Reportedly more than 30 million copies of Khaled Hosseini’s pre-9/11 Afghanistan-set novel of friendship, betrayal, death-defying risk and eventual redemption, The Kite Runner, have been sold worldwide and countless millions more saw the powerful 2007 movie adaptation. But even if you are already familiar with this tale that spans decades of evolving Middle Eastern history, you … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 7: Gritty ‘Outsiders’ not otherwise persuasive
April 28, 2024: I completed my bite out of Broadway today with my eighth show in six days --- The Outsiders --- based on S.E. Hinton's novel and Francis Ford Coppola's movie adaptation. It's a visceral musical, steeped in the street warfare between the blue-collar Greasers and the socially better-off Socs. The comparison may be unfair, but it is hard not to think of West Side … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 6: Intense ‘Appropriate,’ dazzling ‘Illinoise’
April 27, 2024: Today, Saturday, was a two-show day with productions that couldn't be more different. At the matinee I saw Appropriate, an intensely dramatic look at a highly dysfunctional family. And in the evening I saw a recently opened dance concert/musical, Illinoise, that challenges what a musical is. Appropriate, by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins in his Broadway debut, is … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 5: Timely ‘Suffs’ an auspicious debut for actress-creator
This afternoon, I, my wife and a couple of good friends from high school who got married a week before us (wow, 52 years ago) met up and went on a food-themed walking tour of Greenwich Village. In addition to a history lesson of the neighborhood, we snacked on bagels, pizza, pie crust cookies, Italian rice balls, Belgian-style fries, artisan chocolates and designer cupcakes. A … [Read more...]
Boca Stage ends season with charming ‘America’s Sexiest Couple’
Unlike its recent seasons, Boca Stage has no Neil Simon plays in its current line-up. But with America’s Sexiest Couple, boy, does it come close. Its playwright, Ken Levine, is no stranger to sitcoms, having spent much of his career writing episodes of M*A*S*H, Cheers and Frasier. Still, this Levine stage comedy will bring to mind a couple of Simon classics --– Plaza Suite … [Read more...]
‘What’s Best for the Children’: Sharp topical comedy premieres at FAU Theatre Lab
Educating our youngsters --- deciding what and what not to teach them --- is a very serious matter. But apparently that news never made its way to playwright Idris Goodwin. For he has taken the subject of education in America today and turned it on its ear, examining the matter from an absurdist perspective in a jaunty little comedy called What’s Best for the Children, now … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 4: ‘The Notebook’ proves emotionally stirring
The weather turned cold in Manhattan today, but the passions boiled over in the musical version of The Notebook, based on Nicholas Sparks' rabidly popular novel and the subsequent cult favorite movie. As you probably recall, the movie divided the central lover roles in two ---- young romantics, Allie and Noah --- and their older selves, a woman who had drifted into dementia and … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 3: Gripping ‘Mary Jane’ from McAdams
After a lunch with some distant cousins of my wife's, we headed to the Broadway Theatre (the only Broadway theater actually on Broadway) to see one of the final previews of a musical adaptation of The Great Gatsby. Because it hasn't officially opened yet, my critical comments are embargoed, but suffice it to say the production brings to mind F. Scott Fitzgerald's much … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 2: ‘Elephants’ is a big winner
I arrived in a bracingly chilly New York this afternoon after an uneventful flight — always a plus. My first show of the trip was a solid winner, an unlikely stage musical version of Water for Elephants, based on the cult favorite 2006 novel by Sara Gruen and the subsequent 2011 movie version. I call it unlikely because a crucial character is a huge pachyderm named Rosie, … [Read more...]
Postcard from Broadway No. 1: Off to New York
Tomorrow I fly to New York to sample the Broadway season, which accelerated in April just before the Tony Awards deadline. I'll be seeing eight shows in six days, including new musicals based on bast-selling novels that became popular movies and now stage shows. Among them are The Notebook, The Great Gatsby … [Read more...]