Category: Review
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Out of the Shadows: PigPen Theatre Company Takes us to a Land of Make-Believe
The cast of The Old Man and the Old Moon, from left: Arya Shahi, Ryan Melia, Curtis Gillen, Ben Ferguson, Dan Weschler, Matt Neurnberger and Alex Falberg. (Photo via Broadway.com) Over the years, New York has seen its fair share of fairy tale- and folklore-driven theatre; from The Lion King and Wicked to the more recent Peter…
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Battle Royale: Jose Perez IV’s Fight Theatre Has a Snow Day
The company of Snowball Battlefield. (Press Photos by Jose Perez IV and Kevin C. Gall) When I got an invitation from Jose Perez IV a few months ago about a new project he was doing involving stage combat, MP3s, and running around the streets of NYC, I didn’t hesitate to RSVP with a resounding HELL YES (Okay,…
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A Not-So-Royal Family: Everyone’s Favorite Dysfunctional Family Celebrates its 10th Anniversary at NYFF49
For my Film Theory class this past semester, we were required to see a film at the 49th New York Film Festival and review it―you can only guess how excited I was at this assignment. I had originally planned on seeing Martha Marcy May Marlene, but due to rapid word-of-mouth about Elizabeth Olsen’s performance, tickets…
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Rise Up with Fists: Organs of State Packs a Punch with ‘Fighter’
What do you get when you take one part Super Mario Bros., another part Scott Pilgrim, combined with Mortal Kombat, and a little bit of The Last Airbender? You get all kinds of awesome, which is pretty much the only way to sum up the Fighter experience. Written, directed, and choreographed by Jose Perez IV,…
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Like a Prayer: The Adaptations Project Takes Allen Ginsberg’s Autobiographical Poetry from the Page to the Stage
The Adaptations Project’s Founding Artist Donnie Mather, as Allen in “Kaddish.” Photo by Ben Strothmann. Allen Ginsberg is considered one of the most important figures of the Beat generation. Originally from Paterson, New Jersey, the poet later moved to New York, a city with which he later became closely associated. He is best known for writing…
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Going Back to the Start: Knife Edge Productions Shows What Happens When You Replay the Past and Erase it
What do you do when your past comes back to haunt you? Such is the running theme in this revival of Stephen Belber’s Tape, directed by Sam Helfrich. The play tells the story of two former high school best friends, Jon (Neil Holland) and Vince (Don DiPaolo) discover just that when a ten-year reunion starts to…
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Beauty in the Breakdown: The GIMP Project’s ‘If’
Aerialists Jennifer Bricker and Nate Crawford. Photo by Chris Ash. Last weekend, from June 16-18th, La Mama Moves! 2011 presented choreographer Heidi Latsky‘s brave piece entitled, IF. Composed of three sections — each featuring a quartet, ensemble and duet — IF challenges notions of what it means to be different in today’s society. The piece is part of an ongoing…
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A Mad World: The United States Theatre Project’s ‘columbinus’ Goes Inside the Typical All-American High School — And Tears it Apart
This past weekend’s viewing of A Shot Away had me reminiscing about other docudramas I’ve enjoyed over the years. Jonathan Mandell noted how Red Fern’s production had reminded him of Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s The Exonerated, and I definitely agree; it had a lot of the same elements, including a lot of quote-worthy dialogue.…
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An Argument for Consciousness: Red Fern Theatre’s ‘A Shot Away’ Gives a Voice to Those Silenced
Photo by Brittany Duck “The Few, The Proud.” “Be All that You Can Be.” These are just some of the ways the military uses to attract the many that enlist each year. However, beneath the handsome and dutiful men in uniform shown on television and moviehouse screens lies a darker side of the military that…
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Let’s Pick up the Pace and Go to Hell in a Fast Car: Kander & Ebb’s Chicago Serves Up Some ‘Razzle Dazzle’
Imagine this: a steamy jazz club. A saxophone whining and groaning into the smoky air. Dancers in their racy costumes, warming up. All of a sudden, the song segues into a rag-tag big band number, and under a single spotlight stands headliner Velma Kelly in a rendition of a familiar song. Well, stop dreaming, because…
Resident Artist Productions 