Coast of Utopia, The
Lincoln Center - Vivian Beaumont Theater

The second play in The Coast of Utopia trilogy, Shipwreck, in Moscow and Paris, includes the 1848 revolution, and the Paris set is amazing before and during the revolt.The style of the whole production is brilliant, and the stage pictures would be a reason to see it.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
January 2007
Coast of Utopia, The
Lincoln Center - Vivian Beaumont Theater

In part three of The Coast of Utopia, Tom Stoppard continues exploring the hopes and naïvete of early Russian revolutionaries mid-1800's. Although the gorgeous pageantry designed by Bob Crowley and Scott Pask scattered throughout the play when there are short scenes with lots of people totally engage us with their beauty and flowing imagination, the conversations do not, except when there is a break in form about them, such as a section in lively sprichstimme - a kind of lively spoken operetta with music.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
April 2007
Permanent Collection
10th Avenue Theater

"Racist!"

A single word that changed the destiny of so many people. One word spoken in anger drives Irish-American playwright Thomas Gibbon's Permanent Collection. The writer explored race relations in an earlier work, speaking with both the white voice and the black voice (for which he has been be criticized).

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
February 2008
Color Purple, The
West 53rd Street

After a rousing opening ("Mysterious Ways"), The Color Purple moves along capably enough, telling its now-famous Cinderella story via gospelly pop and showtuney jazz-blues. Everybody sings just great (and Renee Elise Goldsberry, as Celie's exiled sister, is a find), and there are times when the musical perks up with real Broadway gusto (e.g., Harpo and Sophie's duet, "Any Little Thing," which surprises with each new verse). But truth be told, most of Purple is a bland bore.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
December 2005
Color Purple, The
West 53rd Street

The Color Purple, based on Alice Walker's novel, book by Marsha Norman, music and lyrics by Brenda Russell, Alii Willis and Staphen Bray, is a musical about transformation: from the pits to the heights, from slave to success, from ogre to kind man -- it's like a hundred-year- old melodrama mixed with the contrast to the central drama of old ladies twittering. It's two shows: cute, funny rural characters and a young girl's tragic story. LaChanze, who plays the lead, is an amazing performer, and gives a transcendent performance.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
December 2005
Company
Ethel Barrymore Theater

Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Company, now on Broadway, is another brilliant conception by John Doyle who takes a great, old, ground-breaking musical to another dimension (as he did with Sweeney Todd last season). The actor/singers are the orchestra, and we can see and hear them as they play. It is fascinating, crazy, delightful as performed on David Gallo's simple (perfect for the conceit of this production) set and Thomas C. Hase's great lighting design.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
December 2006
Company
Ethel Barrymore Theater

If you've pigeonholed Stephen Sondheim's musicals as unremittingly clever and cerebral, this impassioned revival of Company will be a revelation. Raul Esparza is utterly, urgently adorable as Robert, the central character who finds himself reaching his 35th birthday unattached and still scared by the pitfalls of commitment.

Perry Tannenbaum
Date Reviewed:
November 2007
Cook, Barbara

see Criticopia review(s) under Barbara Cook

Copenhagen
Royale Theater

How's this for a pitch for a Broadway show?:

Jason Clark
Date Reviewed:
April 2000
Copenhagen
Royale Theater

In Michael Frayn's intense, thoughtful play Copenhagen, two physicists, Niels Bohr (Philip Bosco), a Danish Jew and father of quantum mechanics, and Werner Heisenberg (Michael Cumpsty), Bohr's young German protegee and author of "The Uncertainty Principle," meet in some sort of afterlife to debate the meaning of their lives, their collaboration, and their ideological conflicts.  Most specifically, they re-live a mysterious meeting that took place in Denmark in 1941, when Heisenberg was chief of the Nazi A-bomb project.

Simon Saltzman
Date Reviewed:
May 2000
Coram Boy
Imperial Theater

Coram Boy, adapted by Helen Edmundson from the novel by Jamila Gavin, is a Dickensian melodrama, a tale of brutal murder in the 18th Century told with a great deal of mournfully grotesque style punctuated with the magnificent music of Handel and Handelesque music by Adrian Sutton. We get lively schoolboys in chorus, dark pageantry and a totally predictable story: rich boy and poor boy want to be musicians (rich boy's aristocratic father objects). There is a black slave boy who is in danger, and a slimy evil-doer who kills babies (a vivid Bill Camp as the lowest of the low).

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
May 2007
Crucible, The
Virginia Theater

Another look at Arthur Miller's great, important play makes us realize the puny ambitions and paltry concerns of nearly every other dramatist out there.  In post-9/11 America, The Crucible seems less about mass hysteria and more about small-minded men trying to govern the world using half-truths and fear. Richard Eyre's acclaimed London staging plods a little around the edges (characters, when not center stage, tend to stand on the periphery with nothing else to do but quiver), but the drama's potency remains undiminished. 

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
March 2002
Crucible, The
Virginia Theater

Richard Eyre has directed a gripping, powerful production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Liam Neeson brings the main character to vivid life and is so strong, his fall is amplified when this honest man is attacked by religious fanatics in the 17th Century. Brian Murray, bringing a soft honesty to his role, gives one of the finest performances of his career, and Angela Bettis shines as the unrelenting accuser.

Richmond Shepard
Date Reviewed:
March 2002
Cabaret
Princess Of Wales Theater

The action takes place in 1929-30 Berlin, mostly in the seedy Kit Kat Klub.  As the movie, music and art capital of Europe, Berlin became a haven for young, unconventional hedonists from Britain and America -- and a turbulent hotbed for Communists and fascists, the latter claiming to be upholders of sexual morality and Aryan virtue.  Mentioned incidentally during the first act of Cabaret, the Nazis leap into action just before intermission, maintaining an unseen presence right up to the stunning new end.  En route are depictions -- spi

Alan Raeburn
Date Reviewed:
September 1999
Candide
RNT

This musical has had more versions than a cat (or Cats) has lives. Playwright Lillian Hellman went through more than a dozen drafts of the original book. The public got its first taste of the work in 1956 when Hellman read her book and I performed the music -- at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, of all places. At year's end, it reached Broadway in a production I liked; but it lasted only a few months, after which Hellman withdrew her participation. Hugh Wheeler provided a new book, and musical numbers dropped in and out during later revivals in New York and England.

Caldwell Titcomb
Date Reviewed:
July 1999
Casanova, Sublime Histrion
La Comedie Italienne

For the 30th anniversary of La Comedie Italienne, the theater company he founded with his wife, Attilio Maggiulli decided to "stretch" her talents well beyond commedia. He chose to have her do so by playing a great character not meant for an actress, one that would excite her as L'Aiglon did Bernhardt and Hamlet challenged Duse. A serious, bio-historical play would also be a change for the theater that keeps alive the tradition of the Italian players and commedia in France.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
February 2005
Carta canta
Teatro Filodrammatici

Maybe, just maybe, the enticing offer that came in the mail to research the family history will turn up something astounding -- amazing enough to impress the patronizing brother-in-law or even catch the attention of a special lady.  This is exactly what has happened to Aurelio Brandi, the lowly owner of a small stationery store.  As narrated by master character actor Ivano Marescotti, Brandi discovers that he is in fact descended from the noble Beraldis, and counts no less.  The research company unearthed a stack of documents that prove his noble roots, and our petty shopkeeper waves these

David Lipfert
Date Reviewed:
November 1999
Casper The Musical
Shaftesbury Theatre

Casper the Friendly Ghost is a familiar figure to children, and this musical is based on the theme of Casper (Siobhan Moore) being consistently harassed by his wacky uncles, Fatso (Marcus James), Stinkie (Glen Bowtell), and Stretch (David Jerome.)   Bil Con (Robert Austin) owns a mansion and is planning on renovating it.  He hires the Spookinators to rid the mansion of the ghosts.  His nebbishy nephew Donald (John Halmi) is terrified by the project and needs the friendly aid of Casper.  There's a lot of cat-and-mouse chasing as the Spookinators fight with a group of Un Dead who've been livi

Steve Cohen
Date Reviewed:
December 1999
Censor, The

(See Criticopia review(s) under "Il Censore")
http://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/2706

Ces dames pointilleuses
La Comedie Italienne

As the program reveals, Ces Dames Pointilleuses is the one Goldoni play Giorgio Strehler wanted to stage but didn't, for lack of a young-enough Arlequin, so central to commedia dell'arte. His disciple, Attilio Maggiulli, trained one (Guillaume Collignon) so the play could be put on, and-while not yet a star, he brightly leads, with acrobatics extending to atop the banisters separating the audience, the cast of characters introduced by Pantalon (Jean-Pierre Taste) .

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
November 1999
C'est Magnifique
Theatre de Nimes at Chatelet

The Cole Porter song that gives its title to this "revue" is used satirically, because the proceedings are far from magnificent in the sordid surroundings: an industrial park, with seedy hotel, greasy spoon and nondescript spaces. We get a mix of circus, mime, take-offs on movies, set pieces, joking dialogue and sight gags involving what look like workers, jokers and geeky, goofy characters who move like low-lifes, Buster Keaton, automatons and clowns in an almost indescribable manner. One does Jerry Lewis-like contortions and childlike cries.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
January 1996
Chanteuse And The Dictator, The

(see Criticopia International listing under "La Perichole")
http://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/2736

Cherry Orchard
Ortaoyuncular

Purists be warned that unless they are ready for a good laugh, Ferhan Sensoy's romp through Chekhov's Cherry Orchard will leave them cringing.  Sensoy transplants the familiar story to Turkey's Black Sea coast and has the cast sport the lilting accent characteristic of that region.  Actually it's not so outlandish a choice, since Turkey has seen a large Russian influx there.

David Lipfert
Date Reviewed:
January 2002
Ciel! Mon Feydeau!
Comedie Bastille (reopened in 2004 at Theatre Michodiere)

Based mainly on Feydeau's Le Dindon ("The Turkey"), Anthea Sogno's modern-dress adaptation also incorporates scenes from A Flea in Her Ear and adds musical numbers. Sogno claims to have done everything with love and respect for Feydeau. Ciel! certainly proceeds along harmonious lines, not limited just to the few light songs and traditional comedy's finale with dance.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
October 2003
Cloaca
The Old Vic

Pieter is in a stew on the phone as Jan barges in and rattles forth a monologue about his plans for a Cabinet post possibly going awry. Having fought with his wife, he wants to stay over but not to hear that bureaucrat Pieter may have stolen and sold pieces from his Culture Council's storerooms of unwanted art. It's now valuable and wanted for an exhibition.  The lawyer he may need also soon wants to crash at Pieter's: Tom, a newly rehabbed addict.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
October 2004
Closer
Royal National Theatre

This dark comedy by young Patrick Marber had an impressive premier at the English National Theatre in 1997 and won an Olivier, then had a disappointingly short run on Broadway. The American failure, I believe, was due to the casting of Natasha Richardson, hot off her Tony-winning performance in Cabaret. Richardson's presence led many to believe that (a) hers was the lead role, and (b) her character was youthful and immature like Sally Bowles.  But Closer is written for four characters of equal importance, two male, two female.

Steve Cohen
Date Reviewed:
December 1999
Comedy Of Errors, The
Shakespeare's Globe

This is in number of lines the shortest of Shakespeare's plays, but it is nonetheless particularly crowded with incident. The dramatist took most of his story from Plautus and observed the unities of time and place.

Caldwell Titcomb
Date Reviewed:
July 1999
Comedy Of The Last Dinner, The
Niavaran Artistic Creations Foundation

Farhad Ayiish assembled a group of talented film and TV actors for his sparkling Comedy Of The Last Dinner, which had an extended run this past fall at the Niavaran cultural center, opposite Niavaran Park in northern Tehran.  Ayiish's long stay in the US probably accounted for the American-style direct contact the players established with the audience.  The action involved eight ingenuous eccentric guests at a fateful dinner party.  Each one was so caught up in his own super-high-priority concerns that the others were but a captive audience. 

David Lipfert
Date Reviewed:
November 2000
Core pazzo
Teatro Mercadante

Galleria Toledo artistic director Laura Angiulli has created a unique spectacle for popular singer Nino D'Angelo, uniting his songs with poetry recited by noted actor Tonino Taiuti to pay homage both to this street kid who made it big and to the city of Naples.  This show marks a natural evolution in the career of ever-popular D'Angelo, whose first major artistic recognition came from Miles Davis.  Since the texts of his songs and the poetry by him, Enzo Moscato and Rafaele Viviani are largely in Neapolitan dialect, this show is clearly intended for local consumption.

David Lipfert
Date Reviewed:
December 1996
Coriolanus
Old Vic

After foisting on us last summer an abysmal Antony and Cleopatra, in which only one minor player could speak the verse acceptably, the Royal Shakespeare Company is back in top form with its current production of Coriolanus. Although it deals with the Rome of around 500 BCE, there are no togas here. In an acknowledged bow to filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, director David Farr has chosen to set the play in the world of Japanese samurai.

Caldwell Titcomb
Date Reviewed:
July 2003
Coriolanus
Festival Theater Stage

Director Antoni Cimolino, newly appointed "General Director" of Stratford (he's been Executive Director since 1998), can get anything he wants for his own productions; and this Coriolanus is star studded, with superstar designers. Lighting is by Gil Wechsler, former head of lighting at Stratford and at the Metropolitan Opera House. Sets and costumes are by Theater Hall-of-Fame member Santo Loquasto, who has won Tony Awards in both categories, and Oscar nominations for some of his dozens of films.
 

Herbert Simpson
Date Reviewed:
June 2006
Count of Monte Cristo, The
Stratford Festival - Avon Theatre

Wouldn't you know that right after the official opening night of a botched Shakespeare classic, a new version of an old hambone drama would get a Stratford production that looks like great theater? When I caught up with Marshall Borden's The Count of Monte Cristo, it was a hit show and a supremely polished performance.

Herbert Simpson
Date Reviewed:
August 2004
Crazy Heart

(see Criticopia International listing under "Core pazzo")
http://www.totaltheater.com/?q=node/1334

Creeper, The
Playhouse Theatre

A beautiful plant that creeps onto and strangles the tree it lives on in the garden of rich eccentric Edward Kimberly gives title to Pauline Macaulay's 1965 (but not dated) play, The Creeper, and symbolizes its action. Though an admitted "old Queen," Edward hires young men simply as companions. Extravagantly fed, clothed, entertained, housed, but not well paid, they become dependent on him while at his beck and call.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
March 2006
Cuckoos
Barbican Pit

An absurdist comedy, Cuckoos was written in 1990 and assigned by its author (born in 1956) to a group of plays that he called "the Theater of Excess." This designation is certainly a fitting one. Manfridi's works have been widely performed (there is even a theater named for him in Finland); but if this play is typical, he is an appallingly bad dramatist.

Caldwell Titcomb
Date Reviewed:
July 2003
Cut, The
Donmar Warehouse

The title, "The Cut," refers to a mysterious, painful killing under the auspices of The State, of an apparently colonial type that for generations has dispatched rebels and just plain natives. Ian McKellen plays the bureaucrat Paul who interviews candidates for, and, if appropriate, administers The Cut. He does so superbly. His Paul is tired -- of the secrecy surrounding his job, of its seeming futility, and most of all of the stress it has put on his life at home. He tries to dissuade his latest victim, portrayed stubbornly by Jimmy Akingbola, from accepting The Cut but fails.

Marie J. Kilker
Date Reviewed:
March 2006
Cafe a Go Go
Cafe a Go Go

It's loud, it's fast, it gets the job done, and it's watchable all the way through - and it's also a show I could have left at any moment without feeling I missed much.

David Lefkowitz
Date Reviewed:
October 2003
Cabaret
North Coast Repertory Theater

Dennis J. Scott, as Ernst Ludwig/Max, is a study in a slick character with a terrible goal -- the forming of the Third Reich. Linda Libby gives us a Fraulein Schneider we could love, feel sorry for, and enjoy her travails with her tenants. Jim Chovick as her love, Herr Schultz, gives a new meaning to naivety, as Schultz insists that the Nazi will think of him as a German, not a Jew. We watch their love grow and be destroyed. We shudder when young Michael Cullen, as the Youth, sings the haunting "Tomorrow Belongs To Me." Hitler's youth movement has begun to take hold in Germany.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
February 2003
Cabaret
Patio Playhouse

Cabaret burst onto the Broadway scene in 1966, winning multiple Tonys. It defied musical theater traditions with heavy drama and few laughs. The piece illustrates how a society allows itself to be overtaken. It is currently on the boards at Patio Playhouse Community Theater in Escondido.

Robert Hitchcox
Date Reviewed:
April 2007
Cabaret
Warner Theater

Outside the Warner Theater on Pennsylvania Avenue, ticket holders wilted in the August heat, waiting for the doors to open. But once inside the theater, where Cabaret has finally arrived after a two-week hold-over in Chicago, "everything (was) beautiful." Or the seedy equivalent. The meticulous road show production is decadent, naughty, and, oh, so much fun. Originally constructed in 1924, the sumptuously refurbished Warner Theater is the ideal setting for the pre-World War II German Kit Kat Klub, designed by Robert Brill.

Barbara Gross
Date Reviewed:
August 1999

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