The word “thespian” is derived from the name of the first actor who made history, Thespis, who dazzled the crowds at the festival of Dionysus in 534 B.C., but stirred up controversy simultaneously. According to Plutarch, the Greeks initially questioned the morality of drama; Solon, the great lawgiver, publicly denounced…
As a zesty summer alternative, I’ll take a few weeks off here and there from slicing, dicing, and stroking to discuss more important issues in South Florida theater than Goldilocks and the Three Bears, or another revival of Neil Simon. And without a doubt, the new Theatre League of South…
In this business, the snappy little cliche “he stole the show” seems to be used ad nauseam to describe any performance that displays even a smidgen of talent. But the number of times any show-stealing actually occurs continues to dwindle as the years go by. Waning stage opportunities force many…
In an article called “Critical Condition,” published in the June 1991 edition of American Theatre, the great playwright A.R. Gurney, himself a survivor of some nasty reviews, editorialized on the role of critics and the importance of a concept called “bestowal” in considering a work of art. “An example of…
Some of the best singing, dancing and musicianship I’ve seen at the Coconut Grove Playhouse this year now occupies the main stage — and the occupants are a group of local teen-agers and the Playhouse’s young apprentices, presenting an original work called The Sun Drum. Although it deals with loads…
Having just learned from a reader’s letter that one’s perception of art is fact and not opinion, a whole new world of commentary has opened up for me. In case you don’t remember the missive sent to me by one of Pia’s musicians, it stated: “That’s how good our performances…
Want to hear an AIDS joke? A one-liner about crack addicts? Okay, how about the riots in L.A.? That’s a knee-slapper for sure. Maybe you think I’ve finally crossed the boundaries of sane Homo sapiens taste — well, not yet. I don’t believe these subjects lend themselves to wry humor,…
In my Spanish-English dictionary, the following words are translated in sequence: machacar (or machucar): to pound, to crush machete: heavy knife macho: male animal, male part, manly Sometimes, in learning a language, one can glean meaning from other words with similar root sounds. The connection seems to hold true in…
When reviewing a mixed bag of theatrical offerings such as the Seventh International Hispanic Theatre Festival, a Spanish-speaking Anglo reviewer (such as yours truly) could easily fall into the trap of generalizations. Latin theater reflects these beliefs, portrays this, says that in certain typical ways, et cetera. But such flat…
After viewing the current New Theatre production of George Bernard Shaw’s Bonaparte: Man of Destiny, I was instantly reminded of a recent dinner conversation with a colleague on this paper. He commented that regrettably, there remain few good Shavian actors. I agreed, but added that Shaw would prove a challenge…
Dear Pia, Here I sit, all breathless and giddy (as you were on-stage), almost as short and adorable, wondering how I can praise your immense theatrical gifts enough in one scant review. You bring to mind an interview, years ago, with a big-lipped British rock star who rejected my idea…
“I don’t see how that time could turn into this time,” agonizes an ex-Royal Air Force officer, remembering the days when jobs seemed to rain from the heavens over his merry ol’ nation and nice girls dared not drink in pubs. Songs of romance and loverly dreams hypnotized comely couples…
From stage left of the paint-splattered canvas set – designed to evoke faded brain cells – music begins. Themes from glaring examples of lowdown popular trash, such as snippets of the McDonald’s song about deserving a break today and the twice-incarnated Addams Family whistle, waft ominously through the air. Like…
Lately, there’s been a lot of tongue-clucking and finger-pointing at Brian C. Smith’s Off Broadway Theatre. The artistic director stands accused of pandering to a predominantly Jewish audience in the (often futile) attempt to make a profit producing live theater. And the critics who make these accusations certainly offer enough…
After watching the recent Los Angeles debacle – and numbed by the evidence of mankind’s inability to coexist peacefully and democratically – a thought struck me: While the inner cities were screaming and burning, the plutocratic residents of Beverly Hills and Bel Air were probably resting their massaged bodies on…
One of the most subtle, powerful, and potentially hazardous relationships is that which takes place between father and child. In an effort to project masculinity and strength, fathers sometimes trample hearts; as a legacy, they may leave behind mixed messages and hard memories. They don’t yield as easily as mothers,…
Guillermo Gentile is the David Lynch of playwrights: either you get his work or you don’t, either you fall into the fantastic and misshapen spell he weaves, or you leave the theater disturbed and confused. Challenging and surrealistic, his With Folded Wings won the 1989 Best Play Award from the…
Having just coordinated a three-day conference with some of theater’s finest critics and scholars (hosted by New World School of the Arts, with performances by NWSA and Florida International University that did the area much good, as far as credibility goes), I attended numerous panels about the theatrical body, and…
In one senseless scene from The Lion in Winter, actress Susan Clark as Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine plants her body on-stage like a lead stump and bellows to the audience, “We have done a big thing badly.” She’s referring to her hellish relationship with husband King Henry II, but her…
Glasses clink behind the bar, air conditioners grind on and off, and bodies, covered in more make-up than clothing, swing from the rafters. It’s difficult to see, sometimes impossible to hear, but the rumble of excitement builds to a near-erotic pitch. These houses quickly sell out, no matter how bad…
In the spirit of growth, the New World School of the Arts (recently named the best arts high school in the country by Redbook magazine) presents a conference and play festival featuring the work of critic/translator/author/playwright Eric Bentley, who introduced American audiences to Brecht and Pirandello, and who today remains…
During one wrenching scene near the end of Lee Blessing’s Independence, the oldest sister, Kess, tries to convince her unstable mother and two bitter siblings to join in a civil afternoon tea and say positive things about one another. According to the town psychiatrist, she insists, it’s more important to…
