I should mention that A STEADY RAIN is almost entirly sold out for it's 12 week run, but there are some seats still to be had.
AtThe GERALD SCHOENFELD THEATRE____236 WEST 45th STREET N.Y.C.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
A STEADY RAIN A REVIEW
The good news is that Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman are superb in A Steady Rain, and they make Keith Huff's slight but promising play interesting and sometimes affectng theatre.
The play concerns two cops who have known each other since childhood and have had a love hate relationship with each other ever since. Always being passed over for promotions and other things, the two cops share their thoughts with the audience and each other,and become likeable and moving people.
Mr Craig and Mr Jackman are the entire cast and they are a constant joy to watch, and they are well served by John Crowley's very able staging, and Scott Pask's muted sets and costumes and Hugh Vastone's lighting serve their purpose well.
A Steady Rain is playwright Huff's maiden Broadway effort. He is worth watching, and aided by it's two high profile stars, his play is worth seeing.
The play concerns two cops who have known each other since childhood and have had a love hate relationship with each other ever since. Always being passed over for promotions and other things, the two cops share their thoughts with the audience and each other,and become likeable and moving people.
Mr Craig and Mr Jackman are the entire cast and they are a constant joy to watch, and they are well served by John Crowley's very able staging, and Scott Pask's muted sets and costumes and Hugh Vastone's lighting serve their purpose well.
A Steady Rain is playwright Huff's maiden Broadway effort. He is worth watching, and aided by it's two high profile stars, his play is worth seeing.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
THE N. Y.THEATRE SCENE 50 YEARS AGO 1959___1960 PG.2
The season for musicals was a good one. Fiorello,The Sound Of Music, and Bye Bye Birdie were the big hits, and Take Me Along was a most pleasant affair with a wonderful cast headed by Jackie Gleason, Walter Pidgeon, Eileen Herlie and Robert Morse.
The Girls Against The Boys was a loud, dull revue that even the talents of Bert Lahr and Nancy Walker could'nt save, and Saratoga and Greenwillow both offered some fine music by Harold A rlen and Frank Loesser respectivly, but were otherwise uneven and sometimes dull.
Christine, Happy Town and Beg, Borrow, Or Steal were as bad as can be, but the delightful Once Upon A Mattress moved uptown from Second Ave. and was just as good in it's new surroundings as it was downtown.
Off Broadway produced three musicals that are worth mentioning. The Fantasticks and Little Mary Sunshine became long running hits and Ernest In Love was a delightful adaptation of The Importance Of Being Ernest.
Finally, The Billy Barnes Revue, At The Drop Of A Hat, and A Thurber Carnival all proved that the revue format was alive and well and popular.
So, for an incurable theatre maniac, it was quite a season.
The Girls Against The Boys was a loud, dull revue that even the talents of Bert Lahr and Nancy Walker could'nt save, and Saratoga and Greenwillow both offered some fine music by Harold A rlen and Frank Loesser respectivly, but were otherwise uneven and sometimes dull.
Christine, Happy Town and Beg, Borrow, Or Steal were as bad as can be, but the delightful Once Upon A Mattress moved uptown from Second Ave. and was just as good in it's new surroundings as it was downtown.
Off Broadway produced three musicals that are worth mentioning. The Fantasticks and Little Mary Sunshine became long running hits and Ernest In Love was a delightful adaptation of The Importance Of Being Ernest.
Finally, The Billy Barnes Revue, At The Drop Of A Hat, and A Thurber Carnival all proved that the revue format was alive and well and popular.
So, for an incurable theatre maniac, it was quite a season.
THE N. Y.THEATRE SCENE 50 YEARS AGO 1959_____1960
As we head into the 2009_2010 theatre season I thought it would be fun to look back at the N. Y. theatre scene of 50 years ago. I was in my third year of high school and was not the greatest student in school. I always had a passion for Broadway and even reviewed Broadway for the school paper. This is what I remember.
It was a great year on Broadway with some fine dramas,including The Miracle Worker,The Gang's All Here, The Tenth Man,Five Finger Exercise,and The andersonville Trial. The Gang's All Here was not a hit, but this play about Warren G. Harding's ascent to The White House, and the scandal that destroyed him was exciting theatre and in my opinion, one of the season's best plays.
Lillian Hellman came back to Broadway with Toys In The Attic, and Caligula was a powerful work with a stunning performance by Kenneth Haigh in the title role. The Best Man was a sharp political drama, and Duel Of Angels and The Fighting Cock lent a bit of elegance to the season, but Silent Night, Lonely Night was a dour work that even fine acting by Barbara Bel Geddes and Henry Fonda could not save.
THE MUSICALS ARE ON THE NEXT BLOG.
It was a great year on Broadway with some fine dramas,including The Miracle Worker,The Gang's All Here, The Tenth Man,Five Finger Exercise,and The andersonville Trial. The Gang's All Here was not a hit, but this play about Warren G. Harding's ascent to The White House, and the scandal that destroyed him was exciting theatre and in my opinion, one of the season's best plays.
Lillian Hellman came back to Broadway with Toys In The Attic, and Caligula was a powerful work with a stunning performance by Kenneth Haigh in the title role. The Best Man was a sharp political drama, and Duel Of Angels and The Fighting Cock lent a bit of elegance to the season, but Silent Night, Lonely Night was a dour work that even fine acting by Barbara Bel Geddes and Henry Fonda could not save.
THE MUSICALS ARE ON THE NEXT BLOG.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
AFTERMATH A REVIEW
With Aftermath, playwrights Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen are writing in the style of documentary theatre, and have come up with a powerful account of the Iraq war from the perspective of every day citizens and how their lives changed forever the day the Americans arrived in their country.
By interviewing a crossection of working class Iraqi people, the playwrights have written a devestating play about what it means to be invaded by an outside power, and the way their lives changed. Seldom has a play explored the feelings of the common man the way this one does, and it's unflinching honesty make this play something to see.
The play is very well staged by co-author Jessica Blank, and acted with uncommon skill by a superb cast.
Aftermath only runs till Oct.4. It is worth checking out.
AT THE N. Y. THEATRE WORKSHOP----79 EAST 4TH STREET--N. Y. C.
By interviewing a crossection of working class Iraqi people, the playwrights have written a devestating play about what it means to be invaded by an outside power, and the way their lives changed. Seldom has a play explored the feelings of the common man the way this one does, and it's unflinching honesty make this play something to see.
The play is very well staged by co-author Jessica Blank, and acted with uncommon skill by a superb cast.
Aftermath only runs till Oct.4. It is worth checking out.
AT THE N. Y. THEATRE WORKSHOP----79 EAST 4TH STREET--N. Y. C.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
THE N.Y. THEATRE SCENE 2008 2009 ODDS AND ENDS P. G. 2
If I were asked to select the two most memorable theatre evenings I had all season, I would have to pick the unmissable off broadway production of the classic OUR TOWN. This became a sensational hit and continues to affect all who see it deeply. This is a don't miss event.
My number two pick is the memorable production of Anton Chekhov's THE CHERRY ORCHARD in a wonderful new version by TOM STOPPARD. This is what theatre should be and seldom is.
Quite a season on the whole.
My number two pick is the memorable production of Anton Chekhov's THE CHERRY ORCHARD in a wonderful new version by TOM STOPPARD. This is what theatre should be and seldom is.
Quite a season on the whole.
THE N. Y.THEATRE SCENE 2008 2009 ODDS AND ENDS PG. 1
Worth mentioning.
The off broadway Signature Theatre Company devoted their entire season to the historic Negro Ensemble Company by offering three of their best plays. Excellent productions of THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, and HOME were offered at the low price of twenty dollars a ticket.
The Collegiate Chorale presented a concert version of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 musical, THE FIREBRAND OF FLORENCE and it was a joy to hear this beautiful score performed with Mr. Weill;s original orchestrations.
TO BE CONTINUED
The off broadway Signature Theatre Company devoted their entire season to the historic Negro Ensemble Company by offering three of their best plays. Excellent productions of THE FIRST BREEZE OF SUMMER, ZOOMAN AND THE SIGN, and HOME were offered at the low price of twenty dollars a ticket.
The Collegiate Chorale presented a concert version of Kurt Weill and Ira Gershwin's 1945 musical, THE FIREBRAND OF FLORENCE and it was a joy to hear this beautiful score performed with Mr. Weill;s original orchestrations.
TO BE CONTINUED
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