Eric Coble received his MFA in acting from Ohio University, but his new play, The Velocity of Autumn, is almost a perfect example of the type of work that comes out of contemporary writing programs. It is sharp, well-written, and has an immaculate sense of form. On the other hand, it is unsurprising and timid; any attempts to […]
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The word “wolves” has three syllables in Charles Ludlam’s The Mystery of Irma Vep—it’s pronounced something like “wool-vuh-zz”—and, like everything in this spoof of Gothic narratives, it is unflappably silly and rather funny despite itself. Irma Vep, which plays a bit like the creative team behind The Naked Gun hijacked Hitchcock’s Rebecca, features two actors (Arnie Burton and […]
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It is difficult to say whether Brecht has dated, whether he was never really all that good in the first place, or whether he is just very, very difficult to stage well. The Foundry Theatre’s recent production of Good Person of Szechwan was a revelation, but it leaves one wondering if any production by that […]
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One of the toughest parts about playing iconic Shakespearean roles is convincing the audience that you are saying and thinking these lines for the first time. How is one, for example, to recite “To be or not to be?” or “Never, never, never, never, never” without summoning up the legion of actors who have already […]
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The Marx Brothers’ best movies didn’t exactly hinge on their plots; as long as they could come up with a reasonable excuse to string together a series of hilarious scenes, it didn’t really matter how we got from one to the other. The same is true of Cirque du Soleil, but instead of laughs they rely on […]
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