Blog Archives
King Lear at ASF
Sometimes it can be a pain to get exactly what you’ve been asking for. But in the case of King Lear at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, we felt vindicated by our constant requests that ASF perform more of the Bard’s high-powered originals. It’s not that we’re against the family-friendly fare (like Mary Poppins or The […]
Homegrown Pastime at the Cloverdale Playhouse
Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of watching the debut performance of Pastime, written and directed by Greg Thornton, at the Cloverdale Playhouse. The Playhouse selected the script (submitted under a pseudonym) for development in the 2014 Page-to-Stage series. The simple plot captures the complex dynamics of the contemporary American family. Ten years after the […]
A New Season, a New Play
“There are others who were born with the wisdom to know that nothing lasts. These are the truly tough among us, the ones who can live without illusion, or without even the hope of illusion…” -A. Bartlett Giamatti Our Page-To–Stage Series began two years ago and since then, we have received quite a number of […]
Over the Moon for ASU’s Rent
Rent debuted Friday night at ASU’s Tullibody Fine Arts Center. Jonathan Larson’s 1996 award-winning rock opera chronicles a year in the life of a hipster tenement on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Poor, young New York City artists struggle to find love, to express themselves, to feed their habits, and to hang on to unheated, electricity-free […]
Clybourne Park – A Review
Montgomery truly has a treasure in the Cloverdale Playhouse. It’s a gorgeously renovated theater with a visionary artistic director in Greg Thornton, generous volunteers, and impressive local talent. For those not familiar with Bruce Norris’s Clybourne Park, the play’s first act picks up shortly after the end of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun […]
The Taming of the Shrew at ASF
We try to go and see Shakespeare whenever his plays are on the ASF schedule. We love the facility, but we especially love Shakespeare. There’s something very special about seeing his plays performed with lovely sets and costumes in our own city. We were surprised to see Taming of the Shrew on the schedule this […]
Into The Woods
“You Have To Every Now And Then.” – Stephen Sondheim “The realm of fairy-story is wide and deep and high and filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both joy and sorrow as sharp as […]
Capote Comes Home For The Holidays
“Past certain ages or certain wisdoms it is very difficult to look with wonder; it is best done when one is a child; after that, and if you are lucky, you will find a bridge of childhood and walk across it.” — Truman Capote, “To Europe;” 1948 Whether Tom Wolfe was right about going home […]
Summertime: New Plays and Fresh Voices
“Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.” — August Wilson Isn’t this supposed to be the time of year when you get a […]
How to Make a Decison About Shakespeare
We got a press release saying that the Shakespeare Festival was doing a performance of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Tuesday. But should we go? In hopes that it will be helpful to you in making future decisions about your social calendar, here’s how I thought about it: 1) Do I know anything about Twelfth Night? […]
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