Category: Reviews

Theater reviews for Connecticut and New York.

2018-19 NYC Theater, Recent Posts, Reviews

“All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914” Is One of My Top Ten of 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

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2018-19 NYC Theater, Recent Posts, Reviews

Fine Acting Enhances the Fascinating “The Life Span of a Fact”

  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”

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2018-19 Connecticut Theater Season, Recent Posts, Reviews

“A Connecticut Christmas Carol” Returns in Improved Version

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

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2018-19 Connecticut Theater Season, Recent Posts, Reviews

“The Pianist of Williseden Lane” at Westport Is Unusual but Touching Holiday Fare

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

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2018-19 Connecticut Theater Season, Recent Posts, Reviews

Christmas on the Rocks a Comic Look at “What Ever Happened to?”

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?”

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2018-19 NYC Theater, Recent Posts, Reviews

“The Prom” – Delightful Musical Blends Satire with Heart

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

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2018-19 NYC Theater, Recent Posts, Reviews

“The Waverly Gallery” Focuses on Issue Most Would like to Avoid

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

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2018-19 NYC Theater, Recent Posts, Reviews

Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale Star in a Searing Drama, “American Son”

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”

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2018-19 Connecticut Theater Season, Recent Posts, Reviews

Ivoryton’s World Premiere Drama Has Promise

By Karen Isaacs Bravo Ivoryton Playhouse! Brava Artistic Director Jacqueline Hubbard! It is a big risk to produce a new play about a subject many don’t really want to think about written by a playwright who is not widely known. Yet that is what the Playhouse and Hubbard have done with the current world premiere of Queens of the Gold Mask now through Sunday, Nov. … Continue reading Ivoryton’s World Premiere Drama Has Promise

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2018-19 Connecticut Theater Season, Recent Posts, Reviews

Fascinating Look at How We Grieve and Recover

By Karen Isaacs  I can’t stop thinking about and praising the world premiere play, Thousand Pines, at Westport Country Playhouse through Saturday, Nov. 17. Playwright Matthew Greene and director Austin Pendleton have taken a subject that can be emotionally devastating and created a thoughtful and insightful study of how individuals and communities cope with unimaginable tragedy. The play consists of three scenes with three different … Continue reading Fascinating Look at How We Grieve and Recover

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