Redwood, now playing at Ensemble Studio Theater, is a story with layers upon layers of human history, it is a story of immediacy, of familiar and unfamiliar light, of purpose and perception. How the story unfolds in its flash dance, aerobics, and musically wonderful theatrical on-fire staging is stupendous, joyful, and ravishing.
The Constant Wife was charming, fun, witty, droll, elegant, and deserving of the full house and extended ovations. From the onset, listeners were drawn into a mesmerizing plot of well-crafted characters. The company frolicked while gliding through hypocritical attitudes and gender roles prevalent in early 20th-century society.
PUFFS at the The Theater at WHATco bergan with the company storming the stage with verve as they presented this parody of the Harry Potter franchise. PUFFS portrays the story of a group of underdog students from Hufflepuff House at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. We follow the madcap antics of Wayne Hopkins, an overly enthusiastic Puff who dreams of being a hero like Harry Potter.
Scrambled Eggs by the author Reginald L. Wilson made its world premiere at the Gene Frankel Theater in New York City. It was crafted in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was billed as a “compelling play on domestic violence is meant to incite conversation, build understanding, and inspire advocacy.”
As the audience gathered for HEDY! The Life & Inventions of Hedy Lamarr, we were transported through time by a captivating blend of visuals and sounds. Simple props from the era and film clips of Hedy Lamarr added to the allure. As we watched, we heard music like Cole Porter’s You Do Something to Me (1929) and Wang Wang Blues (1920) performed by Paul Whiteman and His Ambassador Orchestra.
Nightmare Dollhouse was a spooky, creepy doll-themed event that sent shivers down spines, horrible horripilations indeed! The event was staged in an old building in New York’s Lower East Side. One inched through the dimly lit rooms while walking or crawling through creepy spaces. Strange artifacts, surprises, and spine-tingling antics by weird characters made the heart race. I’ll not give it all away, but my favorite may have been sticking needles in a voodoo doll as the victim squirmed, or wait, perhaps I enjoyed drinking from a child’s make-believe haunted tea set as I was offered a ‘biscuit’ shaped like a giant cockroach.
Candace Bushnell, best-selling author, performed her one-woman show, True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the City, at The Green Room 42 in New York City in a sold-out performance.
Like a flower slowly opening its petals to reveal its beauty, Rip Tide, the one-person show now playing at Axis Theatre, carefully and beautifully unfolds its story over the course of 60 minutes.
Exorcistic is a rock ‘n roll, hubris-free, hilarious take-off of the 1972 film The Exorcist. The music is thumping, toe-tapping, and diverse. Solos and harmonies fit magically within the storyline. The lighting and sound are perfectly managed, and the costumes and sets blend well with the staging trappings. The actors frolic about the theater, from the balcony, and about the audience as they create a truly multi-dimensional, intimate experience. The premise of the production and script is clever and effective, and the cast barely escapes demonic possession.
Welcome to Matteson! is a modern-day version of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, but with more social problems exposed during a dinner party. The story is about forced gentrification, housing equity, and interclass relationships.
