Owner: Third Row, Mezzanine URL:http://thirdrowmezzanine.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Tue, 05 Dec 2006 15:09:37 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: I moved to NYC in 2004 to pursue an acting career. I find, at times, that I'm attending more shows than auditions. This blog is just my two cents' worth about the shows I see. Site statistics:Click here
From A Dark, Dark Mind 2007-05-21 19:17:00 "In A Dark, Dark House" presented by MCC Theatre at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, May 19, 2007
Neil LaBute, resident playwright for MCC Theatre presents his latest effort, "In A Dark, Dark House." From the MCC Theatre's website is this synopsis (Spoiler Alert):
On the grounds of a private psychiatric facility, two family members find themselves brought face to face with each other's involvement
"Let This Be Known As The Year Inspiration Left The Arts" 2007-05-28 17:51:00 "Xanadu" at the Helen Hayes Theatre, May 25, 2007
A large circular mirror overhangs the stage as you enter the theatre, hopefully foretelling of Busby Berkely-like singing and dancing to come. Will hopes be fulfilled or dashed??
Actually, a little of both, courtesy of 1980.
The latest in a string of movie to stage adaptations, Xanadu arrives with no pretense as to what it is and what it is Read more:Inspiration
Grief Has Its Limitations 2007-06-01 18:09:00 "The Year of Magical Thinking" at the Booth Theatre, May 31, 2007
(photo by Brigitte Lacombe)
Joan Didion's memoir of the same title is the basis for the 90 minute recitation now in a limited run in New York. It is billed as a play, but with only one character's point of view expressed, it is more an abridged version of her book told aloud by the very compelling Vanessa Redgrave. It's Read more:Grief
Eurydice's Lament 2007-06-03 20:50:00 "eurydice" at 2econd Stage Theatre, June 3, 2007
(Photo by Joan Marcus)
Sarah Ruhl follows her last play "Clean House" at Lincoln Center Theatre with this retelling of the Orpheus myth at 2econd Stage Theatre. (Spoiler alert - if there can be one about a Greek Myth).
With an eye for significant theatricality, but lacking a bit of the polish she achieved at Lincoln Center, the published premise Read more:Lament
Questioning Faith 2007-06-09 12:01:00 "Horizon" at New York Theatre Workshop, June 7, 2007
(Disclaimer: I was invited to attend this performance by NYTW. Thanks for the seats!)
Reinhart Poole, minister and professor of ethics at a seminary has just been fired and is preparing to teach his last class. This is Rinde Eckert's premise for his evening of exploring theology and faith through a highly theatrical performance of song and Read more:Faith
What Was Up WIth The Lollipops? 2007-06-13 20:23:00 "Old Acquaintance" presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre
Oh, the glamour of pre-war NYC! Kit and Millie have been friends and friendly competitors since college. Millie married, had a child and divorced, while Kit has moved from romance to romance, never managing to settle down. Millie cranks out at least one novel a year, always a good seller, but
In The Eye Of The Beholder 2007-06-12 15:58:00 "Phallacy" at Cherry Lane Theatre, June 9, 2007
In an Austrian art museum, Dr. Regina Leitner-Opfermann rules (get it?) as a foremost authority on ancient sculpture. The pride of the museum's collection is an original Roman Bronze statue of a nude youth dating back to something like 300 BC. She authenticated the find several years before, published a book about it and is so totally invested in Read more:Beholder
BE...derivative 2007-06-25 11:39:00 "BE" by Mayumana at the Union Square Theatre, June 23, 2007
Think of:
StompTap DogsCirque Du Soleil clownsBobby McFerrin...and a taste of flamenco tossed in - but none of it done nearly as well. (Although, I did think the flamenco number wasn't bad.)
Eight Actors in Search of a Good Play 2007-07-21 21:52:00 "Surface to Air" at Symphony Space, July 21, 2007
David Epstein's play about a family welcoming home the remains of a son killed in Vietnam 30 years earlier tries hard, but doesn't quite make the grade.
Director James Naughton has assembled an excellent cast including Lois Smith, Larry Bryggman and Cady Huffman, but their efforts go unrewarded in this 80 minute ramble.
Rob (Mark J. Sullivan), Read more:Eight
, Search
Don't Cry For Me, Styne and Sondheim 2007-07-21 21:24:00 "Gypsy" Encores! Summer Stars production at City Center, July 19, 2007
As Encores! continues to expand programming beyond their original mission, up first is "Gypsy" starring Patti Lupone. Seems like she and Bernadette Peters are competing to see who can do the most Ethel Merman roles. At the moment, I believe they are tied at two each. Ms. Peters has performed Mama Rose and Annie Oakley (
"Crudeness is Necessary for Clarity" 2007-07-30 13:31:00 "The Black Eyed" at New York Theatre Workshop, July 28, 2007
Betty Shamieh's play about the female Palestinian experience covers a lot of ground, some more, some less familiar. The audience enters as one actor is already onstage on the pepto-pink plywood set. She lies there silently until the show begins. Waiting? Punished? Eventually, we find out.
This pink environment is first presented Read more:Necessary
, Clarity
Nostalgia: The Pain We Get For Going Home 2007-07-28 16:10:00 "Gone Missing" at the Barrow Street Theatre, July 22, 2007
The Civilians present an evening of sketches, songs and scenes about people who have lost and found things in their lives, focusing on inanimate objects as opposed to friends and loved ones. The stories are based on actual interviews conducted by the company.
The style of the show is that brand of "edgy," fast-paced, semi-shock-value Read more:Going
New York Theatre Workshop Discount 2007-07-23 09:32:00 New York Theatre Workshop
is offering the following discount for their current production "The Black Eyed." Betty Shamieh is a playwright, author, screenwriter and actor. Her newest play, THE BLACK EYED, depicts four Arab women from across the ages who meet in the afterlife. As these women – who include the Biblical Delilah and a secular modern Arab-American – struggle to come to terms with Read more:Discount
, New York
Playwrights Horizons Discount 2007-08-03 11:56:00 Playwrights Horizons
is offering the following discount for their next production, "100 Saints You Should Know."
Playwrights Horizons Presents 100 SAINTS YOU SHOULD KNOW A NEW PLAY BY KATE FODOR
Featuring: Zoe Kazan, Janel Moloney, Will Rogers, Jeremy Shamos, Lois Smith
DIRECTED BY ETHAN McSWEENY
At the Playwrights Horizons’ Mainstage Theatre 416 West 42nd Street (Between 9th and Read more:Discount
Conspiracy, Perhaps? 2007-08-29 12:06:00 I was supposed to see "Walmartopia" last Saturday evening. I arrived at the theatre to find that the performance had been cancelled because the air conditioning in the theatre had broken down that afternoon.
I'll be seeing it on Sept. 15 instead. In the meanwhile, here's a political ad I did for a group in Brooklyn in 2005 who were trying to keep Walmart from opening a store in the borough Read more:Conspiracy
"My Problem Child" 2007-09-18 17:40:00 "A Beautiful Child" presented by FringeNYC Encores at the Culture Project, September 15, 2007
"A Beautiful Child" is an adaptation of a Truman Capote story from a collection published in 1975, Music for Chameleons. (No credit for the adaptation was provided in the playbill.)
The story is based on an afternoon that Mr. Capote spent with Marilyn Monroe after the funeral of her acting coach, Read more:Problem
Practice, Practice, Practice 2007-09-17 08:10:00 "The Age of Romance: Vienna to Broadway" presented by Royal Road Productions on October 6, 2007
"What!" you say? It's only September 17. How can he be reviewing something that hasn't run yet? It's not a review.
In this case, I'll be appearing in a supporting role to Karyn Leavitt's performance. From the Carnegie Hall website:
PRESENTED BY ROYAL ROAD PRODUCTIONS Read more:Practice
Caroline Makes Change 2007-09-16 01:23:00 "WALMARTOPIA" at the Minetta Lane Theatre, September 15, 2007
What was well-received at the 2006 NYFringe Festival has suffered seems to have suffered at the hands of [title of show] vampires who have spent the last year "improving" this musical. Rather than finding the "Urinetown" track to commercial success, they seem to have lost their way and fallen into a trap of mediocrity. I didn't see Read more:Caroline
, Change
Two Stamp Monte 2007-09-13 22:04:00 "Mauritius" presented by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Biltmore Theatre, September 13, 2007
Theresa Rebeck's latest effort has begun performances at Manhattan Theatre Club. With an impressive cast, and some occasionally good scenes, the result is pretty much a cable "dramedy" (hence the pointless profanity) disguised as theatre.
I missed "The Scene" last season, but did suffer through "The Read more:Stamp
, Monte
Dance: 7, Vocals: 3 2007-09-07 21:44:00 "A Chorus Line" at the Schoenfeld Theatre, September 6, 2007
Well, I can honestly say that the second national tour of "A Chorus Line" now running on Broadway is everything you might expect...of a second national tour.
At one level, I can think of many reasons why this show should always be running on Broadway. On another level, this production is not the one that deserves that run. Bob Read more:Dance
NY Theatre Workshop Discount 2007-09-05 22:51:00 NY Theatre Workshop
offers the following discount for their next production, "The Misanthrope."
We'd like to offer your readers the following discount: Tickets for all performances September 14 – November 11 are just $45 each (reg. $65). In order receive this discount, tickets must be ordered by September 24. Use code TMBLG44 when ordering. To purchase tickets, call (212) 947-8844 Read more:Discount
Three's Company? 2007-09-05 22:29:00 "Lights Rise on Grace" Fringe Encores at the Culture Project, September 3, 2007
I didn't get to any of the shows at this year's NY Fringe Festival during the regular run, but once again several shows have returned this month in an encore series.
Chad Beckim's "Lights Rise on Grace" tells the story of Grace, Large and Riece. It's a bizarre love triangle of race, prison, and self-deception. Read more:Three
Surge of the Heart 2007-09-05 21:59:00 "100 Saints You Should Know" at Playwrights Horizons, September 1, 2007
In its world premiere at Playwrights Horizons, Kate Fodor's new play continues to build on her award-winning resume. "100 Saints..." centers on two people from dramatically different backgrounds passing each other on their respective paths questioning faith.
Theresa (Janel Moloney), a single mother of a teenage manipulator Read more:Surge
, Heart
A Moment at the Table 2007-09-28 22:44:00 "The Dining Room" presented by the Keen Company at The Clurman Theatre at Theatre Row, September 27, 2007
A. R. Gurney's wonderful 1981 play presents a series of overlapping vignettes that give a glimpse into the many ways a dining room is part of the core of the American WASP. We get to be as much voyeur as audience in this delightful production by the Keen Company. With a cast of six, three Read more:Moment
, Table
Glass Houses 2007-09-27 23:20:00 "The Misanthrope" at New York Theatre Workshop, September 22, 2007
Ivo Van Hove, acclaimed for his Obie-winning production of "Hedda Gabler" at NYTW, returns with Tony Harrison's translation of Moliere's "The Misanthrope." This evening of mixed media, as well as mixed condiments and street garbage, is quite a visual and aural effort. Whether it really succeeds or not remains to be seen.
Bill Read more:Glass
Anything Goes 2007-09-27 22:37:00 "The Ritz" presented by Roundabout Theatre Company at Studio 54, September 18, 2007
One of Terrance McNally's earlier plays, I'm sure it was quite shocking in 1975. With the evolution of cable TV, the shock value is seriously lacking anymore.
The premise is that Gaetano Proclo's father-in-law has made a deathbed order to have Gaetano killed. Gaetano jumps in a cab and asks to be taken to the
It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again 2007-09-27 17:15:00 "Double Vision" presented by Fringe NYC Encores at the Culture Project, September 15, 2007
From the promotional materials, "Six singles navigate the tricky waters of urban, modern relationships in this tale of love on the lam."
Yeah, that's what my reaction was too.
Still, this bit of Lifetime TV meets Comedy Central does have a spirited cast with some commendable performances.
Dave (Shane Read more:Again
Playwrights Horizons Discount 2007-10-09 11:53:00 Playwrights Horizons
is offering the following discount for their next production, "A feminine ending."
PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS
presents
A feminine ending
A new play by Sarah Treem
Featuring Alec Beard, Gillian Jacobs, Marsha Mason, Richard Masur, Joe Paulik
Directed by Blair Brown
October 4 thru November 11 only Playwrights Horizons Peter Jay Sharp Theater 416 West 42nd Street between Read more:Discount
1 in 73,000 2007-10-07 11:21:00 On her flight to New York, my mother found an ad in a magazine giving that statistic as the odds for a child to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Who'd a thunk it?
My performance last night at Carnegie Hall in Karyn Levitt's "The Age of Romance: From Vienna to Broadway" was one of those magical nights in the theatre that every performer hopes for every time he takes the stage.
There are several
Film Noir...in Technicolor! 2007-10-15 18:25:00 "Die Mommie, Die!" at the New World Stages, October 14, 2007
Charles Busch's 1999 homage to "grande guignol" films of the 1960s is finally getting its NYC debut. The prolific playwright of famous (The Tale of the Allergist's Wife) and infamous (Psycho Beach Party, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom) is back on the boards in the title role.
On his website, Mr. Busch describes the play as follows ( Read more:Technicolor
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