Trish Vignola - Page 5

As sure as you count on a female lead killing herself, you can be sure that Ibsen will take on a social problem in his work. In Rosmersholm, Ibsen takes on the conflict of developing new social ideals against the conservative underpinnings of a community. Sounds familiar, huh? (I still don't have health insurance.) In a typical Ibsen play, humanity serves to highlight the social problem. However, the social problem takes a total back seat to a melodramatic romance in Rosmersholm.

Waiting for the Dream is a hilarious production that I only wish ran longer. This production deserves as large of an audience as possible. When Hovnatan Avedikian bursts on to the stage as Puck, he promptly crashes into a brick wall. Finally, we have a Ninja-kicking Puck for the 21st Century. Brook also actually directs this production with an opinion. By downplaying the romanticism, she actually chooses to direct her energies toward the idea of 'dreams' and how dreams play into the piece.

The World Premiere of Dorothy Fortenberry's The Good Egg runs now through November 7, 2010 at the LABA Theatre at the 14th Street Y. Directed by Kel Haney and produced by The Red Fern Theatre Company, The Good Egg is a story about the limits of unconditional love. I know that statement seems a bit weird. How can love have limits if it's unconditional?

Ritter, Dene, Voss is a delicious Beckett-meets-Brechtian farce. Thomas Bernhard explores the themes of sexual repression and familial rivalry (a fun combo) with great resolve and humor. Ritter, Dene, Voss introduces us to two sisters, who are part-time actresses and full-time heiresses. They are charged with the societal reintegration of their tormented genius brother Ludwig, a part-time philosopher and full-time grandstander, who has returned from a mental health institute. The result? They swallow each other alive.

The Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning Ma-Yi Theater Company opens its 2010-2011 Off-Broadway season with the World Premiere of Michael Lew's play, Microcrisis. Running now through October 23rd and directed by Ma-Yi Artistic Director, Ralph Pena, Microcrisis is a comedic look at the financial crisis running rampant over our retirement dreams. (Yes, they found comedy in this. What do you expect from the generation raised on "Schoolhouse Rock"?) Microcrisis is hip, thought-provoking and funny as hell.

Ritter, Dene, Voss is a delicious Beckett-meets-Brechtian farce. Thomas Bernhard explores the themes of sexual repression and familial rivalry (a fun combo) with great resolve and humor. Ritter, Dene, Voss introduces us to two sisters, who are part-time actresses and full-time heiresses. They are charged with the societal reintegration of their tormented genius brother Ludwig, a part-time philosopher and full-time grandstander, who has returned from a mental health institute. The result? They swallow each other alive.

Why would someone even want to revive this show? It's insufferably long. It clocks in at three hours, not counting an intermission. If I'm dedicating three hours of my life to your play, I hope you're Eugene O'Neill. Secondly, Wilson's characters are damaged beyond empathy. (Think Tracy Letts without the charm.) They also completely lack dimension. Openly-gay Wilson actually made the character of Larry, a homosexual, a complete and utter punch line. You can argue that Burn This could be an exercise in 'phoning it in.'

The script wasn't perfect, but its potential far outweighed its faults. Although the characters weren't written to the top of their intelligence, they were each allowed to have moments of incredible personal discovery. That's a rarity, even for the glossiest of productions a couple of blocks south.

Four Choreographers Share a Week at the Joyce Theater runs now through August 14th. If you are a dance fan, it's a great opportunity to check out four American choreographers. If you have a little dancer at home, it's a great opportunity to expose them to the creativity and limitless bounds of contemporary dance. Nonetheless, when you go, I hope at least the sound team on Bright Land gets themselves in order or else you will lose most of what you came to see. Tickets start at $10 and are available at 212-242-0800 or www.joyce.org.

Million Dollar Quartet is an electrifying musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis for the first and only time on December 4th, 1956. The Broadway production is still going strong with the original Chicago cast, three Tony nominations and one win, but don't count the Chicago production out yet. It's still rocking with a new cast now through January 2nd at the Apollo Theater.

The redeeming quality of this piece is its amazing cast of actors, specifically Anderson, Guinan and Weiler. They bring a dimensionality and life to some pretty lifeless characters. It should be noted though, that I am a fan of these guys, specifically Guinan. He could read the phone book and I would buy a ticket.

The plot to Dead Letter Office was convoluted. The ending, in an effort to turn a thoughtful relationship piece into a suspenseful thriller, just came off as childish. I would call the characters Dickensian, except for the fact that Dickens wrote them better... about one hundred and forty years earlier.

I'm not going to lie. The show is about fifteen minutes too long, coming in at seventy five minutes. That's a lot to ask most eight year olds to sit through. Come to think of it, that's a lot for some thirty one year olds to sit through.

Although Washington sex scandals are always in vogue, this play reads grossly out of date. (A Qaddafi reference, really?) In juxtaposition, the contemporary references that were placed to update the show felt forced and awkward.

The plot to Dead Letter Office was convoluted. The ending, in an effort to turn a thoughtful relationship piece into a suspenseful thriller, just came off as childish. I would call the characters Dickensian, except for the fact that Dickens wrote them better... about one hundred and forty years earlier.

Let's face it. The chance to see an incredibly dynamic cast, like Endgame, is an honor that does not come along every day. The audience of last night's show behaved absolutely terribly and made the show incredibly hard to watch. Yeah, Beckett is not an easy playwright to absorb. I get that. However, that does not give you the right to let your cell phone ring multiple times in a show. Unless you are a doctor (and in that case, put it on vibrate), you are not that important. Oh, and the coup de grace? The man next to me was outright heckling William Petersen. What? This isn't Zannies (and even if it was, that's still not acceptable).

Hephaestus: A Greek Mythology Circus Tale is definitely more circus than theatre per say. However, Hephaestus is easy one of the most visually stunning shows I've ever seen. From the stunts, to the incredible lighting, to the remarkable sound design, if you don't walk away thoroughly satisfied, you walked into the wrong show. The Silverguys and Silvergirls provide a delightful punch of humor that rivals the Blueman (minus the Twinkies). Also, it's pretty hard to forget Iris (Erendira Vazquez Wallenda) flying above your head, bedecked in Rainbow colored lights. And the Finale? The seven man highwire pyramid above the audience without a net can best be described as insane (and by insane, I mean awesome)!