Posts by Martin Jones Westlin
Lack of References Scuttles Well-Intentioned ‘Bright Half Life’
Married life is either a patiently enduring proposition or a gamble lost as often as won. Diversionary Theatre’s well-intentioned ‘Bright Half Life’ tries to make us think it’s both, and that’s where the problems lie.
Read MoreMaybe NVA’s ‘The Weir’ Would Have Worked As a Staged Reading
It’s a paper-thin veil between life and death, it is, and the regulars at The Weir pub spin the yarns that prove it. But like the ghosts and goblins that color the supernatural tales in the plot, New Village Arts’ production of this Conor McPherson play is inexplicably lifeless.
Read MoreCygnet Theatre’s Coward Shows: One Down, One to Go
Noel Coward once said that he didn’t look at himself through anybody’s eyes but his own. That’s the mark of an absolutely transcendent farceur — and with a few exceptions, Cygnet Theatre Company proudly presents him as he is in a double bill.
Read MoreSubtext Is King in Mo`olelo’s Decent ‘Cell’
Sociopolitically correct Mo`olelo Performing Arts Company resumes its full-fledged stage activity with a pretty good world-premiere ‘Cell,’ designed as a commentary on likeminded social groups and the reproach they experience when society necessarily places them at odds.
Read MoreNCR’s ‘Fox on the Fairway’ Rarely Leaves the Tee
A set’s profusion of doors may or may not indicate that a farce is on tap. There aren’t that many doorways, for example, that dress the scenes in North Coast Repertory Theatre’s ‘Fox on the Fairway.’ Then again, there isn’t much of this piece to begin with.
Read MoreGang-intensive take fuels Lamb’s’ very good ‘West Side Story’
‘West Side Story’ is a modern musical retake on William Shakespeare’s tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet.’ It’s fitting that ‘West Side’ isn’t going away any more than Shakespeare is — and amid Lamb’s Players Theatre’s very good turn with the former, you begin to figure out why.
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