Streetcar Named Desire [B-]

Very good performances in a very well written, but depressing, show. It's hard to find characters that you like in this play. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Warning: it's 3 hours long, so be prepared.

Good News: the newly renovated Roundabout Studio 54 is very comfortable - it's what a modern Broadway theatre should be.

[After reading the reviews, I have decided that they are right and I was wrong. This show, despite being quite technically good, lacks the raw emotion needed by the play. Stanley just isn't as dangerous and smolering as he should be, and the chemistry between Stanley and Blanche isn't scary, or even exciting. I've only seen scenes from the movie, but I think they got the chemistry right there. I'm now rating it B-]

Play in a Pub [C-]

I'm guessing my friends rated this one even lower than C-. Given all the drawbacks, I kind of liked it. First of all this was two very short one act plays (one by Tennessee Williams) presented in an actual East Village bar. The seats were moderately uncomfortable, very close, and sight lines were nonexistent. Given that, I liked both plays, and I thought the acting was quite acceptable. Even so, I can't recommend the total experience unless you are younger than I and more tolerant of physical annoyances.

The Widower's Houses [C+]

This one's really better than C+, but it's just not a very good play. (Imagine that: me disparaging George Bernard Shaw!!!) The acting was very good, and the direction was well-paced. I just think the script let them down. I don't like the mixing of frivolous chatter and serious matter, and Shaw attempts here. Maybe it was a conscious commentary on the frivolous nature of the British upper class, but it didn't work for me. I took little or no moral home with me, and the play, while entertaining, wasn't fun enough to watch if it had no point.

Going to St. Ives [A]

During the intermission I found myself thinking "I need a grade that's better than A to give this show"!! The second act was just slightly less perfect, so an A will suffice. It's a wonderful show: excellent acting, well directed, nice sets - who could ask for anything more. I won't say much about the plot, not because it's such a great mystery, but because it's better if you discover it leisurely for yourself as the play progresses. Suffice it to say that it's about a friendship between an English woman and an African woman. And add further that the play, while seeming to have local/personal focus, tackles some gigantic/global problems.

Orson's Shadow [B]

The first act was pedantic and emotionless - not a great start. This is a basically historical play about a production of Ionesco's "Rhinoceros", starring Laurence Olivier and directed by Orson Welles, and there is lots and lots of back-story to fill us (the audience) in on before the show can really start. If you view the entire first act as the preface, and the second act as "the play", then it's quite a nice evening's entertainment. Touching, historically interesting, and quite well acted. There was a little too much yelling for my tastes - perhaps this is the director's attempt to simulate the style of projecting in live theatre in that era.

Moonlight and Magnolias [B]

I thought this show was quite funny, and it provided some interesting (possibly true) insight into Hollywood in the 40's and the making of "Gone with the Wind". Lots of slapstick, so if that's not your shtick, skip this one, but I thought it was a barrel of laughs.

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf [B]

Don't trust my review of this show. I was in a funky mood and all stressed out about personal problems when I sat down to watch this "masterpiece." This one just didn't work for me. It's a well written play, of course, and it was very well acted, but it just didn't interest/entertain me. I liked the first act well enough, although I wasn't spellbound. The second act was more of the same and became a little tedious. And by the time the third act rolled around, I was constantly staring at my watch, and thinking mostly about breaking free. (Since I wrote this, I've read some reviews that suggest that this sort of "audience claustrophobia" was what Albee intended - if so, it worked on me.) Even Albee's normally wonderful word choice seemed less wonderful than usual. Overall, the show does have considerable impact, but (for me) it was painful getting that impact.

Slag Heap [B]

Maybe I gave this one a high grade because my expectations were low. I went to see it only because Connor from "Angel", embarrassingly enough one of my favorite TV shows, was in it. As often happens, low expectations lead to a nice evening. The acting was really quite decent, and the play was very interesting. It had a very dark tone (and subject matter), but for the most part the language was rather upbeat: kind of "kids in a living hell, but they were rather enjoying it". ....until the end and even a bit thereafter. ??

I Have Been Here Before [A]

This one's a winner. A long forgotten J.B. Priestly play about fate and time, this show is fascinating to think about. And to top it off, the cast and direction are almost perfect.

Woman Before a Glass [C]

Mercedes Ruehl is very good in this, and the play is, I guess, interesting history, but it just didn't grab my interest. There's nothing wrong with it, it's just not very compelling.