on beckett
Buried somewhere beneath tired (and tiring) humor – much of it in poor taste – lies a story Liz Peak and Barry Peak intended to be engaging as well as humorous. Unfortunately their well-intentioned plan falls mostly flat in the world premiere of their “Philosophy for Gangsters” currently running through March 1, 2014 at the Beckett Theatre on Theatre Row…
“When rain has hung the leaves with tears/I want you near to kill my fears, / To help me to leave all my blues behind. / Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.” – Donovan Billed as the confrontation of the inexorable mystery of fate by two friends spending a day boating, Jon Fosse’s “I Am…
Terrence McNally’s “And Away We Go,” currently running at The Pearl Theatre Company, has the capacity to shake even the most torpid theatre-goers to tears. In fact, it literally shakes the theatre! The Pearl’s 30th Season world premiere celebrates the endurance of the theatre throughout the ages and consecrates the “spirit” of the theatre that transcends time and space. That…
“The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down.” Psalm 145:14 (NIV) During her belabored round trip from her home to the train station to pick up her husband Mr. Rooney (Michael Gambon) on his birthday, Mrs. Rooney (Eileen Atkins) rehearses the variety of her physical and emotional deficits: there is much that has “bowed…
If one of TACT’s missions is to discover and produce lost plays, their endeavors have reached a significant level of success in their recent production of William Inge’s “Natural Affection” which has not been seen in New York City since its short 1963 run at the Booth Theatre. The significant themes of this remarkable play are precisely the themes of…
Following in the footsteps of the likes of Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Fernando Arrabal, Vaclav Havel and Edward Albee is a formidable task to undertake. Even to attempt to write a play in the absurdist genre is an impressive accomplishment. EJ Sepp introduced his new (and his first) play to…
Fiction with themes of artificial intelligence and the manufacture and sale of androids is not a new genre. On that surface level, Richard Manley’s “The Truth Quotient” is not unique. What becomes unique is the play’s focus on the more subtle theme of motivation: the motivation of the manufacturer of the androids and the motivation of those who purchase the…