I was trying to remember the name of the instructor of that play writing course, and I’m pretty sure it was Mark Berman, at least that’s the first name that popped into my head. Somewhere, I’m sure, I have a copy of an assignment with his name on it, but I can’t find any right … Continue reading The Gift of the Kiln
Theatre
7 Up
I wrote before about the playwriting course that I took during my first year at Penn State. And here’s the thing: I’m pretty sure that I can remember each of the other students who were in that course, eight of us altogether, all of the others Theatre Arts majors naturally, although I can’t recall any … Continue reading 7 Up
Money Is Like Manure
In 1937 Thornton Wilder decided to take some stock characters that had been known to theatre-goers since ancient Greek and Roman times and create a modern farce. Using some 19th century plays as his inspiration, he took “a cantankerous curmudgeon, a naïve ingénue, a brass and buxom heroine, and a bumbling servant” and wrote The … Continue reading Money Is Like Manure
A Well Balanced Cast
View fullsize Bebe Neuwirth I’m back from seeing the Philadelphia Theatre Company’s production of Adam Bock’s one act play A Small Fire starring Bebe Neuwirth, and I’m happy to report that there were two delightful surprises.The first one had nothing to do with the play. A few minutes before the show was to begin, as … Continue reading A Well Balanced Cast
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
View fullsize This afternoon I attended the Lantern Theater Company’s matinée performance of Bertolt Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui. Brecht used the Chicago gangster milieu of the 1920s to show how Hitler (and by extension, any authoritarian dictator) could so easily rise to power. The play was very well acted and directed, as … Continue reading The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Walk This Way
View fullsize I spent an enjoyable afternoon with my friend Paula at the Walnut Street Theatre’s production of Young Frankenstein.It was fun and I enjoyed it, but I mostly smiled my way through the first act, as almost all the jokes and business were the same as in the movie, which I must have seen … Continue reading Walk This Way
The Signed Playbill
As I wrote a couple months ago, I went to see the Walnut Street Theatre’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical after meeting my neighbor’s future daughter in law, Lindsey Bliven, who was appearing as “the mean one” in the show. Well, Lindsey got the entire cast to sign a Playbill for me, and … Continue reading The Signed Playbill
Legally Musical?
View fullsize Yesterday I saw the Walnut Street Theatre’s production of Legally Blonde: The Musical and I enjoyed it.It’s a genuine musical comedy, filled with likeable characters, high voltage dance numbers, and committed performances; the only thing it lacks is music—but I’ll get to that.Last week when I saw my neighbor Georgia, she introduced me … Continue reading Legally Musical?
The Bard’s #MeToo Comedy
After I saw a production of the Scottish play a few years ago, I decided I wasn’t going to go to see any more Shakespeare plays because the language was too much of a barrier for me to enjoy them in live performance. View fullsize Then a few weeks ago I noticed that the Lantern … Continue reading The Bard’s #MeToo Comedy
An Enchanted Afternoon?
View fullsize Liat and Lt. Cable (Alison T. Chi and Ben Michael) As I've written previously, South Pacific is my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, so I was looking forward to the Walnut Street Theatre's current production.I like sitting front row center when possible, but the ticket I bought was for the far right seat, … Continue reading An Enchanted Afternoon?