Author Archives

  • Blue Rooms

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    Poetry is in many ways the original form of storytelling. Long narrative poems like The Odyssey preceded the alphabet and were passed down the generations through oral tradition. Oral poets tethered listeners with recitations of Odysseus’ travels across the whale… Read More ›

  • Seasonal Allergies

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    South Park Theatre’s production of Katherine DiSavino and Kevin Mead’s play, Seasonal Allergies, reminds us that dealing with recovery from loss is not a skill in which us humans generally excel. When we hurt, it tends to makes other people… Read More ›

  • Social Security

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    The Apple Hill Playhouse opens their 36th season with Andrew Bergman’s play, Social Security. With a name like Social Security, one fears the theatre itself may be edging into its dotage with what sounds like it could be a geriatric… Read More ›

  • California Suite

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    One of my favorite films is Jim Jarmusch’s Night on Earth, which traces five different stories unfolding simultaneously in five taxicabs around the world. When you clamor into a cab with the sunken seats imprinted with passengers of yesteryear, you… Read More ›

  • The Dresser

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    Ronald Harwood’s 1980 play, The Dresser, is the inaugural production in Little Lake Theatre’s 70th anniversary season, and it’s the first time the theatre has staged this play. It’s ultimately a poignant production. The play traces the intricacies of the… Read More ›

  • The White Chip

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    As the progeny of two alcoholic parents, I felt mixed emotions going into Sean Daniels’ autobiographical play, The White Chip. The play traces his descent into alcoholism and subsequent emergence into sobriety. I was an expert martini maker by age… Read More ›

  • The House of Bernarda Alba

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    The House of Bernarda Alba was the last play Federico Garcia Lorca wrote before his untimely death in 1936. The Spanish Civil War was just breaking out. Like many artists, Garcia Lorca supported the left and spoke out against the… Read More ›

  • Macbeth

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    The question of Shakespeare’s continued relevance in the modern world is an inquiry that never fully quiets. After all, so much has changed across four centuries since William Shakespeare penned Macbeth in 1606-07. However, Macbeth reminds us how strikingly little… Read More ›

  • The Gift of the Maji

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      The Gift of the Magi was adapted by Jon Jory from a 1905 short story by O. Henry. Logically enough given the genre of origin, the play is fairly short and condensed. The narrative traces newlyweds Della and Jim… Read More ›

  • White Christmas

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    One can’t help but feel the warm glow of the holiday spirit watching the endearing production of White Christmas at the Palisade Playhouse in Greenfield. The playhouse is a converted Presbyterian church, which lends itself to rebirth as a theater… Read More ›

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