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Celebrating SEVENTEEN Years on the web!

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Current Edition Uploaded: 5/23/13

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Notes from the Webmaster

A number of career obligations delayed this ish of the 'zine
just long enough that it seemed regular reviewing wouldn't be
practical; once a production is earmarked to stick around a while,
a critical appraisal in the tradfitional sense is less important
than an appraisal that tells you what to expect so that
you can decide on the merits, more or less uninfluenced
by bias, philosophy, or for that matter even reasoned analysis.

So for this issue, what I've done isn't exactly reviewing in brief,
but rather what I think of as reviewing in bulk.
Here's hoping you find it as ueful as I'd like it to be.
My regional colleagues will stalwartly represent
the more traditional approach.
(And apologies to them and their readers for the delay.)

For previous reviews of current or recent attractions,
as well as a partial selection of archival material
see regional indexes at the bottom
of the Home Page.

New Features This Edition:

New York critic David Spencer reviews:

The newly debuting end-of-season musicals:

Matilda the Musical
Book by Dennis Kelly
Music and Lyrics by Tim Minchin
Directed by Matthew Warchus
Starring Bertie Carvel
Shubert Theatre

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
by Dave Malloy
Adapted from War and Peace
by Leo Tolstoy
Directed by Rachel Chavkin
A Production of Ars Nova at Kazino

Motown the Musical
Book by Berry Gordy
Music and Lyrics from
"The Legendary Motown Catalog"
Directed by Charles Randolph-Wright
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Here Lies Love
Concept and Lyrics by David Byrne
Music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim
Additional Music by Tom Gandey and J Pardo
Directed by Alex Timbers
The Public Theater

Murder Ballad
Conception, Book and Lyrics
by Julia Jordan
Music and Lyrics by Juliana Nash
Directed by Trip Cullman
Union Square Theatre

Cuff Me:
The 50 Shades of Grey
(Unauthorized) Musical Parody
Conceived by Tim Flaherty
written by Bradford McMurran,
Jeremiah Albers, Tim Flaherty
and Sean Michael Devereux
Directed by Sonya Carter
Actors Temple Theatre

The Musical Revisals, er, that is, Revivals, er, that is...

Pippin
Book by Roger O. Hirson
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Directed by Diane Paulus
Starring Matthew James Thomas, Patina Miller
Terrence Mann, Charlotte d'Amboise,
Rachel Bay Jones and Andrea Martin
The Music Box Theatre

Cinderella
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics and Original Book by
Oscar Hammerstein II
New Book by DouglasCarter Beane
Directed by Mark Brokaw
Starring Laura Osnes, Santino Fontana,
Harriet Harris and Victoria Clark
Broadway Theatre

The Season-end straight plays ...

The Trip to Bountiful
by Horton Foote
Directed by Michael Wilson
Starring Cicely Tyson,
Cuba Gooding Jr.
Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat
Stephen Sondheim Theatre

The Assembled Parties
by Richard Greenberg
directed by Lynne Meadow
Starring Jessica Hecht, Judith Light
and Jeremy Shamos
A Production of
Manhattan Theatre Club
at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

I'll Eat You Last
A Chat with Sue Mengers
by John Logan
Directed by Joe Mantello
Booth Theatre

The Big Knife
by Clifford Odets
Directed by Doug Hughes
with Bobby Cannavale, Richard Kind,
Chip Zien and Marin Ireland
A Production of the
Roundabout Theatre Company
American Airlines Theatre

The Nance
by Douglas Carter Beane
Directed by Jack O'Brien
Starring Nathan Lane
with Lewis J. Stadlen
and Cady Huffman
A Production of Lincoln Center Theater
Lyceum Theatre

Nikolai and the Others
by Richard Nelson
Directed by David Cromer
featuring Michael Ceveris,
John Glover
and Stephen Kunken
Lincoln Center Theater
at the Mitzi E. Newhouse

Colin Quinn: Unconstitutional
Written and Performed
by the Star
Directed by
Rebecca A. Trent
Barrow Street Theatre

Macbeth
by William Shakespeare
Starring Alan Cumming
Directed by John Tiffany
& Andrew Goldberg
Ethel Barrynore Theatre

San Francisco critic Judy Richter reviews:

The guy who musialized Emma and Jane Eyre has at Oscar Wilde:
Being Earnest
Music by Paul Gordon & Jay Gruska
Book and Lyrics by Paul Gordon
Based on a play by Oscar Wilde
Directed by Robert Kelley
Presented by TheatreWorks
Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts

A fascinating, memorable study of grief and recovery ...
The Happy Ones
by Julie Marie Myatt
Directed by Jonathan Moscone
Presented by & at Magic Theatre

A notable go at a problem play ...
Pericles, Prince of Tyre
by William Shakespeare
Conceived by Mark Wing-Davey with Jim Calder
Directed by Mark Wing-Davey
Presented by Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Thrust Stage

A little known corner of Civil War history ...
The Whipping Man
by Matthew Lopez
Directed by Jasson Minadakis
Presented by Marin Theatre Company
Boyer Theatre

A fimne production ofa challenging musical ...
A Little Night Music
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Directed by Dennis Lickteig
Presented by Hillbarn Theatre

A rare area mounting of the big Euro tuner ...
Miss Saigon
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. & Alain Boublil
Directed by Patrick Klein
Presented by Palo Alto Players
Lucie Stern Theater

39 years and counting, but it never gets old ...
Beach Blanket Babylon
Originally conceived, written, produced & directed by Steve Silver
Produced by Jo Schuman Silver
Directed by Kenny Mazlow
Club Fugazi

Florida critic Marie J. Kilker reviews:

A tasty treacle of a story ...
Second Samuel
by Pamela Parker
Directed by Murray Chase
Venice Theatre

See Indexes below for many more current and archived reviews!

  • Road (National) Tour Review Index
  • New York City & Environs Theatre Review Index
  • Berkshire, Massachusetts Theatre Review Index
  • Boston Area Theatre Review Index
  • Chicago Theatre Review Index
  • Cincinnati Theatre Review Index
  • Cleveland Area Theatre Review Index
  • Connecticut Theatre Review Index
  • Florida Theatre Review Index
  • London Review Index
  • Los Angeles Theatre Review Index
  • Massachusetts (beyond Boston) Theatre Review Index
  • Minneapolis/St. Paul (Twin Cities) Theatre Review Index
  • Philadelphia & Environs Theatre Review Index
  • Phoenix Area Theatre Review Index
  • San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Review Index
  • Seattle Area Theatre Review Index
  • Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Index
  • Washington D.C./Metropolitan Area Theatre Review Index
  • Special Features Index
  • Recording Review Index
  • Book Review Index
  • Related and Reciprocal Web Site URLs
  • OOBR: The Magazine of off-off-Broadway Reviews
    Its online presence formerly a monthly adjunct of AISLE SAY, now OOBR has its own dedicated weekly site, " so most reviews will be current," fairly important given the fleeting nature of most oobr productions. Maintained, as always, by editor John Chatterton.


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