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Gezeiten
GEZEITEN is directed and choreographed by Sasha Waltz, performed in two parts, and much of it in silence. The style of this dance theater piece is at first abstract, then a sort of deconstructed Naturalism that devolves into a post-apocalyptic Absurdism born of the truth that, having survived, it is the nature of human beings…
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Festival de otoño en primavera
I saw three shows at Madrid’s eccentrically named FESTIVAL DE OTOÑO EN PRIMAVERA (Fall Festival in Springtime), which brought a plethora of international theater to the Spanish capital in May and June. My listening comprehension of Spanish is what it is, so I would not pretend to have followed every thread of the multiple plots…
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Creditors • Uncle Vanya
It comes as no surprise that Alan Rickman, a mordantly arresting screen actor, would have an affinity for Strindberg, and he has directed CREDITORS with terrifying deftness. Less performed than Miss Julie, The Stronger or Dance of Death, less studied than The Father, CREDITORS, like some overlooked stepchild, has always begged the recognition that it…
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After Miss Julie
It would be nice to see a production of Miss Julie in which Strindberg’s instructions for a naturalistic setting which exists largely in the wings, and that we see only a corner of, were actually followed. There are too many boxed-in containment units that improbably and without deviation follow the exact dimensions of the stage.…
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Lincoln Center Festival
Two from this year’s LINCOLN CENTER FESTIVAL: I saw Les Éphémères in two parts on Saturday and Sunday at Park Avenue Armory. There’s a lot I could write about it (of the French genius for extracting poetry from the quotidian, of the remarkable way in which the production cinematizes the stage, of the festival atmosphere…
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Everyday Rapture
EVERYDAY RAPTURE, now playing at 2econd Stage Theatre, is a reminder that some theatrical genres, and some specific works, arise from the urgent need for certain personalities possessed of particular talents to express themselves. Sherie Renee Scott has one of those personalities and a wealth of such talents (from singing to legerdemain), as well as…
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Exit the King
The Broadway revival of EXIT THE KING is an opportunity to revisit Ionesco‘s absurdist critique of the logical fallacies of political power and entitlement, even if, in this adapted version, the topical references are strained and overly obvious. Of the two leads, Geoffrey Rush comes off best. His mannerisms have always struck me as a…