By Karen Isaacs /As I was looking back on the theater I’ve seen, like many, I wanted to make a list of those that stand out in my memory. Here’s my list of the most memorable productions in Connecticut and NY. (A caveat: I see a lot of shows in Connecticut, but not all and many in NYC but only a small percentage … Continue reading Mostly Revivals and Musicals on My Top Ten Lists for 2018
By Karen Isaacs If a screenwriter had invented the idea of the Christmas Truce of 1914 during World War I, it would been considered too farfetched to be credible. Yet it happened. During the first Christmas of World War I, at a time that many on both sides had expected the war to already be concluded (it began in August), German and English troops in … Continue reading “All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” Is One of My Top Ten of 2018
By Karen Isaacs Are facts the same as the truth? For anyone interested in journalism and writing, The Lifespan of a Fact is a fascinating play that raises issues current in our society. We’ve seen it all in the last decade. Increasing conspiracy theorists on the internet who may use any discrepancy as evidence of conspiracy involving the news. Here in Connecticut with the … Continue reading Fine Acting Enhances the Fascinating “The Life Span of a Fact”
By Karen Isaacs Goodspeed has brought back a revised version of A Connecticut Christmas Carol at the Terris Theater in Chester, through Dec. 30 which as you might surmise sets the Dickens story in Connecticut in 1925. The show premiered at the Terris last year, but has been revised. This telling of the story has a lot to like in it, though it still needs … Continue reading “A Connecticut Christmas Carol” Returns in Improved Version
By Karen Isaacs What can you say about a cultural phenomenon? It instantly became that the moment it first opened off-Broadway and then on Broadway. Very few shows have been as difficult to get tickets to, have brought in the revenue that Hamilton has. When it opened, My Fair Lady certainly was in that class but only handful of shows have done that since. When … Continue reading “Hamilton” Lives Up to All the Hype
By Karen Isaacs When I first say The Pianist of Willesden Lane at Hartford Stage in 2016, I was touched and totally immersed in this one-woman play. Seeing it at Westport Playhouse, I not only felt the same, but I felt the story of a young girl’s survival during WWII even more deeply. Why? Perhaps it is the times we are currently living in – … Continue reading “The Pianist of Williseden Lane” at Westport Is Unusual but Touching Holiday Fare
By Karen Isaacs Once again, TheaterWorks is presenting Christmas on the Rocks through Sunday, December 23. The show is a clever twist that adds a bit of cynicism to the usual holiday fare. But after seeing it several times, I’ve realized that there are hidden depths in these delightful pieces. Artistic Director Rob Ruggiero called upon a number of playwrights with whom he had worked … Continue reading Christmas on the Rocks a Comic Look at “What Ever Happened to?”
By Karen Isaacs Broadway has an absolutely delightful new musical, The Prom. Even better it is an original – not based on a film, TV shw, novel or biography of a music industry legend. No raiding the song catalogue of some well-known hits and squeezing them in to fit a plot. No it is totally original. Part of the plot was … Continue reading “The Prom” – Delightful Musical Blends Satire with Heart
By Karen Isaacs Gladys Green is an elderly woman who runs a small art gallery on Waverly Place in New York City. A former lawyer, she started the gallery years so; it hasn’t had much success but it gives her a place to go each day from her apartment upstairs in the building. Her grandson, Daniel lives in another apartment. But Gladys is exhibiting disturbing … Continue reading “The Waverly Gallery” Focuses on Issue Most Would like to Avoid
By Karen Isaacs Every parent has a nightmare about something bad happening to his or her child. As that child becomes a teenager, the nightmares often become more frequent. Drugs, car accidents, runaways, alcohol, sexual assault – so many things can derail hopeful young lives. So many possibilities can go through the mind. In the searing new drama American Son, Kendra’s nightmares are influenced by … Continue reading Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale Star in a Searing Drama, “American Son”
