by JK Clarke Comedy is hard. Especially theatrical comedy. Even if the humor exists in the script, it doesn’t necessarily make it to the stage. Ordinarily, William Shakespeare’s comic masterpiece, Twelfth Night, is a sure bet for a night of guffaws. But this...
The Winter’s Tale at TFANA
by JK Clarke The madness of Leontes, King of Sicilia is puzzling. Erupting from seemingly nowhere it ruins his life in short order; and it just as quickly dissipates. Presumably forever. This doesn’t follow with conventional understandings of mental...
Send in the Clowns: Marcel + The...
By Samuel L. Leiter If you love physical comedy in the manner of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin or, to cite more recent exemplars, Bill Irwin and David Shiner, you owe it to yourself to witness the comedic art of Jos Houben and Marcello Magni in...
Measure for Measure – Hard...
by JK Clarke To effectively convey a message about morals and ethics in a theatrical production, it’s probably best to use a contemporary setting. Characters and circumstances are relatable and dilemmas encountered seem far more plausible, than if the...
Down in a Hole: Happy Days
by JK Clarke Even buried up to her neck in dirt, Dianne Wiest can act circles around most other thespians. A wild assertion, but one that’s readily demonstrated in Yale Repertory Theatre’s revival of Samuel Beckett’s simultaneously amusing and bleak Happy...
The Skin of Our Teeth
by JK Clarke Humankind has been plagued with apocalyptic visions and foreboding since the dawn of civilization. Earliest organized groups of humans created mythologies (eventually called religion) designed to address and possibly face fears of the unknown....
Norden Exposure: A Doll’s House...
by JK Clarke A double-header of Scandinavian 19th century dramas would ordinarily be less than enticing to anyone but ardent fans of classical theater, as it would be a daunting undertaking. But the two productions, Henrik Ibsen’s classic A Doll’s House and...
Cracks in the Foundation: Isolde
by JK Clarke Deconstructing an art form can often lead to interesting and beautiful new styles, movements or individual works of art. Picasso’s foray into cubism produced world-renowned masterpieces; Eric Satie’s Gymnopedies broke classical piano into works we are...
The Valley of Astonishment...
NY Theater Review by Paulanne Simmons When neurologist Oliver Sacks writes about patients who see the world very differently from the average person, his case studies are fascinating and sometimes frightening. When director Peter Brook writes about the same subject, the...
