Profile for Auggie27

One thing we've all gotten used to since the post-quarantine re-opening of Broadway; the last minute substitution of a cover. The positive: it's placed these heroic but too often marginalized theater artists front and center. That first year back, I saw so many (Jennifer Blood on for Mare Winningham, Christopher Innvar on for the poor never-appearing Greg Kinnear - but those two - brilliant, both - are just off the top of my head). I found it a new adventure. The negative: audien

I'm intrigued by the shortcomings of the play, in particular its weakness as a piece of satisfying theatrical storytelling, independent of its topicality, which admittedly serves the cultural moment.  I'm a big admirer of Disgraced, the Pulitzer winner that put this playwright on the map. Yet its brilliance - its central character daringly conceived and shaped as counterpoint in a post-9/11 world -  is almost independent its plot machinery. Which is contrived a

I also joined in 2003, a lifetime ago, because internet participation in impromptu salons was still a relatively new pastime, and the discussions that arose here were full-throated and impassioned, with richly debated topics, highly subjective takes, a little rage, a little glibness, a few wounds but seldom permanent scars, and much enjoyment. I made a handful of friends here that I cherish, away from this board; they have lasted over two decades, and I never forget - or t

Can't quite get over the hand-wringing above about the removed intermissions. The play was written when the three act form was routine in modern drama, a strictly if not universally observed structural conceit in a world with a different attention span, a different expectation of audience behavior/needs, and different ideas as to how theatrical storytelling best serves a venue and captive witnesses. The play is in three distinct and labeled movements, to be sure, but directors have long f

NO SPECIFIC SPOILERS. Saw this last night, and come down in the middle of the reactions I've encountered on the boards. The play ultimately gains genuine power, once its second of three acts burrows deeply into the core event defining the heartbreaking story. Butterworth's ability to shape an overly familiar situation - a stage mother who will sacrifice literally anything for her children's success - into something new and disturbing earns attention and respect. And when the plot

Last spring, two friends - admirers of her work in film - wondered if Farrow would be up to matching her stage-dwelling duet partner. Remembering her strong work in Romantic Comedy my first year in NYC, I had my fingers crossed. From a quick scan of the reviews, it seems that her performance is the de facto centerpiece of this production, in effect its raison d'etre now that it's been unveiled. A lovely turn in a vividly front and center career (and life) that features a trul

As I noted elsewhere, one model, or at least, recognizable example, of this particular type of two-hander might be the much produced - and off-Broadway, brilliantly cast/recast - A Couple of White Chicks Sitting Around Talking. Though the plot proper is not similar, this feels like the sub-genre: sharp women with oppositional characteristics who find a Venn diagram of overlapping issues and try to inhabit that space; consequences ensue. My reductive frame is not intended to minimize;

These reports of Farrow's considerable strengths track with my ancient memory of her first B'way gig, Romantic Comedy. To my surprise, and I was in my late 20s when I thought I knew everything about movie actors turning to the stage  (!), she was formidable, with a strong voice, solid chops, and an unexpected gravitas. She played opposite the less persuasive Anthony Perkins, and Farrow was the production's center, even in early previews.  I have read people

I've only seen her in the national tour of Aspects of Love, in which she used her full voice but decidedly favored her classical sound. She was vocally and physically robust, a decisive factor in her success there (if one liked both the show and her overall performance, which was chilly). As I noted above, I'm not necessarily against this fragile, flute-note-centric Norma. If Brightman were acting the song with this register, it might be heartbreaking, as I said above. But sh

I had thought that the Brightman voice might bring a kind of Havisham-like dimension to the role, the operatic reaches would suggest the melancholy life of a shut-in, the thin, ethereal tones creating a distinctive older character; we'd lose the belt and thus vocal energy of prior Normas but the trade-off might be intriguing. Though I see evidence that such a take might work, her tentativeness in the clip - she seems to be working hard to place the song, like an imitation of an

I knew that Silverman's play has been produced elsewhere, including ATL (2015) and Williamstown (2017), but I just learned it's actually already published by Samuel French (2017). One can assume all rights have been withheld for this brand new debut. But the good news here: like "Appropriate," which was first developed at Sundance in 2011 and reached Broadway in the fall of 2023, plays have longer and fuller lives than ever before. I'm as happy for the gifted Ms. Silverm

I'm in that sliver of the theatergoing public that doesn't find stagedoor behavior Exhibit A in measuring an actor's generosity of spirit or even attitude toward a fan base. We live in a post-Covid world, and intimate contact with anyone is a personal decision. But even before the pandemic, pausing at a stage door is not required to serve a show or embrace its admirers. Terse, perfunctory exchanges can happen when actors have reason to rush on. They do, as everyone does leaving a

Just a question, so don't beat me up if you disagree strongly: But doesn't an older Irene raise the stakes and the poignancy? This is a story of two successful businesswomen who have made period-specific sacrifices to hold onto agency. They had no vote, likely had trouble with banks and small business startups (unmarried American woman got credit cards in their names in the 1970s; seriously, not unrelated). These are fascinating contemporary issues. Irene wearing ribbons down her

I was there this afternoon. Rapturous. I must second Nyadgal's take on Eddie Cooper's Etches: for me, a standout in a company that had no weaknesses. These vocals - separately and together - are so elegantly handled, they raised the bar.  But Cooper's work, played differently from the sublime Allan Corduner, turned Etches into a front and center major player, which changed the dynamic in every scene he was in: Cooper brings an unexpected agency - as if the show found a n