Theatre

If you want to read about a funny, quirky, and meaningful new musical, then you’ve come to the right place!  Second Stage Theatre presents: Nobody Loves You!  This is my second time frequenting this cozy and quaint performance space, thanks to Alyssa Blumenthal, an intern for the theatre company.

Meet Jeff (Bryan Fenkart), an average guy pouring his heart and soul into his philosophy (ontology) dissertation at the expense of his relationship with girlfriend, Tanya (Leslie Kritzer). Continue reading →

“I fled before it was over but if you want witnesses then I am one and I can tell you now, when you say that he redeemed the world, I will say that it was not worth it. It was not worth it.”

The Testament of Mary, written by Colm Tóibín and directed by Deborah Warner, is not a religious play.  Outside the Walter Kerr Theatre on the first night, there were protests against its “anti-Christian” messages.  I also am pretty sure that during the show, a woman walked out – now, was it because of the sacrilegiousness of it?  I’m not sure, but I decided to put that story on the exiting woman.

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In the words of Aziz Ansari, stand up is a form of art.  I agree, ’cause I sure as hell couldn’t do it!  That being said, it’s a very different art than I’ve been exposed to.  Sure, I’ve watched Larry the Cable Guy on Comedy Central, or Joan Rivers in her documentary, but I’ve never actually gone to see a comedian live.  To be honest, I was a bit nervous.  What if I didn’t find the jokes funny?  I mean, it’s very often that I select Comedy Central Stand Up on demand and am quite disappointed with my choice.  I’m glad to say, sitting in ROW C at Colden Auditorium, I really did enjoy the show. Continue reading →

I had no idea that the song Comedy Tonight was from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum!  All I remember about this Stephen Sondheim musical is that it was once performed at Great Neck North High School, and being young, my impression of my future high school was that it was not best known for its theatrical talents – at least it couldn’t compare to “Theatre South” on the opposite end of town.  But enough reminiscing!  I am much older now and can appreciate a performance for what it is, and I must say, I really enjoyed Queens College’s production.

The time is two hundred years before the Christian era, a day in spring.  The place is a street in Rome in front of the houses of Lycus, Erronius, and Senex. Continue reading →

If only this was the last blog post of the semester, I would have come full circle as my second post this year was about the Queens College Drama Department’s production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.  But alas, this is not my last blog for you all to read before May 25th (when I move out of my dorm).  That being said, seeing Macbeth yet again has made me realize that it has been the only Shakespeare production I’ve ever seen, and THREE TIMES at that!

I thought that since I’ve already written about the basic plot of “The Scottish Play,” and because it’s easy enough to google “Synopsis of Macbeth,” I’d focus more on this specific National Theatre of Scotland’s production featuring the talent of Alan Cumming.   Continue reading →

Happy Passover, Easter, and vacation to all!  It has not been much of a break for me, though, as I have been working really hard on various aspects of my blog, particularly my theatre vault page.  One thing I have not done, however, is posted in a while!  This break has found me at home rather than on campus, and because of this, I haven’t been exposed to as many events as usual – not to mention I doubt there was anything happening in Queens this past week anyhow!  But, yesterday I was fortunate enough to venture into the city with my mother to see a lovely play called The Trip to Bountiful, starring Cicely Tyson, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Vanessa Williams. Continue reading →

Vanya, and Sonia, and Masha, and Spike… OH MY! I must say that even though I very much enjoyed the show, and very much understood the plot, I will never remember the title! Because of its repetitive listing, I think I’ll recap the story a bit differently this time, and summarize each character rather than the scenes and the acts.

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How I Learned to Drive was a spectacular tragedy.  The story is Lil Bit’s (Casey Drane) life narrative, told from the point of view of her 35 year old self.  In a series of flashbacks, she tells of her history with her Uncle Peck (Chris James).  Though from the title their relationship might seem as innocent as a lamb, Uncle Peck wasn’t only a driving instructor for Lil Bit.  From the young age of 11, when Lil Bit and her World War II veteran uncle were alone together, he would sexually molest her.  This secret, though it seems very unlikely that it was well hidden as Lil Bit’s aunt (Nikki Daddiego) knew about it, lasted for seven years until she went off to college and abruptly ended it on her 18th birthday.  Uncle Peck proposed to his niece, promising to divorce her aunt.  When she refused, he resorted to drinking – a practice he had forgone as long as Lil Bit was with him – and eventually drank himself to death. Continue reading →

And here’s the second opera I went to this past weekend: L’Incoronazione di Poppea! Before starting with a summary, describing the set, or raving about the music and talent, I want to give the photography credit to Sean Moonsammy – a student at the Aaron Copland School of Music as well as one of the leads (Ottone) in the Thursday and Saturday performances of the opera. Continue reading →

The last time you heard me talk about Turn of the Screw was last semester when describing one of my theatre design projects.  You probably thought that would be the last you’d hear of Benjamin Britten’s opera… but you thought WRONG!  New York City Opera, recently moved from Koch Theatre in Lincoln Center to the Brooklyn Academy of Music, put on four performances of this 1954 magnum opus.  I was extremely excited to finally see the opera I had spent so much time working on and listening to in my dorm room.  On stage, my imaginations would finally come to life right in front of my eyes! Continue reading →