by Clark Groome Two plays that capture historic periods, one in the 15th century and one in 1969, opened this past week. Both are receiving interesting productions. Two Trains Running August Wilson wrote 10 plays chronicling the 20th century black experience. Set one per decade, they are in total a stunning exploration about what it […]
Read More >by Clark Groome A strong, independent Jewish lady and her wily black chauffeur form the core of the delicious “Driving Miss Daisy,” Alfred Uhry’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play that can be seen at Ambler’s Act II Playhouse through March 26. “Driving Miss Daisy” explores the 25-year period during which Hoke Coleburn (Brian Anthony Wilson) is chauffeur […]
Read More >by Clark Groome Two comedies of very different quality made up my week at the theatre. Here are my reactions to the shows at Act II and People’s Light: “Fox on the Fairway” Two competing high-toned country clubs, Crouching Squirrel and Quail Valley, are playing their annual golf tournament. The competition and relationships between and […]
Read More >by Clark Groome People either loved or hated Frank Rizzo, the Philadelphia cop who became police chief and, from 1972-1980, mayor of the city he loved but often traumatized. He was a no-nonsense enforcer who let his own views about who’s who and what’s what get in the way of actually looking objectively at the […]
Read More >by Clark Groome “According to Goldman” is more evidence, if more evidence is needed, that Philadelphia playwright Bruce Graham is an actor’s writer. In “Goldman,” as in all his other plays, Graham has a superb ear for dialogue. “According to Goldman” is playing at Ambler’s Act II Playhouse through Oct. 11. Gavin Miller (the delicious […]
Read More >by Clark Groome The press release People’s Light and Theatre wrote for its current production of local playwright Bruce Graham’s “Stella and Lou” says that this is a “deeply romantic play about people we rarely see on stage.” The operative word is “people.” What distinguishes Graham’s work — and I’ve seen about 20 of his […]
Read More >by Clark Groome The cast includes Stephen Sondheim, Ethel Merman, Carol Channing, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Bebe Neuwirth, Liza Minnelli, Andrea McArdle, Harvey Fierstein and Barbra Streisand. They’re appearing in “Chicago,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Annie,” “Hello, Dolly,” “West Side Story,” “Spamalot,” “Rent,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Wicked,” “Mama Mia,” “Cats,” “Les Misérables” and “A […]
Read More >by Clark Groome As important as the issues are in Kimber Lee’s “brownsville song (b-side for tray),” the play is at times predictable and obvious. It’s a play about loss in an impoverished area of Brooklyn where a mixed race family fights to survive the poverty and violence that so often lead to wasted lives. […]
Read More >by Clark Groome A disappointing use of great songs and a strong production of one of Neil Simon’s autobiographical plays made up a mixed week of theater. Here’s the rundown: “I Love a Piano” When you talk about what has come to be known as “The Great American Songbook,” nobody plays a larger part in […]
Read More >by Clark Groome I must be one of about seven theater critics or theater lovers who had never seen Edward Albee’s searing masterpiece, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” I never saw Liz and Dick duke it out in the movie or any of the highly acclaimed productions that have graced Broadway over the half-century since […]
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