By Ilana Jael After spending the first half of my October haunted by review deadlines following an impromptu double feature of Carrie and Hedda Gabler, maybe I shouldn’t have been terribly surprised to see that my next theatrical encounter would likely center yet another unhinged antiheroine. Though Alejandro Rodriguez’s Alba would technically be the world premiere of a … [Read more...]
Brilliant ‘Lauren Fein’ at Dramaworks deserves widest possible stage
Even if the world premiere play’s title, The Cancellation of Lauren Fein, did not give away the fate of its central character, there is an inevitability to the metaphorical noose relentlessly tightening around her neck. Justice may not be well-served by the escalating accusations against the renowned genetic biology professor, but theatrical impact certainly is. For more … [Read more...]
‘Cancellation of Lauren Fein’ brings culture wars to Dramaworks in world premiere play
Cancel culture, the effort to hold prominent individuals accountable for perceived verbal slights or deeds, has become increasingly prevalent in contemporary life. So perhaps it was inevitable that the phenomenon would make the leap from the headlines to the stage, as it does in The Cancellation of Lauren Fein, premiering at Palm Beach Dramaworks beginning this Friday, Feb. … [Read more...]
At Theatre Lab, quirky ‘Glass Piano’ intrigues
Legend has it that a Princess Alexandra of Bavaria once ingested – or believed she ingested – a grand piano made of glass. Intrigued by the notion, playwright Alix Sobler has turned it into a fairy tale for adults, The Glass Piano, now receiving its U.S. premiere at Florida Atlantic University’s Theatre Lab. There is much to like about the play and its production, even if, … [Read more...]
Playwright’s ‘Glass Piano,’ at FAU Theatre Lab, offers a fairy tale of anxiety
Theatergoers will have to take a leap of faith with playwright Alix Sobler and her play The Glass Piano, about to have its U.S. premiere at FAU Theatre Lab in Boca Raton. It concerns a Princess Alexandra, who either did, or believes she did, ingest a glass piano when she was a child. Ever since, she has lived a cautious life knowing the piano could break into tiny shards … [Read more...]
‘The Humans’ stuns at GableStage
Yes, the Blake family of Stephen Karam’s The Humans is dysfunctional, but what onstage clan is not? Still, most of them are so wrapped up in their own troubles, they are oblivious to their collective difficulties. In a work that is alternately dramatic, comic and more than a little creepy, it would be the rare audience member who does not identity with this clan on some … [Read more...]