Exuberant sounds mix with realistic vignettes of remarkable lives By Lucy Komisar If you came of age in the 60s, this smart, vibrant, clever memoir of the ways things sounded will evoke shivers of delight. And also some fascination, as the pulsating, exuberant sounds of Motown and doo-wop are skillfully linked to the story of […]
Play gives errant gay prof a pass on pedophilia By Lucy Komisar Of all the plays I‘ve seen this season, “The History Boys” has been the most controversial, the most likely to provoke debate. On the one hand, the rotund, erudite, slightly overweening sixtiesh professor, Hector (excellently portrayed by Richard Griffiths) propounds a philosophy of […]
“His voice was soft, his manner mild
He seldom laughed but he often smiled
He‘d seen how civilized men behave
He never forgot and he never forgave
Not Sweeney
Not Sweeney Todd
The Demon Barber of Fleet Street…”
John Doyle‘s production of “Sweeney Todd” is a thrilling artistic achievement. The Stephen Sondheim (music and lyrics) – Hugh Wheeler (book) collaboration is a powerful political parable about how a corrupt, lascivious upper class oppresses the poor and powerless.
This is not the Harold Prince 1979 Broadway staging where Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou and Victor Garber went through their paces in story-book fashion. Not another theatrical fantasy. Not the John Doyle treatment, which has you on the edge of your seat.
Class struggle, love and the search for the Holy Grail prove a witty mix. By Lucy Komisar There‘s nothing like an outrageous political satire written by left-wing Brits! John Patrick Shanley, who won this year‘s Pulitzer Prize for “Doubt,” wondered at a Drama Desk panel on theater and politics, which I moderated last year, why […]
Hokey Burlesque Mixed With Ethics Livens the Score. By Lucy Komisar I don’t like rock ‘n roll. I loved Hairspray, where rock is the major musical motif. I don’t care for men dressing up in drag. I thought Harvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad, the overweight, tacky, attentive mother of a teenager, was terrific. This is […]
Brassy blues, R&B & gospel enliven poignant melodrama By Lucy Komisar This brassy, bluesy, R&B and gospel melodrama, based on Alice Walker’s novel, is a feminist cry of pain and rebellion, an operetta-style protest in the tradition of “Porgy and Bess.” It‘s a moving and memorable production. Playwright Marsha Norman generally succeeds in pulling the […]
This behind the scenes revisionist view of The Wizard of Oz is a political allegory about racism and discrimination. It’s fascinating as a literary work and stunning as theater. Based on the novel by Winnie Holzman, it’s an updated Animal Farm. It’s a play that exists on two levels, one for the kids and another for adults, who will find it intellectually stimulating. It’s Oz before Dorothy got there.
You might think this was a typical high-tech Broadway extravaganza. After all, a dragon belches smoke from the top of the proscenium and a huge witch’s hat flies around. (The set wizardry is by Eugene Lee.) Susan Hilferty’s costumes are great gobs of color and feathers.
The new Elton John smash musical in London is a stirring political work built around the Yorkshire miners‘ strike of 1984-5. It‘s a very British play, with workers mocking a giant puppet Maggie Thatcher and singing odes to labor solidarity. It tells also a universal truth that political struggle must defend personal freedom.
Doo-Wop will never go out of style in Las Vegas By Lucy Komisar She arrives in a cloud of smoke in a glittery pink and purple pants suit and long evening coat. She has great charm, charisma and boundless energy. She also has a powerful, eloquent voice. And she is the star performer at the […]
Should the Mother Superior act on strong suspicion if children are at risk? By Lucy Komisar ˜Playwright John Patrick Shanley, educated in Catholic schools in the Bronx, could hardly ignore the recent revelations of years of widespread abuse of children by Catholic priests. Clearly on the left of the political spectrum, he takes a careful, […]
