HAMLET A REVIEW

Many people consider Hamlet to be the greatest play ever written in the English language. It demands grand acting and staging, and it gets both in director Michael Grandage's dark and thrilling production.
Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's moodiest characters and one of the most difficult to play properly. In his first Broadway appearence since 1995 Jude Law captures all the swagger and despair needed for this most complex of roles. It is a most accomplished performance,and he is surrounded on all sides by a superb cast.
As already mentioned, Michael Grandage's staging is superb,and Christopher Oram's sparsely effective sets and costumes are just right. They are saying that the evening belongs to Shakespeare and the actors.
I have seen some fine Hamlets in my many years of theatregoing and this one is up there with the best of them. Go see it.
At THE BROADHURST THEATRE 235 West 44th STREET N. Y. C.

BROKE----OLOGY THEATRE INFO.

I forgot to mention in my review that Broke- Ology is playing at
The MITZI NEWHOUSE THEATRE LINCOLN CENTER N. Y. C.

BROKE--OLOGY A REVIEW

How does one deal with an ailing parent? This is the vital issue asked in Broke-Ology, Nathan Louis Jackson's slow starting but promising rookie New York effort.
It deals with a poor Kansas City family, and the two sons who return home to care for their termenally ill father. It asks important questions about loyalty,and the limit that one should go to care for a parent,and if Mr. Jackson dosen't resolve all of his issues, he has written a play that is engrossing, even if it is rough around the edges.
So, even with it's problems, Brook-Ology was worth doing and Mr. Jackson is a playwright worth watching.It's staging and acting are of a very high order,and it is worth seeing.

BROKE_

TOSCA AT THE METROPOLITAN OPERA A THOUGHT

I attended director Luc Bondy's new concept of Tosca yesterday afternoon, and weather you agree with his take on it or not[ I didn't] I still thought it beautifully sung, and well conducted by Joseph Colaneri who was filling in for the indesposed James Levine. It didn't deserve the boos from the audience it got on opening night.
Tosca is one of everyone's favorite operas. Go see this nontraditional production and form your own opinion.
At THE METROPOLITAN OPERA HOUSE LINCOLN CENTER N. Y. C.

WISHFUL DRINKING A REVIEW

I wish this could be a happier report. I wish I liked Wishful Drinking as much as the highly enthusiastic audience I saw it with did. The truth is that I found Carrie Fisher's solo tell all about her life as a Hollywood princess to be actively annoying. It is'nt Miss Fisher's fault. She works hard and may be an ingratiating story teller to some, but to me her battles with depression,mental illness and other addictions, affairs and breakdowns became more depressing and dispiriting as the evening wore on.
I have never followed the tabloids much and I have always felt that embarrasingly intimate aspects of life should remain personal,and Miss Fisher talks about all of them, but my reaction is mostly,why am I listining to all this?
Again, the audience I saw it with seemed to love it, so what do I know?
At STUDIO 54 254 W. 54th STREET N. Y. C.

SUPERIOR DONUTS A REVIEW

To get right to the point, Superior Donuts is terrific. This new play by Tracy Letts,who wrote the epic Pulitzer Prize winning August,Osage County two years ago, has come up with a supremly entertaining yarn about an owner of a Chicago donut shop who clings to the past and resists change. He hires a bright-eyed youngster who dreams of being a novelest, and they form an unexpected friendship that is lasting and life changing.
Mr. Letts is a playwright who has theatre in his blood. His scenes are meaty and gripping and his characters spring to life onstage.
The play is well directed by Tina Ladau,and the cast,headed by Michael McKean and Jon Michael Hill is perfection.
Superior Donuts is a fine play and Tracy Letts is a major playwrght. Highly reccomended.
At THE MUSIC BOX THEATRE 239 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.