It's time to dive into the juvenilia of Eugene O'Neill! The Irish Rep takes a trad route into his 1920 Broadway breakthrough, while the Wooster Group will likely stay more faithful to the master's radical roots in their collection of one-acts. I'm a sucker for O'Neill's romantic gloom, so I'll see both. But for Pick of the Week, I'm drawn to the one-man Iliad at NYTW, which sounds like it's got great potential to stagger the viewer.
Beyond the Horizon
where: Irish Repertory Theater
first night: Wednesday, Feb. 15
Eugene O'Neill won the first of four Pulitzers for this drama. In retrospect, Horizon turned out to be the work of a still-immature master, so it gets produced only rarely today, but it prefigures many of O'Neill's obsessions: the sea, Cain/Abel relationships, female endurance, and a heated (some say overwrought) passion for language.
Call Me Waldo
where: June Havoc Theater
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
An otherwise whimsical comedy adds intellectual heft by mashing up union politics with American transcendentalist philosophy. So the collectivist action collides with individualist spirit, Alinsky shakes hands with Emerson, radicalism finds many forms, and a plumber finds his place in the world.
Early Plays
where: St. Ann's Warehouse
first night: Wednesday, Feb. 15
The Wooster Group goes even deeper into Eugene O'Neill's catalog than the Irish Rep this week, producing a collection of early one-acts from his Provincetown days. Turn-of-the-century maritime life gets the sleek experimental treatment, with NYC director Richard Maxwell subbing for Wooster guru LeCompte.
An Iliad
where: New York Theater Workshop
first night: Wednesday, Feb. 15
Tony-winning actors Denis O'Hare (Take Me Out) and Stephen Spinella (Angels in America) have taken a loose, modern approach to the original myth of endless war. Homer's account of the Siege of Troy gets a treatment so exhausting and imaginative that its creators alternate evenings on this one-man show.
The Lady from Dubuque
where: Signature Center
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
Aside from Virginia Woolf, Edward Albee's work tends to be dramatically obscure and freighted with symbolism. This mid-career revival creaks with allegory, staging a dinner among the well-heeled who carry on when an uninvited guest interrupts the party games. Not-really-a-spoiler: the lady is Death.
Painting Churches
where: Theater Row
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
This fine revival about aging WASPs stars the classy Kathleen Chalfant. Doesn't sound like much? It's produced by the Keen Company, whose mission is to program plays for grown-ups. Not dull Masterpiece Theater stuff or cynical vulgarities but work that has some heft, both emotionally and intellectually.
Shatner's World: We Just Live in It
where: Music Box Theater
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
William Shatner, a onetime Shakespearean actor from Canada, parlayed his cult role as Captain Kirk into strange para-celebrity. Now it takes him to Broadway. By now, you probably know if you want to see this one-man show that covers his eccentric career; no word if he sings or not, but we can hope!
Tribes
where: Barrow Street Theater
first night: Thursday, Feb. 16
David Cromer, one of the most compassionate directors in American theater, helms this script, which got nominated for an Olivier (London's big theater award). A deaf man living with his loud-mouthed family doesn't realize what he's missing until he falls in love with a independently-minded woman.
Last chance!
Inadmissible
where: Canal Park Playhouse
Merrily We Roll Along
where: City Center
The Philanderer
where: City Center Stage II
Samuel and Alisdair: A Personal History of the Robot Wars
where: The New Ohio Theater
Read my review
Tokio Confidential
where: Atlantic Stage 2
Beyond the Horizon
where: Irish Repertory Theater
first night: Wednesday, Feb. 15
Eugene O'Neill won the first of four Pulitzers for this drama. In retrospect, Horizon turned out to be the work of a still-immature master, so it gets produced only rarely today, but it prefigures many of O'Neill's obsessions: the sea, Cain/Abel relationships, female endurance, and a heated (some say overwrought) passion for language.
Call Me Waldo
where: June Havoc Theater
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
An otherwise whimsical comedy adds intellectual heft by mashing up union politics with American transcendentalist philosophy. So the collectivist action collides with individualist spirit, Alinsky shakes hands with Emerson, radicalism finds many forms, and a plumber finds his place in the world.
Early Plays
where: St. Ann's Warehouse
first night: Wednesday, Feb. 15
The Wooster Group goes even deeper into Eugene O'Neill's catalog than the Irish Rep this week, producing a collection of early one-acts from his Provincetown days. Turn-of-the-century maritime life gets the sleek experimental treatment, with NYC director Richard Maxwell subbing for Wooster guru LeCompte.
An Iliad
where: New York Theater Workshop
first night: Wednesday, Feb. 15
Tony-winning actors Denis O'Hare (Take Me Out) and Stephen Spinella (Angels in America) have taken a loose, modern approach to the original myth of endless war. Homer's account of the Siege of Troy gets a treatment so exhausting and imaginative that its creators alternate evenings on this one-man show.
The Lady from Dubuque
where: Signature Center
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
Aside from Virginia Woolf, Edward Albee's work tends to be dramatically obscure and freighted with symbolism. This mid-career revival creaks with allegory, staging a dinner among the well-heeled who carry on when an uninvited guest interrupts the party games. Not-really-a-spoiler: the lady is Death.
Painting Churches
where: Theater Row
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
This fine revival about aging WASPs stars the classy Kathleen Chalfant. Doesn't sound like much? It's produced by the Keen Company, whose mission is to program plays for grown-ups. Not dull Masterpiece Theater stuff or cynical vulgarities but work that has some heft, both emotionally and intellectually.
Shatner's World: We Just Live in It
where: Music Box Theater
first night: Tuesday, Feb. 14
William Shatner, a onetime Shakespearean actor from Canada, parlayed his cult role as Captain Kirk into strange para-celebrity. Now it takes him to Broadway. By now, you probably know if you want to see this one-man show that covers his eccentric career; no word if he sings or not, but we can hope!
Tribes
where: Barrow Street Theater
first night: Thursday, Feb. 16
David Cromer, one of the most compassionate directors in American theater, helms this script, which got nominated for an Olivier (London's big theater award). A deaf man living with his loud-mouthed family doesn't realize what he's missing until he falls in love with a independently-minded woman.
Last chance!
Inadmissible
where: Canal Park Playhouse
Merrily We Roll Along
where: City Center
The Philanderer
where: City Center Stage II
Samuel and Alisdair: A Personal History of the Robot Wars
where: The New Ohio Theater
Read my review
Tokio Confidential
where: Atlantic Stage 2
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