Saturday, September 12, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: 9/9-9/12

Hello my loves,

This is going to be a very long TNR because I've had to skip quite a few days of news. On Wednesday I went to one of the best concert I've ever been to in my entire life. The recordings don't do Gin Wigmore justice at all. She has one of those voices that needs to be experienced live. And her band was amazing. I don't even like rock music but I relished every guitar solo. It was just so much fun.

On Thursday I headed to B.B. King's in the rain for a weird experience with the venue but another fun night out. Fleetwood Maxx could have been better. It was really Stevie Nicks... and some other people. But Dancing Dream gave me everything I could have wanted from an ABBA cover band complete with dance routines. It was a nice reminder that ABBA wasn't just disco or at least that disco took some influence from rock and funk and other genres. It's easy to forget that when you're listening to a kind of cheesy, cleaned up sound on the albums. And I say that as an ABBA fan. I'm even more glad that I went as I was unable to get a discounted ticket to the final performance tonight... but more on that later.

My Friday night was spent at Pondling. This is a marvelous one-woman show that is really not for everyone but very much for me. Yes, Madeline is a little girl growing up on a farm in Ireland but in perhaps too many other respects I identified with her greatly. This is a very peculiar and specific play. It's funny but also very dark and that darkness never lets up even while you're laughing. The best comparison I can think of is Wednesday Addams... but with consequences. I will get into more of the details when I review it but I urge all the other weird little girls who grew up into relatively normal women to go back and revisit their old selves through Madeline.

And finally, the reason this post is late is because I spent my Saturday at The New Morality. Now there are often things that I like that I acknowledge will not be for everyone. I think this play will be for my audience. It's not a drawing room play but it reminds me a lot of those witty scripts from 1930's and 1940's movies. It also has a twinge of Henry James and more than a twinge of Edith Wharton. Even though it's concerned with morality and marriage, it manages to not be really misogynistic or feminist. Rather, it appreciates the humanity of its subjects and thoughtfully considers all perspectives while been terribly witty. I did find the production more competent than remarkable. It's worth it to go see this play performed but it's a small production and there's nothing to really recommend about the set or costumes. Also, fair warning, the play is divided into three acts and there are intermissions between each act to turn over the set. This kind of undercuts the momentum and makes the evening last longer than it should. While I enjoyed all of the performances, I did feel like the main female part demanded more of a star to carry off the complexity of the character. I stayed with it but I can imagine someone getting frustrated with that character without having an actress with a lot of charm or force of personality to see you through.


Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)
The Party’s Over (CLOSINGS)
I Wanna Be A Producer (IN DEVELOPMENT)
Everyone’s a Critic (REVIEWS)
I Hope I Get It (CASTING)
I Heard It Through the Grapevine (RUMORS)
Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)
A Musical (MUSICALS)
It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)
  • Cloud Nine will begin previews September 16 with an official opening October 5. The limited engagement will play the Linda Gross Theater through November 1. 
  • Rose, a one-woman show about Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, will play the Clurman from November to December. It will star Kathleen Chalfant.
We Open in Venice, We Next Play Verona (TOURS)
They Mean Chicago, Illinois (CHICAGO NEWS)
I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)
Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)
Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)
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