With presentational monologue plays – either one-person shows or sweet duets like Emily Mann’s Having Our Say – the question usually comes to mind, “Who are these characters talking to?” But in the case of Sadie and Bessie Delany, two centenarian African-American sisters who break the theatrical fourth wall from the start of their rambling, but endearing verbal tour of … [Read more...]
‘Having Our Say’ offers powerful history, rebuke for our present
Actresses don’t usually like to reveal their ages, but we can assume that Avery Sommers and Karen Stephens are younger than 103 and 101, the ages they play in Having Our Say, the oral biographies of Sadie and Bessie Delany at Primal Forces theater in Boca Raton, beginning Jan. 11. The Delanys were two African-American sisters whose century-long lives span the … [Read more...]
Skilled Dramaworks cast energizes undemanding ‘Golden Pond’
More so than most plays that have been adapted into movies, On Golden Pond has been under the shadow of its popular 1981 film. Not only did it win Oscars for stars Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn, but the father-daughter conflict at the work’s core mirrored that of Fonda and his own daughter, Jane. Perhaps that is why Palm Beach Dramaworks attempted to distance itself … [Read more...]
Multi-racial ‘On Golden Pond’ aims to be about story, not skin color
At Palm Beach Dramaworks, the cast of Ernest Thompson’s popular 1979 play, On Golden Pond, is multi-racial by design, but director Paul Scancato (Collected Stories) does not want you to focus on that aspect of the production. “For me, it’s ultimately about telling the story of the Thayers,” he says. “The audience might initially think, ‘Oh, it’s going to be … [Read more...]
Gregory’s ‘Motherland’ compelling, but lacks Brecht’s weight
As Constable Dogberry once observed, “Comparisons are odious.” So do what you can to resist pitting Allison Gregory’s new work, Motherland, in your mind against the play that inspired it, Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children. The former, a contemporary tale of a wily, maternal ghetto merchant, has plenty to recommend it, but it is lightweight stuff compared to … [Read more...]
‘Motherland,’ at FAU, takes Brechtian look at War on Poverty
Allison Gregory set out to write a play inspired by Bertolt Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children, generally considered one of the great stage works of the 20th century. The only thing is she knew almost nothing about it. “I had never read it or seen it. I knew zero about Brecht, really,” concedes Gregory. “I’ve never even seen a Brecht play. I’ve never studied Brecht. … [Read more...]
McKeever’s ‘After’ a taut, powerful look at bullying
Extremely prolific South Florida playwright Michael McKeever has now written two plays ripped from the headlines, yet humanized for increased impact. His earlier Daniel’s Husband, which concerns itself with gay marriage and the legal complexities of that institution, is off-Broadway-bound this spring. His latest, called simply After, is about bullying and school violence. It … [Read more...]