By EDWARD RUBIN There are probably greater painters than Noël. Greater novelists than Noël, greater librettists, greater composers of music, greater singers, greater dancers, greater comedians, greater tragedians, greater stage producers, greater film directors, greater cabaret artists, greater TV stars, and so on. If they are, they are fourteen different people. Only one man combines […]
By EDWARD RUBIN While New York City recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising with much hoopla and an enormous traffic-stopping Gay Pride parade that went on well into the night, New York’s Lincoln Center Theater chose to feature the other side of the coin by mounting the American premiere of playwright Chris […]
By EDWARD RUBIN In the past year (or five), there have been a healthy number of beautifully crafted, wonderfully acted, and solidly produced black-centric plays both on Broadway and Off Broadway. What it means to be black in the United States has been examined from every conceivable angle – historically, sociologically, and psychologically – both […]
By EDWARD RUBIN April Matthis, as Toni Stone (1921-1996) the first woman to play professional baseball in the Negro League, is knocking it out of the ballpark every night at the Laura Pels Theatre through August 11. The play, lightly based on Martha Ackmann’s book “Curveball: The Remarkable Story of Toni Stone,” is overwhelmingly inspirational, […]
By EDWARD RUBIN Once again, following in the footstep of their mega-hit Carmen Jones, the Classic Stage Company is setting the New York Theater World on fire with two of August Strindberg’s most riveting plays, the sexually charged Mies Julie, adapted from the play Miss Julie by Yael Farber, and Conor McPherson’s searing adaption of […]
By EDWARD RUBIN The Glen, written, produced, and directed by Peter B. Hodges is a ‘must see’ play. Currently running through Saturday, February 16 at Shelter Studios’ intimate 60-seat theater, The Glen is one of those plays, due to its short run, that sadly disappears as quickly as it appears. Hopefully, future productions will keep […]
By EDWARD RUBIN For those that loved Clueless, the 1995 cult movie starring Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd, watched the TV series (1996-99) based on the film, and perhaps read all 21 of the Cher young adult books, well, Clueless is back. This time it’s a two and a half hour, acrobatically dance-heavy, in-your-face, over […]
By EDWARD RUBIN “Every day I read the play, I think, I hear the words these words on CNN as I read them on the page. The play will be falling right around the midterm elections, and it is fitting that it reminds us of the choices that are available to us in relation to […]
By EDWARD RUBIN People on trial, especially women who end up being executed, make good subjects for theater and film, as well as objects of art. The two reigning ladies, whose lives still continue to resonate long after their deaths are Marie Antoinette (1755-1793), the last Queen of France who literally lost her head, and […]
By ANNE SIEGEL NEW YORK – It’s just an off-Broadway memory now, but the recently exited India Pale Ale gave audiences some serious issues to consider. India Pale Ale was written by 32-year-old Punjabi-American playwright Jaclyn Backhaus. The play won this year’s Horton Foote Prize, and Manhattan Theater Club launched the play on October 23. […]