COLLECTED STORIES by Donald Margulies Directed by Lori Kee Starring Grace Kiley and Christina Toth East Village Basement Tickets and Info Reviewed by David Spencer Among the most delicate and complicated re­la­tion­ships in the world of the arts is that between men­tor and protégé. Especially when at the start the mentor is a curmudgeon and […]

THE LAST LAUGH Written and Directed by Paul Hendy Brits off Broadway festival at 59E59 Reviewed by David Spencer Take three mid-20th century British standup comedians of three very different stripes: Tommy Cooper, a big man in a red fez, among whose gimmicks was magic tricks that don’t work, or don’t work as you’d expect;

SUMO by Lisa Sanaye Dring Directed by Ralph B. Peña Public Theatre Reviewed by David Spencer As they sing in Pacific Overtures, “let the pupil show the master.” That’s the trajectory followed at the Public Theatre in Sumo, by Lisa Sanaye Dring. Set in present-day Japan, it’s about 18-year-old Akio (Scott Keiji Takeda) who aspires

BECKETT BRIEFS (From the Cradle to the Grave) Not I, Play and Krapp’s Last Tape Directed by Ciarán O’Reilley Featuring F. Murray Abraham, Roger Dominic Casey, Kate Forbes and Sarah Street Irish Repertory Company Reviewed by David Spencer you might have to be to some degree into Beckett or what Beckett’s into…some what degree somewhat

STILL by Lia Romeo Directed by Adrienne Campbell-Holt Starring Melissa Gilbert and Mark Moses Loreto Theatre at the Sheen Center Official Website Reviewed by David Spencer I tend to avoid spoilers, even when reviewing a play that doesn’t depend upon “suspense,” per se, Still being one of those; but there’s no way to discuss it

KOWALSKI by Gregg Ostrin Directed by Colin Hanlon The Duke on 42nd Street Official Website Reviewed by David Spencer Kowalski posits the particulars of the first time Marlon Brando (Brandon Flynn) met Tennessee Williams (Robin Lord Taylor) upon showing up at his Provincetown house—three days late—to audition for A Streetcar Named Desire. He arrives on

THE ANTIQUITIES by Jordan Harrison Directed by David Cromer and Caitlin Sullivan Playwrights Horizons Reviewed by David Spencer There are theatrical evenings about which I, as both theatre critic and professional dramatist, can offer a reasonably objective, sometimes even definitive, view. There are others about which I have to cop to a subjective view, though

WE ARE YOUR ROBOTS Book and Lyrics by Ethan Lipton Music Composed and Performed by Ethan Lipton, Vito Dieterle, Eben Levy and Ian Riggs Directed by Leigh Silverman A Production of Theatre for a New Audience and Rattlestick Theatre Polonsky Shakespeare Center Reviewed by David Spencer We Are Your Robots has been branded a musical,

THE MERCHANT OF VENICE written by William Shakespeare adapted & directed by Igor Golyak for Arlekin Theatre Company at the Classic Stage Company Theatre Reviewed by David Spencer I suppose it’s not unknown for an experimental company to be hit-and-miss, but after what has to be characterized the triumph of Our Class, which returned a

FRANKLINLAND by Lloyd Suh Directed by Chika Ike Starring Thomas Jay Ryan and Noah Keyishian Ensemble Studio Theatre Reviewed by David Spencer There’s a whole helluva lot of dramatized malignant narcissism on display this season, and I begin to wonder if it’s become an easy trope. The latest abusive figure is none other than Benjamin

HOLD ON TO ME DARLING by Kenneth Lonergan Directed by Neil Pepe Starring Adam Driver Lucille Lortel Theatre Official Website Reviewed by David Spencer Nearly a decade later, I’m still not sure what to make of Hold On to Me Darling, an almost O’Neill-length comedy—I think comedy— by the redoubtable Kenneth Lonergan, in revival at

FATHERLAND Conceived and Directed by Stephen Sachs New York City Center Stage II Official Website Reviewed by David Spencer There’s a lot to be said for docu-drama plays whose primary or entire dialogue is culled from actual recorded evidence (recorded meaning via print and/or electronic media). Tone and treatment are, of course, everything, and there’s

OUR CLASS by Tadeusz Słobodzianek Adapted by Norman Allen, from a translation by Catherine Grovesnor Directed by Igor Golyak An Arlekin Players Presentation at Classic Stage Company Play and Production Website Reviewed by David Spencer  Our Class is an unambiguously inventive evening or afternoon of theatre—but also very much an eye-of the-beholder one. An epic

CELLINO v BARNES Written by Mike B. Breen and David Rafailides Directed by Wesley Taylor and Alex Wyse Starring Eric William Morris and Noah Weisberg Asylum NYC Official Show Website Reviewed by David Spencer I got to this one late, but having been hipped to it by a friend on social media, noting that it

N/A by Mario Correa Starring Holland Taylor and Ana Villafañe Directed by Diane Paulus Mitzi Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center Official Website Reviewed by David Spencer If your theatrical desire can be satisfied by seeing see two profoundly talented actresses uncannily channel the essential physicality and personae of two current important and controversial beltway players,

THE SABBATH GIRL Book by Cary Gitter Based upon his play Lyrics by Cary Gitter and Neil Berg Music by Neil Berg Directed by Joe Brancato 59E59 Reviewed by David Spencer On the one hand, The Sabbath Girl is a fairly smart musical for its team to have created. It’s small, its production needs are

KING LEAR Adapted and Directed by Karin Coonroad A Production of Compagnia de’ Colombari Company Website Show Webpage Recently at LaMama Further Venues TBA Reviewed by David Spencer   There are, to broadly oversimplify, only two ways for a director to newly interpret a classic piece—assuming a certain essential faithfulness to text; within those two