Reviews
Theater Review: The Last Night of Ballyhoo
One of the most insidious evils of racial and ethnic discrimination is the way that those people being excluded start to buy into the prejudices of the dominant class, feeling shame and self hatred for those physical and cultural traits that characterize their own group. A classic example of this was the “brown paper bag…
Director picks the play, but how?
There’s a certain glamour associated with being the director of a play. After all, you’re the boss. You get to tell everyone what to do — when to be coy, when to be amorous. When to go for the big laugh, and when to tug at heartstrings. Do a great job and you just might…
Celebrate Neil Simon’s 50 Year Old Comedy “Barefoot in the Park” at Theatre Works
Our first walk-up was in Chicago, on Oak Street, and Lake Michigan was a block away. The year was 1955 and Bill and I were sublimely in love. He bought me a volume of Edna St. Vincent Millay (wild and red-haired like me, he said). The sound of Dennis Brain playing the early bars of…
Simon’s ‘Barefoot In The Park’ A Strong Opener For TheatreWorks Season
NEW MILFORD — This year New Milford’s TheatreWorks has chosen to open their 2014 season with an old favorite from the Sixties: Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park. This was made into a hilarious movie, starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford as the young newlyweds bravely starting off their married life in a sixth-floor walk-up…
Simon’s Newlyweds Still Funny
*** 1/2 (three and a half out of five stars) Most readers will remember Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park” as the 1967 film starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda. However, the story of two young newlyweds who quickly learn that marriage is more than five steep flights of stairs started as a romantic comedy…
‘Barefoot in the Park’ at TheatreWorks New Milford
A new play is always fun for me. I try not to research a show before I see it (which explains why I sometimes miss errors in the description section of press releases.) I did know that Neil Simon, the author of The Odd Couple, Rumors, and the books for many great musicals like They’re…
TheatreWorks Presents a Spirited Man of La Mancha
Now through January 5, you can head to the black box theater at TheatreWorks New Milford to experience the iconic Man of La Mancha, a 1965 musical chronicling Miguel de Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, as he acts out his beloved character awaiting trial during the Spanish Inquisition. With expert direction by Francis A. Daley, the…
TheatreWorks performed in ‘Earnest’
Leonard Diamond’s “Earnest or What’s in a Name” has a lot going for it. Mostly, Oscar Wilde’s play “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Diamond’s musical version is based on Wilde’s classic. However, Diamond’s opening scene, not Wilde’s, can be confusing if audience members don’t recognize that Oscar wrote “The Importance of Being Earnest,” and that…
Light and Delightful: Earnest or What’s in a Name?
TheatreWorks New Milford is to be commended for hosting the world premiere of the delightful musical comedy Earnest or What’s in a Name? The two-act play is an original and extremely entertaining adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ — and is presented in the distinctive, light style of Gilbert and Sullivan. Book,…
Here’s a Jolly Look at, Well, Musicals
The title tells it all: “The musical of Musicals (The Musical!)” is a fitfully funny, often charming parody of five musical theater styles. It is also a vehicle for over-the-top performances from a cast of four and a narrator-cum pianist. Currently playing at Theatreworks in New Milford, where the pianist/director/musical director/choreographer/set designer (whew!) is the…