From the onset, Cold Feet was saucy with an eccentric style of humor, bizarre characters like Shelly the orangutan with her goofy grunts and screams, and off-the-wall skits. Laughs were guaranteed through the sequences of impudence, knee-slapping silliness, physical comedy, parody, surrealism, and wordplay.
The well-crafted descriptive language in Han! was fundamental to creating vivid and evocative imagery that transported viewers to other times, places, and states of mind. Through rich sensory details, figurative language, dance, movement, and expression, Hyun Ju Baek created a virtual, tangible, and intangible world, drawing the audience into her vision while inviting them to experience it uniquely.
Kissing the Floor was a well-conceived, powerful dramatization akin to the legendary “sins of the father,” ably expressing the overpowering tragedies of Antigone brought to life in the demise of a family during the Great Depression. It is a profound exploration of human nature, grief, and the destructive consequences of–so many things.
This deeply personal family story is an important, unique, and vital account of survival and hopes seen through the eyes of a child ably characterized by gifted actor and raconteur Ingrid Garner.
Who Murdered Love was a musical comedy extraordinaire At the Theater for the New City. The scene for fun was set as DaDa Love (Elyp Johnson), and the cast sang Mad for Love. This setting projected a mysterious pallor tempered by the comedic references to DaDaism, which had emerged in the early 20th century in reaction to the Great War. We were set to embrace chaos, satire, parody, collage, and streams of consciousness. We were not disappointed.
Tonight’s Broadway Valentine’s Day at 54 Below was an evening of love, song, romance, nostalgia, fine dining, unique beverages, and thematic desserts. The messages of love portrayed were universal, celebrating spiritual beings connected through energy, generosity, compassion, and harmony. As Shakespeare noted in Love’s Labour’s Lost, “When Love speaks, the voice of all the gods makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.”
Tonight’s Disco Daydream was an immersive fun-fete celebrating the universal quest for elusive love and where it might be found. The cast touched hearts and drew inspiration from an empathetic audience that sighed at hints of romance, camaraderie, and reminiscences of disco’s glory days. The music never stopped in this story of love and tragedy as it unfolded through incredible dance routines, driving music, humor, charm, and physicality.
Shedding Load represented an exciting portent of American theater. It garnered an intense attraction to those who understand and appreciate the vitality and expressive power of dramatic arts. This art form makes us empathize, hurt, care, reflect, and remember.
With this performance, the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony has fervidly conquered Mahler’s Symphony No. 5, bringing its ineffable, sumptuous beauty and afflatus to life. When listening, one is philosophically transported through time, space, and existence while envisaging the chimera of eternal questions facing humankind.
Audience was presented with fine acting, powerful multi-dimensional visuals, cultural significance, context and import, rich vigilance, and irony.
