Meet John DoeSeptember 25, 2004An uplifting musical adaptation of a Frank Capra film features cracking dialogue and a cool jazz infused score
LuluSeptember 10, 2004A classic femme fatal icon seduces the musical stage
Show HoSeptember 6, 2004Sara Moore's solo play tells of coming of age in a low-rent circus
HavenAugust 31, 2004ont size="2">
The breaking point for Sara Kahn came one afternoon at The Public Theatre when she gave an audition with nobody else in the room but director Elizabeth Swados' dog. Coupled with the recent news that what would have been her first Broadway musical lost its backing, Kahn decided to leave a world where her most consistent work was singing and dancing about the joys of Scotch Tape and post-op wound care in trade shows and closed her voice to singing for good.
After a stint at Columbia University where she earned degrees in social work and public health, our heroine found herself performing stress management counseling for Wall Street victims of mergers and acquisitions, still dissatisfied with her lot.
The JammerAugust 29, 2004ont size="2">
"The derby is a Godless place!" warns Father Kosciusko, the Brooklyn priest who could pass for Barry Fitzgerald's taller, younger, significantly less Irish brother.
"But faddah!", the naive working class Jack Lovington later pleads, "How come God gives me dis roller skating gift if not to use it in da derby?"
The Spickner SpinAugust 20, 2004ont size="2">
When you go to a fringe theatre festival it's expected you'll be choosing your entertainment from an assortment of one-person plays, avant-guarde pieces, multi-media productions and cutting edge social commentaries. In such an atmosphere, perhaps the most experimental type of theatre piece you can do nowadays is a traditionally structured, show-tune laden book musical with a ten piece orchestra (no synthesizers), a full singing/dancing/acting chorus and a plot that lightheartedly spoofs American politics without holding a particular politician or party up to ridicule.
Back in the 1930's, before Saturday Night Live and The Onion, theatregoers would often get their political satire by taking in the latest hit Broadway musical. But shows like I'd Rather Be Right and Leave It to Me, big hits in their day, would be quickly be considered unrevivable because, as satire, the issues they dealt with dated quickly. But one exception was the Pulitzer Prize winning Of Thee I Sing, which eschewed taking it's plot from the latest headlines and instead explored the timeless theme of swaying public sympathy. That silly, gentle-humored spirit is re-created in Seth Bisen-Hersh (music and lyrics) and Daniel Scribner's (book and lyrics) charming gumdrop of a musical, The Spickner Spin.
We Are BurningAugust 18, 2004ont size="2">"This is about the end of the world.", casually remarks the Greek God Prometheus early on in Aaron Michael Zook's We Are Burning. "No last minute reprieve."
The rebel who defied Zeus by bringing the knowledge of fire to mankind, now hangs out in a neighborhood coffee bar, serving up the occasional cappuccino to locals. Inspired by both Aeschylus's play Prometheus Bound and the author's experiences during the 1998 Florida wildfires, We Are Burning puts us in a city slowly being consumed by fire.
Reddy or NotAugust 18, 2004
When cabaret singers start telling long, involved, heartfelt stories about how a certain pop song on the radio deeply affected their lives I usually take that as a signal to start jiggling the ice in my empty drink to see if I can come up with another strawful of water. Unless, of course, the singers in question are Joanna Parson and Lance Werth, and the voice on the radio is the Queen of Easy Listening, one Helen Reddy.
After 20-odd years singing, dancing and acting in dinner theatres, summer stocks and the ever-popular audience participation murder mysteries (try improvising with audiences after they?ve had two hours of open bar), Michael Dale segued his theatrical ambitions into playwriting. The buildings which once housed the 5 Off-Off Broadway plays he penned have all been destroyed or turned into a Starbucks, but his name remains the answer to the trivia question, "Who wrote the official play of Babe Ruth's 100th Birthday?" He served as Artistic Director for The Play's The Thing Theatre Company, helping to bring free live theatre to underserved communities, and dabbled a bit in stage managing and in directing cabaret shows before answering the call (it was an email, actually) to become BroadwayWorld.com's first Chief Theatre Critic. While not attending shows Michael can be seen at Citi Field pleading for the Mets to stop imploding. Likes: Strong book musicals and ambitious new works. Dislikes: Unprepared celebrities making their stage acting debuts by starring on Broadway and weak bullpens.