Christina Carson News

It's the most wonderful time of the year, especially for the Group Rep at the Lonny Chapman Theatre, which for 38 years has provided holiday cheer for children-in-need.

The Group Rep presents Rocky the Renegade Reindeer , written by Craig Alpaugh, directed by Robert Axelrod. Rocky, the back-up reindeer for Santa Claus, organizes a strike among the other reindeer on Christmas Eve. Can Santa save the day?

Early Albee is better than no Albee at all, but a recent look at his The American Dream, circa 1960, shows how he had not quite settled into a style of his own. Now onstage at Group rep in NoHo, the one-act belongs to the Theatre of the Absurd, and like any good vaudeville, pokes fun at just about everything from the instability of marriage to poor child rearing to abuse of the elderly. The American Dream in this case is a young stud (Andre Jack) with a muscle t-shirt who could be Mommy and Daddy's son but instead is a boy toy who may bring some joy to the faltering marriage bed but certainly not in the same way the American Dream envisions. Apart from belonging to the absurdist camp, the play reminded me of British farce where the language is inane and the actions about equal. The character American Dream is akin to Sloane in Entertaining Mr. Sloane without the evil slant. Here he is innocence personified; in Sloane, no. Albee protests fiercely against the idol rich, as Mommy, Daddy and Grandma all come from a well.to.do clan...and they are obviously squandering too much time and energy.

The Group Rep presents Edward Albee's The American Dream. The play is directed and produced by Alyson York and runs tonight, March 14 - April 12, 2015.

The Group Rep presents Edward Albee's The American Dream. The play is directed and produced by Alyson York and runs March 14 - April 12, 2015.