The specter of Brazilian author Clarice Lispector pervades the stage at Immense Joy, a new production devised and directed by Anna Kohler, and presented by The Tank NYC. At the height of her fame, Lispector’s name (originally Chaya Pinkhasivna Lispector at birth) almost always conjured an air of mystery―not just because of her curious UkrainianContinue reading “Joyful Noise: Anna Kohler’s “Immense Joy” Brings the Works of Clarice Lispector to Vivacious Life”
Category Archives: Live
Show Girl Showstopper: Andrea Bell Wolff Dazzles as She Recalls her ‘Adventures in Vegas’
There’s nothing like a pandemic to make you a little nostalgic. At least, that was definitely the case for performer Andrea Bell Wolff, who opens her show Adventures in Vegas with a scene at a pandemic-era birthday gathering. From there, Wolff dusts off from the pages of her diary memories of Las Vegas and suddenlyContinue reading “Show Girl Showstopper: Andrea Bell Wolff Dazzles as She Recalls her ‘Adventures in Vegas’”
The Body Keeps the Score: Marta Mondelli’s ‘Toscana, or What I Remember’ Exercises Some Muscle Memory
For many, memories can be a wonderful thing. They have the ability to transcend time and space — perhaps to when things were simpler or more innocent. For others, they can often leave one paralyzed in more ways than one, stuck on a never-ending loop. In the case of Marta Mondelli’s Toscana, or What IContinue reading “The Body Keeps the Score: Marta Mondelli’s ‘Toscana, or What I Remember’ Exercises Some Muscle Memory”
A Bittersweet Symphony, Served With Zest: Heather Litteer Peels Away the Layers of the Past
The prospect of seeing a solo performance often, admittedly, triggers a silent panic in one whose job it is to dole out an objective opinion about it. As that they are often based upon a performer’s life experiences, one-man (or, in this case, one-woman) shows often carry with them the possibility of turning out toContinue reading “A Bittersweet Symphony, Served With Zest: Heather Litteer Peels Away the Layers of the Past”
Girl Anachronism: Aquila Theatre Company Reveals the Feminine Side to Literature’s Most Famous Private Eye
Just as a certain wildly popular celebrity departed from New York to commence production on a certain wildly popular television show based on a certain wildly popular, old-timey-but-updated sleuth, another iteration made its way back to the city. Over at the Queens Theatre, Aquila Theatre Company presented an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classicContinue reading “Girl Anachronism: Aquila Theatre Company Reveals the Feminine Side to Literature’s Most Famous Private Eye”
How History Happens: TITAN Theatre Company Fearlessly Ushers ‘Julius Caesar’ Into a Brave New World
TITAN Theatre Company has seen the future — and the future is bleak. The political climate gains momentum, with public opinion ruled by sweeping promises of Rhetoric, rather than the practicality of Reason. This could refer to the mud-slinging rat race currently going on in our country, referring instead to one which occurred hundreds ofContinue reading “How History Happens: TITAN Theatre Company Fearlessly Ushers ‘Julius Caesar’ Into a Brave New World”
Lost in Translation: Ran Xia Defies Definition With ‘Word Play’
There are things in life that are hard to explain merely with words. Sometimes, the best way to transcend obstacles is simply to revel in the ineffable intricacy of emotions we are dealt with. What is left when one not only runs out of memories, but the words to describe them? Such are the trialsContinue reading “Lost in Translation: Ran Xia Defies Definition With ‘Word Play’”
One Final Act: A Peek Behind the ‘Side Show’ Curtain, as it Comes to a Close
It seems as if for years, people have been fascinated by certain anomalies in society — or, as Robert Ripley (yes, that Ripley) would have called them: “oddities.” This fascination would soon evolve from Mr. Ripley’s eventual Believe It or Not! empire and travelling circuses to that most perverse of modern entertainments: reality television. FromContinue reading “One Final Act: A Peek Behind the ‘Side Show’ Curtain, as it Comes to a Close”
The Whipped-Up Delights of Daliya Karnofsky’s ‘And She Bakes, Live’ (FringeNYC)
You know you’re literally in for a treat when, as soon as you enter the appropriately-named Celebration of Whimsy Theatre (The C.O.W.), you are greeted by an extremely perky, polka-dot-apron’d Bakeress who immediately bombards you with a detailed description of the kind of baked good you remind her of (for instance, this critic was describedContinue reading “The Whipped-Up Delights of Daliya Karnofsky’s ‘And She Bakes, Live’ (FringeNYC)”
Snippets: Nicole Maxali’s ‘Forgetting the Details’ is One Show You’ll Never Forget
At the beginning of Forgetting the Details, a one-woman show performed by actress-comedienne Nicole Maxali, she — narrating as a present-day version of herself — turns to the audience and asks: “Are memories enough when people and places are no longer there?” The show, which is featured as part of this year’s New York InternationalContinue reading “Snippets: Nicole Maxali’s ‘Forgetting the Details’ is One Show You’ll Never Forget”
Jessica Taghap 