorial presence. Bess Wohl‘s amusing Small Mouth Sounds (at the Jungle, through June 16) suffers from this. The primary problem with the play – essentially a portrait of six people at a wilderness (apparently;…
Review | The Sins Of Sor Juana: a nifty combination of religious and poetic fervor
Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz was a gifted poet in Nueva España (as México was called in the olden days). Born a bit too late to be part of the Spanish Golden Age (Lope de Vega, Miguel de Cervantes,…
Review | The Brothers Paranormal: possessed by dispossession
Billed as a ghost story The Brothers Paranormal begins lightly, with humor and a comic set-up. But scene by scene the play becomes more serious as playwright Prince Golmolvilas draws parallel worlds of reality. Max, a Thai-American, and his brother own…
Review | Marjorie Prime: evocative and poignant
What does it meant to be human? Is it the small changes in our DNA that separate us from our close animal kingdom relatives? Or is it the experiences, memories and moments we accumulate day by day, everything from the…
Review | Hello, Dolly!: Betty Buckley sparkles in a delightful production
Once proclaimed the “Voice of Broadway†by New York Magazine, Tony award-winning legend Betty Buckley is here for a short time at the Orpheum for the touring revival production of Hello Dolly. Put on your Sunday clothes and get your…
Review | Metamorphoses: how love transforms us
I have been hoping to see Metamorphoses by playwright/director Mary Zimmerman for a long time. More than twenty years ago it made a big splash when first produced in Chicago. Metamorphoses has garnered praise and awards ever since and is…