Medea

Harvey Theater at BAM Strong
in ,

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Medea is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Euripides and first produced in 431 BC. The play is centered on a wife's relentless desire for revenge against her unfaithful husband, Jason. The role of Medea is so powerful that the play holds the American Tony award record for most wins for the same female lead character, with Judith Anderson winning in 1948, Zoe Caldwell in 1982, and Diana Rigg in 1994. As an undergrad at the University of Tennessee, I happened to see the 1982 adaptation starring Zoe Caldwell as Medea and Judith Anderson as the nurse. The production opened at the University’s Clarence Browne Theatre before moving to Broadway. To this day I remember the intensity of Dame Judith Anderson’s performance.

With that background established, let’s move to 2020 and this chilling update written and directed by Simon Stone and starring real-life husband and wife team Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne. Ancient Greece meets War of the Roses. We have seen Mr. Cannavale in numerous theater productions and he never fails to light the stage. I am fairly unfamiliar with Ms. Byrne’s body of work so when she took firm control of the stage and began hurdling the blood-soaked story toward its body-strewn conclusion, we sat up and took notice! The allure of mental illness can be quite compelling. Ms. Byrne’s Medea (named Anna in this production, the character Jason is now called Lucas) is in turn charming, seductive, remorseful, pleading, plotting, and ultimately fully unhinged. The visual volume is turned up with a closely shot, real-time video of the actor’s faces on a screen above the stage. Every nuance of their emotional hell is seen in high-def.

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Harry Clarke

Minetta Lane Theatre
in ,

4.5 out of 5 Stars

It is unusual in the small Off-Broadway setting to see a show with dozens of characters, numerous transglobal locations, and almost continuous scene changes. Such is the magic of theater that all of this is accomplished on a small stage with two or three props and a single actor. Harry Clarke is powerhouse theater in every sense of the word. True, as stated this is a one-man show but what is clearly evident in its viewing is that we are seeing an extraordinary team performance – actor, playwright, and director.

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The Children

Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
in ,

4.5 out of 5 Stars

I’ll keep this brief because the fun part of The Children is answering all the questions that you might otherwise look to a review to prepare. Who are these people? What is their relationship? Where are we? (The curtain rises on a set that is truly mundane, with one twist that puts you on an edge you didn’t know you had for the whole show). WHEN are we?

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Farinelli and the King

Belasco Theatre
in ,

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Mark Rylance is theater’s greatest living actor. Before I had ever even heard of him,  I was informed of this by a reliable source - our theater-going friend Margaret. Just before the start of the show, Mr. Rylance’s position in the pantheon of actors was spontaneously reconfirmed by the young woman serving me milk duds and scotch. Two rounds of Nice Fish at St Ann’s Warehouse and his Academy Award-winning performance in Bridge of Spies have only further served to support Margaret’s claim.

When you enter the Balasco Theatre, you are immersed in 18th century Spain with the costumes, the candlelight, and era-appropriate instruments setting the tone for this ethereal musical.  Farinelli and the King is based on the psychologically tortured life of King Phillipe the V and the castrato Farinelli. These two unlikely friends form a bond that spans nine years and brings respite to the King and the harried Spanish court.

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Man from Nebraska

2econd Stage Theatre
in ,

4.5 out of 5 Stars

Man from Nebraska moves quickly -  seventeen scenes conclude in under two hours. While the first several scenes contain minimal dialogue the plot evolves rapidly: the drive to church, the robotic participation from a church pew, the same post-church cafeteria meal, Sunday television, getting ready for bed. What really needs to be said? After all, this is Nebraska – you can drive 300 miles without so much as turning the wheel. The repetitiveness of Ken and Nancy’s routine is obvious. They are in their own self created Groundhogs Day.

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