Mostly for my own reference...
Hamlet. With Jude Law. For cheap. It was, I thought, awful...mostly through bad/lazy/obvious directorial choices. Really? EVERYBODY in black? Really? NO sexual heat between Gertrude and Claudius? Really? King's speeches delivered from dead center, on a red carpet? And an Ophelia who seemed less likely to drown herself than to say "screw him" and go get an MBA? Argh. Come on, people, this is Broadway. It felt like somebody said "These Americans...tell them it's Shakespeare and put in a movie star, and they'll see anything."
Killers and Other Family. By Lucy Thurber, who wrote Monstrosity, that play I loved in July. Really liked this one too, and it couldn't have been more different. Good, strong roles, felt like early Sam Shepard, if Sam Shepard were a woman. The kind of play the Steppenwolf should be doing now. It's not often, lately, that I go for the straight-up living room play...but when a living room play can feel as dangerous as this, and is as well-acted as this, we're in business.
Mandala, a one-man-show by a friend of mine. Well-crafted and smart. I wanna read it.
A Steady Rain, by Keith Huff, with Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman, who both turned in strong performances, with only a few false notes. A good story, if a less traditionally recognizable "play-play."
A friend's reading, last night. An interesting early draft.
Karinne Keithley's play at the Here Arts Center; not my cup of tea, but hypnotic, beautiful, thoughtful, and assured. I would love to see more of her work, to learn what she's doing and how. Even though I like a more obvious "story."
Any Other Name, by my friend George Brant. A solid production of a lovely new script, in New Jersey.
A Lifetime Burning by Cusi Cram. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of this one. I'm thrilled to see Primary Stages doing new work, and the play takes on the hot topic of fabricated autobiography...but the play felt a little "safe." I've seen other work of Ms. Cram's that I like better.
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