Michael Socrates Moran Touches Tony Kushner’s Epic with Genius by Barry David Horwitz When I saw the very first production of Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” back in 1991, at the old Eureka Theater in San Francisco, I walked out of the theater dazed and wondering. What had I just seen? It…
A visit to the Forest of Arden brings a bracing breath of fresh air.
Scenic Designer Nina Ball has outdone herself with the creation of a glorious Forest of Arden for Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.” When refugees from the corrupt court flee to the forest named after Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, they are off to build a new world.
Inspired by Dali, giant pink, yellow, and blue leaves decorate Ball’s stunning staircase set—backed by the living forest. Ball conjures a dream commune embedded in Nature. Her beautiful set evokes a fantasy land that liberates and welcomes the immigrants from the court, offering them asylum.
Jen Silverman Evokes Laughter, Exposes Gender & Class Roles by Barry David Horwitz “Collective Rage” conjures five women across the gender spectrum and follows their struggles to liberate themselves from old, patriarchal ways. They are all named Betty, numbered 1 to 5, played by extraordinary actors who embody Betties from Extreme Femme to Butch…
D’Agata Writes ‘Masterpiece’ Essay, Fingal Checks Every Fact by Barry David Horwitz “The Lifespan of a Fact” is based on a true story. It took seven years for well-known writer John D’Agata to publish his essay on the high suicide rate in Las Vegas. But with the magic of theater, his arguments with fact…