Theater

Kenneth Gentry, founder and acting chief executive officer of NETworks Presentations LLC has announced the addition of Orin Wolf to the company's executive staff. Effective July 1, Wolf will act as t

Irish Repertory Theatre, Off Broadway By Jason Rost BOTTOM LINE: A hauntingly human feat of Irish storytelling. You can tell a lot about an Irishman by what pint of beer he drinks. A glass of pitch black Guinness from the draught is the only acceptable option in the world of Conor McPherson’s country pub in his 1997 play The Weir. When the Guinness draught is inoperable though, as it is at the top of this play, you know you’re in for an evening of unexpected events. The next best beverage would be Guinness in the bottle, followed by Harp in dead last. All of these are complimented by a “small one” on the side – a shot of Irish whiskey. A glass of white wine is a pure anomaly that can throw the entire world off track. Or, open a portal to an eternal evening of folklore, ghost stories and tales of grief and loneliness. What’s truly being served up in this Irish Repertory Theater production of McPherson’s play though is a master class in storytelling under the crafty direction of Ciarán O’Reilly set in a richly detailed pub designed here by Charlie Corcoran complete with working taps.

Access Theatre, Crashbox Theatre, Off Off Broadway By Adrienne Urbanski BOTTOM LINE: Crashbox Theater shines once again in this well-performed production which explores family, love, and loss. You know that feeling of dread you experience during the last few minutes of a really good play, when you’re fully engrossed and aware that in mere moments the play will be over, thus meaning that the world you have been sucked so completely into is about to close? That’s the exact way I felt during the final moments of both of Crashbox Theatre’s recent productions of Hunting and Gathering and The Liddy Plays. Wisely, Crashbox chose to devote their entire season to Brooke Berman, and producing high quality works from a gifted writer really creates a perfect marriage of talents, giving this small theater company the opportunity to showcase the obvious abilities they possess as a group. Whereas Hunting and Gathering was a revival of a well-received work, their latest production is of a previously unproduced play of Berman’s, The Liddy Plays, written while she was still finding her footing as a playwright. The play centers on Liddy (Keilly McQuail) and is divided into parts, each showing Liddy at a different time in her life. A projection screen in the corner flashes titles relevant to the different scenes of the play, and previous to the start of the play shows childhood photos of the actors, connecting to the theme of family.

The 63rd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards were presented on Thursday, May 23 at famed theater district eatery Sardi's. Former winners including Judy Kaye, Michael McGrath, and Donna Murphy were on

“There is a way to be good again" The final moments of this rendering of Khaled Hosseini’s epic 2003 novel The Kite Runner are really something special indeed, capturing the quiet ecstasy of redemptive hope with the subtlest of performances and a theatrical elegance that is gently breath-taking. But Giles Croft’s production, first seen in Nottingham and making its way next to Liverpool, takes a long time to get there, hobbled by a pedestrian adaptation by Matthew Spangler which exploits little of the storytelling possibilities within and lacks the excitement to really make it soar into the sky alongside the multi-coloured kites that play such a vital role in this tale of two young Afghan boys, Amir and Hassan, and their unlikely friendship. It’s improbable because Hassan is the son of Amir’s father’s servant and belongs to a different ethnic group yet despite their differences, a strong bond exists between the pair, typified by the way they work together in the kite flying competitions that enliven their Kabul childhood. A brutal incident involving Hassan sets in chain a tragic turn of events though and as the heavy tide of history starts to turn, forcing Amir and his father to flee the war that erupts as the incoming Taliban take over Afghanistan, not even decades and continents can prevent the need for Amir to seek redemption. The sweep of the story is certainly grand but Spangler’s script is mired in the prosaic and banal, overly focused on the descriptive and rarely delving into the rich emotion beneath the surface. Ben Turner’s Amir perfectly epitomises this dilemma, only intermittently able to bring the necessary depth of character to this conflicted young man as he constantly has to duck in and out of scenes to give us the next segment of narration, but he is good at showing us the boyish cowardice that Amir struggles to grow out of. For those able to stay in the scenes though, there’s much more compelling work, especially from Farshid Rokey as the fiercely loyal Hassan and latterly as Hassan’s son, he of the enigmatic smile, Nicholas Karimi as the sociopathic Assef who finds his spiritual home in the harsh regime of the invaders and from Emilio Doorgasingh as Amir’s father, who never loses his pride even as he is forced into menial work when they start their new, very different life on the west coast of the USA. But though the cast are effective, the sense of unused potential pervades this production, exacerbated by the moments that do flare into gorgeous life. The kite flying scenes are mesmerising in their simplicity, the moonlit escape across the mountains most effective, the first meeting with the attractive daughter of a fellow ex-pat. Hanif Khan’s onstage table-playing adds an authentic rhythm to many of the scenes, but Barney George’s design is largely too polite to ever suggest heat and dirt and real life, whether in Kabul’s back streets or San Francisco’s flea markets. What it does provide is cool elegance and a chimerical ability to quickly shift, aided by William Simpson’s projections, ensuring a fluid journey throughout. Whilst the story will move you - surely only the hardest of hearts could remain unaffected - this production rarely transports you. It is undoubtedly somewhat entertaining and the near-complete standing ovation is testament to that, but The Kite Runner is seldom exciting enough to fully exploit its theatrical potential and really involve us with the grandly epic emotion of its storytelling in a presentation that invents and inspires such as in that glorious final scene. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes (with interval) Booking until 25th May, then playing Liverpool Originally written for The Public Reviews

LCT3 is the best ticket deal in NYC. And tickets for their next production, A Kid Like Jake are now in sale! Here is the description:Alex (Carla Gugino) and her husband, Greg (Peter Grosz), want only the best for their precocious four-year-old, Jake. When they apply to New York City private schools, part of what makes Jake special - his passion for Cinderella and dress-up - starts to cause concern. The story of a husband and wife trying to do right by their son.LCT3 presents A KID LIKE JAKE A New Play by Daniel Pearle Directed by Evan Cabnet with Caroline Aaron, Michelle Beck, Peter Grosz, Carla Gugino June 2 - July 14 at the Claire Tow Theater For Tickets: Click Here

I was going to write a snappy little intro to the blog and talk about the crazy number of entries we got, and how much fun my entire staff and I have reading all these playlets . . . but you don’t want to hear that.  You just want to know which 10 Ten Minute Plays made it to the finals. So, without any further  bugaboo, here are your Ten Minute Play finalists, in alpha order (so don’t try to read anything into it): 1.  Bayonets of Angst: The Story of Lincoln and McClellan by Rick Kunzi and Justin Zeppa 2.  Gifted by Chris Nelson 3.  Gun Play by Chris Friden 4.  Happy Trails! by James Pravasilis 5.  Jake & Lindsay by Garrit Guadan and Justin Anthony Long 6.  Landscape With the Fall of Icarus by Simon de Carvalho 7.  Meeting Mr. Right by Stephan de Ghelder 8.  MTA: The Musical by Peter Saxe 9.  Pointlessness by Marissa Lee Kohn 10.  Taking the Plunge by Greg Edwards and Amanda Louise Miller Congratulations to all of you!  You’re all guaranteed to walk home with $50, just for being a finalist, and one of you is adding another zero to that prize and getting a sweet $500. How will we decide which one will win?  Well, plays, 10 minutes or not, were not made to be read, they were made to be seen.  So we’re putting up all 10 of them! On Thursday June 20th at 7 PM at our studios, we’re presenting a 10 minute Play Festival featuring the 10 plays above, and you’ll help choose the winner!  Get your tickets here and we’ll see you there. And congrats again, finalists! (Got a comment? I love ‘em, so comment below! Email Subscribers, click here then scroll down to say what’s on your mind!) _ _ FUN STUFF: - Play our Tony Pool and you can win an iPad.  Click here to enter and win! - Win 2 Tickets to Murder Ballad!  Click here to enter. - Only 44 performances of Macbeth remain!  Get tix.

DON'T FORGET! YOU PICK THE CATEGORIES FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL JKTS AWARDS! NOW EXTENDED! POLL CLOSES SUNDAY AT NOONChristopher Rice and Clay ThomsonIt all started when I posted the picture to your right. It went with a "Face of the Future" feature on Matilda's Clay Thomson (HERE). It hadn't even been posted 10 minutes when I got three emails asking "who is the other guy in that picture?" By the end of the day, more than two dozen of you wrote to ask the same thing! So I figured I'd better reach out to that "other guy." A little Googling and a few Tweets later, and I got one of Broadway's nicest "new guys," Christopher Rice, to do an interview, so you could get to know "the other guy in the picture." These days, he's got the daunting task of being a 7 track swing in a little show called The Book of Mormon. And now, without further ado, here are:5 Quick Questions withChristopher RiceQUESTION ONE:Jeff: Hi, Christopher! Thanks so much for taking time out to chat with JK's TheatreScene. You are the very first cast member of The Book of Mormonthat I've had the pleasure of talking with, and you are the first "Swing," too! So, let's start there... Being a swing is one of those things I hear people - even avid theatre fans - talk about, but with little actual knowledge. Maybe you can clear it up for us. What does a swing do? How does that differ from being an understudy? And are you "on call" or actually at the theatre every night? Finally, what specifically do you cover in The Book of Mormon?Christopher: Thanks for having me. A swing’s job is to be able to jump in for any role that you cover at any moment. You learn all of their onstage performance responsibilities as well as their offstage traffic. Your job is to make the show run as if the actor usually in the role was still there and for everything to run smoothly. At this point, I cover the 7 “Mormon boys” and all of their features. Understudies are usually onstage every night in an ensemble or smaller role. There are such things as on-stage swings, but in my case I show up at the theatre every night and am ready to jump in when needed. I also perform when people take vacations, etc.Christopher: (Left) Me with the marquee the day I got "the call!"(Right) In my "Hell Dream" costumeChristopher: Moving into my dressingChristopher: First weekend on BroadwayQUESTION TWO:Jeff: How often have you gotten to go on in the show? Have you ever had to swing one track for one show and a completely different track the next show? How about a mid-show replacement? No matter what, though, it must be a thrill to be a part of such a huge cultural phenomenon! Are the fans crazy when you arrive at and/or leave the theatre each day? Has your family been to see you in the show? They must be very proud, huh?Christopher: For a many number of reasons, I have been on quite a bit since I began in early March. I haven’t gone on for all 7 tracks yet, but I have done shows back to back as separate characters. Yeah, it is a blessing to be a part of such a great musical with such supportive fans. Hopefully my family can make the trip to see me in the show soon!Christopher: Me as Mark in A Chorus Lineat Stages St. Louis - Summer 2011(Photo by Peter Wochniak)QUESTION THREE:Jeff: You've also been a part of two other shows that are true American cultural touchstones. First, your BOM bio says you've been in A Chorus Line four times! Is your background in dance? What roles have you played in that show? As a performer, how does that show touch you/affect you? Why do you think it continues to strike a chord in audiences nearly 40 years after its debut - even non-performers?Christopher: I’ve worked really hard to become the best singer, dancer, and actor I can be. I was whipped into shape in my college dance classes, but I pushed myself really hard because I had a long way to go. In A Chorus Line (my favorite show by the way!) I’ve played both Mark and Mike (“I Can Do That”). Well, technically in

In 2006, Once was a small budget film. Its success escalated quickly, and not only won a Grammy for its soundtrack, but an Academy award too. Six years later the story made its way to Broadway, where it won a total of eight Tony Awards. So it was only a matter of time before London got a taste of Once, too and I am so glad that it did. Set in Dublin, it tells the story of a man busking with his folk-rock songs and is befriended by a quirky Czech woman whilst playing. It seems as if he is ready to give up on his music and his former love that inspired the songs, but ‘Girl’ questions him, and when she finds out that he also fixes hoovers for a living, she asks him to repair her broken one; but says she can only repay him in music. They soon set off on a whirlwind week, recording the songs so that ‘Guy’ can make money and get his former girlfriend back, who now lives in New York. Once is a musical unlike any other I’ve ever seen with it’s strongest point being its utter simplicity in every form and proves immediately that you don’t need a revolving stage or extravagant costumes to make a show that will remain with its audiences forever. It is still very true to the film too. Playwright Enda Walsh has done a magnificent job of adapting the script to still include all the best parts of the movie, and also added in some new quirks – my favourite being the Character Billy, the music shop owner who barely has a presence in the film. Aidan Kelly does a sterling job of playing the old, disillusioned rocker with a heart of gold. The Czech flatmates and mother also provide another level of depth and comedy to the story too, mostly while discussing their love for Irish soap opera Fair City and perfecting their Dublin accents. The set, a rustic Irish pub, designed by Bob Crowley, (which you are invited to inspect closer whilst visiting the on-stage bar before the show and in the interval) provides us with a base for the story to take place, and the mirrors that hang on every square inch of wall allow us a reflection of the musical action on stage, in the audience. Add to this the genius use of lighting by Natasha Katz, which turns the pub into a hoover shop, a bedroom, a bank and a recording studio and you feel absolutely no need for any other form of scenery. My personal favourite highlight of both Crowley and Katz’ work is seen in the cliff-top scene – while the lead characters stand above the set, a whole town can be seen twinkling below. The award winning songs by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová are by far the best part of the show. Thanks to the complete naturalism of ‘Guy’ (Declan Bennett) and ‘Girl’ (Zrinka Cviteši?) you find yourself completely immersed in the music and lyrics and your heart swells as you take in the breathtaking beauty of the melodies– particularly in the song ‘Gold’ which marks the end of Act One. What I love so much about this show is that it is completely unlike anything else in the West End at the moment; there’s no massive set or even a particularly elaborate storyline but its naturalism, its heart and music are entirely worth the visit alone. I think its something that the West End needs and hope to see it run for a long time. Once is playing The Phoenix Theatre until 30 November 2013. For more information and tickets, see the Official Once, The Musical website. Photography by Richard Lakos. The post Review: Once, The Musical appeared first on A Younger Theatre.

The Pulse Festival is full of goodies in Ipswich, Nicholas Wright's Vincent in Brixton begins the summer season in Keswick, and Chris Goode is in Bristol and PlymouthScotland and Northern IrelandCaryl Churchill's remarkable play Far Away, set in a world constantly at war, is revived by Dominic Hill at the Citizens in Glasgow, alongside a much lesser-known work, Seagulls. Fox Attack, a new play from China, is at Oran Mor. Head to the Tron for The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish, which then heads to Eden Court in Inverness. Worth seeing at the Traverse in Edinburgh over the next week: the early Beckett novella, First Love, Flann O'Brien's The Poor Mouth and Peter Arnott's Why Do You Stand There in the Rain? which had too short a run at Edinburgh last year and which deals with the 1932 march on Washington by second world war veterans. Calum's Road is back out on tour and this week can be the Theatre Royal in Dumfries, and Perth and Brunton Theatres. Full details here. Ellie Harrison's solo show, Etiquette of Grief, is at the Nairn Theatre near Inverness on Saturday.David Ireland's comedy about love and loss, Can't Forget About You, joins Graham Reid's Love, Billy which is in its final couple of days at the Lyric in Belfast.NorthThe world's greatest detective returns in Sherlock Holmes – The Best Kept Secret which is at West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds. Alan Bennett's The History Boys is revived at the Sheffield Crucible. In the Crucible studio the myths that it's grim up north are dispelled in A Wondrous Place, four new plays from Luke Barnes, Alison Carr, Matt Hartley and Sarah McDonald Hughes. Philip Meeks's Murder, Marple and Me about Margaret Rutherford is at Harrogate Theatre. Daniel Bye's The Price of Everything and The News at 9.15 are at Hull Truck. The Misanthrope at York Theatre Royal until Saturday is followed by Rutherford and Son. Both worth your time. Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory's Two Gentlemen of Verona breezes into the Stephen Joseph in Scarborough. Mikron Theatre's Beyond the Veil, a comedy musical about murder and bees goes out on tour this weekend from Marsden Mechanics Hall and plays allotments all week. Check out the website here.Theatre by the Lake begins its summer season with Nicholas Wright's excellent Vincent in Brixton, about Van Gogh's 1872 stay in SW2, and Philip King's second world war farce, See How they Run. Alistair McDowall's Brilliant Adventures moves to Live Theatre in Newcastle. Liverpool Playhouse gets a first glimpse of Nikolai Foster's fine revival of Jonathan Harvey's still important and necessary, Beautiful Thing. Michael Pinchbeck's The Middle and Shelia Ghelani's Rat, Rose, Bird should make a terrific double bill at Z Arts in Manchester as part of Word of Warning. Ockham's Razor's Thoreau inspired Not Until We Are Lost is very lovely at the Lowry. Pam Gems's Piaf is at the Octagon in Bolton. Central and EastThe Theatre Royal in Nottingham hosts Propeller's Twelfth Night and The Taming of the Shrew from Wednesday. Meanwhile at Lakeside the Wheee! festival caters for young audiences with shows including Frozen Charlotte's Paperbelle and Puppet State's modern classic, The Man Who Planted Trees. There's a fantastic programme for children in Leicester too where the Curve and other venues play host to the Spark Festival. Lee Hall's funny and moving The Pitman Painters goes into Derby Theatre. Hairspray will put a smile on your face at Birmingham Hippodrome. Victoria Melody goes barking mad in Major Tom at the Parabola in Cheltenham tomorrow night. Pirates of the Carabina's circus show, Flown, brings chaos and acrobatics to Warwick Arts Centre. Brian Friel's beautiful Dancing at Lughnasa begins at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton.Next Thursday, the Pulse festival begins in Ipswich and gives a good indication of the health of British theatre. There's some terrific work on offer including pieces from Kindle, Hannah Nicklin, Annie Siddons and more. Check out the programme