BWW Reviews: Stages Repertory Theatre's GIDION'S KNOT is Exquisitely Taut and Intense
When it comes to tense and taut one-act dramas that play out in real time, one often thinks of playwright David Mamet. With an extensive resume of work I'm not familiar with, Johnna Adams' work in GIDION'S KNOT is just as intense and intriguing as any of the David Mamet plays I've experienced. Furthermore, GIDION'S KNOT is a timely drama filled to overflowing with relevant social commentary that makes the 75 minutes production all the more gripping.
BWW Reviews: Stages' Provocative THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE is Flawed But Fascinating
Presenting their second out of three productions for this year's 'Get Talking' series, Stages Repertory Theatre is producing Julia Cho's THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE. The deliciously existential and fairy tale-esque drama won the 2010 Susan Smith Blackburn award, a prize given to plays written by women in the English language. The somewhat simplistic and formulaic plot introduces audiences to a linguist, George, who is the curator of a language library that preserves the last remaining strands of dead and dying languages. Despite his love for languages, he is inept in communication, which estranges him from his wife, Mary. George and his assistant, Emma, fly in a couple from a devastated Eastern European country to record their native language, the romantic and beautiful Elloway. However, the couple is bickering, so they have cast off Elloway and are using the 'hateful' language of English to fight.
BWW Reviews: Stages' STEEL MAGNOLIAS - Sublime Southern Strength & Heart
Living in the South, there is an undeniable general cultural familiarity with the iconic film adaptation of STEEL MAGNOLIAS. With the utterance of those two words, images of Sally Field, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, Daryl Hannah, Olympia Dukakis, and Julia Roberts spring to mind along with many of the movie's most quoted and loved lines. While others may be afraid to compete with the cultural memory, Stages Repertory Theatre, without trepidation and imitation, is housing a stellar, must see production of the beloved modern classic.
