All stories by Elisabeth Vincentelli on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Targeted for speedy extinction by Elisabeth Vincentelli

‘Triassic Parq — The Musical,” which just opened at the SoHo Playhouse, sticks to an approach familiar to anyone who’s ever attended the New York International Fringe Festival. Proud…

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Monday, June 25, 2012

Fresh blood on Broadway by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Broadway is said to bet on stars. Well, yes and no. Look at the long-running hits: Do you know who’s in “Wicked” or “Jersey Boys” right now? At the same time, casting is key to the…

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Sunday, June 24, 2012

‘Monarch’ makes a good case, but the jury isn’t buying it by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Leslie Hendrix spent 19 seasons playing medical examiner Elizabeth Rodgers on all four “Law & Order” series. You’d think playwright Jim Henry would have asked the star of his new thril…

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Friday, June 22, 2012

Three’s a charm in take on classic ’70s sitcom by Elisabeth Vincentelli

‘come and knock on our door/We’ve been waiting for you . . .” Although the names have been changed, the premise of the new off-Broadway show “3C” will be familiar to anybody with a…

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Shakespeerless in the Park by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Shakespeare in the Park is turning 50 this year, and its new production of “As You Like It” is a great gift to itself — and us. Something special is happening here: The parts may not a…

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Tuesday, June 19, 2012

‘Bad’ good but could be ‘Better’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Whether you like them or not, the Amoralists’ gritty shows are like no other — thanks mostly to resident playwright Derek Ahonen’s distinctive mix of hyper-realism and satire, brash vi…

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Pluck be a lady by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Martha Gellhorn was a bold, opinionated woman. Fearless, too: She worked as a war correspondent and married Ernest Hemingway. Then she dumped him. Now, 14 years after her death, Gellhorn is…

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Monday, June 18, 2012

Slow ‘Vanya’ not vital to Chekhov your list by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s about depression, boredom, thwarted ambition and hopeless loves. And it’s one of the most popular plays in New York. Indeed, not a year goes by without someone taking a stab at Che…

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Friday, June 15, 2012

Big bunny theory works by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Few things on Broadway are as old-fashioned as “Harvey.” And it’s not just because Mary Chase’s play is from 1944 — plenty of older works have more edge than this butter knife of a…

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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Bummer vacation by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Abi Morgan is hot right now. Last year alone, this Englishwoman wrote the high-profile movies “Shame” and “The Iron Lady” and created the critically acclaimed miniseries “The Hour�…

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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Too many cooks spoil ‘The Gods’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It took a whopping seven writers, four directors and three producers to come up with “We Play for the Gods.” But rather than an embarrassment of riches, this new show by the Women’s Pr…

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Nuanced view of girl power by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There are two things you should know about “Rapture, Blister, Burn.” It’s about feminism, and it’s fun. Plays that focus on any kind of -ism tend to provoke a recoil reflex: Who goes…

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Monday, June 11, 2012

Nearly divine by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Set in The Bronx in 2009, “Storefront Church” includes balloon payments, influence peddling and the real estate crisis. But don’t go to John Patrick Shanley’s new play expecting ripp…

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Thursday, June 7, 2012

Tastes great, but not filling by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There are two surefire ways to make an audience go “awww” — prominently feature a puppy or food. As its title indicates, “Food and Fadwa” picked option B. In a series of mock cooki…

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Give ‘Medieval’ the rack by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The witless “Medieval Play” might have been written by a cocky 16-year-old boy. And not just any boy, but one eager to show off his arcane erudition (the story revolves around 14th-centu…

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Monday, June 4, 2012

Unexpectedly wise ‘Guys’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Some plays can stretch a tiny plot for hours. They finally grind to a halt, and you’re still wondering what the heck they were trying to say. And then there’s Alena Smith’s “The Bad…

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Sunday, June 3, 2012

‘Zoloft’ will give you a lift by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Don’t expect anything groundbreaking from “Chimichangas and Zoloft.” Fernanda Coppel’s play may be new, but its themes are well-worn: girls coming of age, sexual identity, philanderi…

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Fun at Potter-y yarn by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The new off-Broadway show “Potted Potter” is subtitled “The Unauthorized Harry Experience — A Parody by Dan and Jeff.” In truth, this British import has zero satirical bite. Rather…

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Friday, June 1, 2012

Exit, stage left by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s hard to believe, considering the amount of publicity they’ve gotten, but New Jersey is not just Snooki and her GTL routine. (For those unfamiliar with MTV’s “Jersey Shore,” th…

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Thursday, May 31, 2012

‘Jukebox’ is jumpin’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Though Lou Reed name-checked him in “Walk on the Wild Side” — as the one who “thought she was James Dean for a day” — Jackie Curtis is less famous today than fellow Warhol supers…

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Monday, May 28, 2012

All the world’s a stage by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Part of the fun of going to the theater is watching live performers create a different world in front of our eyes. That’s not enough for some enterprising directors, so they go the extra m…

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Bookish Brits’ war of words by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Anglophiles with a fetish for bookish Cambridge students politely arguing about literature and life may get a kick out of “The Common Pursuit.” Others may find themselves looking at thei…

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Too many lectures en route to liberation by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Anyone who caught the revivals this year of “The Road to Mecca” and “Blood Knot” knows that South African playwright Athol Fugard takes his sweet time to get to the point. Both shows…

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Home is where the art is in flawed musical by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Gypsy Rose Lee, Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten and W.H. Auden walk into a house . . . This sounds like the setup for either a highbrow joke or Harvey Weinstein’s latest Oscar-bait movi…

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Monday, May 21, 2012

Kind of like Seinfeld in hell by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s tempting to think of “Title and Deed” as an elaborate prank played on a helpless audience. This new piece by Will Eno — the critically acclaimed author of “Thom Pain (based o…

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Just not spieling it by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The new revue “Old Jews Telling Jokes” is inspired by the Web site of the same name — which consists of a parade of elderly cut-ups delivering jokes. But unlike the Web, which you can…

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Friday, May 18, 2012

Sexual dilemma in the round by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Never mind its provocative title: “Cock” is about love. Things get complicated as people fall in and out of it, but this wonderful 90-minute show renders the emotional mess with great si…

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Monday, May 14, 2012

It’s hit or miss anthropy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Mark Ravenhill — best known for “Shopping and F - - king,” a 1998 hit at New York Theatre Workshop — is one of Britain’s finest provocateurs. His 2006 play “Pool (No Water)” sp…

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Friday, May 11, 2012

Sweet as strawberry ‘Blondes’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Encores! production of “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” is like a dessert stuffed with juicy morsels. Why quibble because the cake doesn’t always hold the fruity bits together? The lush…

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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

A serious mis-‘Fire’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If the New Group company’s new drama, “An Early History of Fire,” were by a rookie, you could blame its mediocrity on inexperience. But the author is David Rabe, the Tony-winning write…

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Sunday, April 29, 2012

Thisbe OK, but not great by Elisabeth Vincentelli

This production of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” looks real good. And not just because the cast includes Christina Ricci, Bebe Neuwirth and at least two guys who can’t …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:01PM

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