Standing Room Only

Ronnie Marmo as Lenny Bruce in a scene from “I’m Not a Comedian…I’m Lenny Bruce” (Photo credit: Doren Sorell Photography The Island Now – December 31, 2018 Thanks to Amazon’s hit television series, “The Amazing Mrs. Maisel,” Lenny Bruce, the comedian, has found a new generation of fans. In the first season, Bruce is a key player […]

December 27, 2018 Stagebuddy Some movies are better left on the screen. However, that doesn’t stop producers from trying to make shows out of them.  Based upon her 1995 movie “Clueless”, Amy Heckerling has created a stage version called “Clueless, The Musical” now running at The Pershing Square Signature Center.  The original script was adapted […]

December 17, 2018 Stagebuddy People believe anything they see, in reputable publications and even on Wikipedia. They accept every number, name and fact as truth.  This places a great deal of responsibility on the media and can be taken seriously or merely ignored. Such is the situation in “Lifespan of A Fact”  by Jeremy Karen, […]

The Island Now – December 17, 2018 By Elyse Trevers In arguably one of the most iconic scenes in movie history, actor Peter Finch as newscaster Howard Beale in “Network” yells “I’m mad as hell and I can’t take it anymore” and exhorts his viewers to do the same. I’m happy to report the same […]

The Island Now Photo by Joan Marcus – December 5, 2018   Mike Birbiglia is very likable; he’s affable, self-effacing and usually smiling. These traits suit him since he tells jokes for a living in his one-man shows. Until recently, his shows ran in small Off-Broadway venues, but when his latest 85 minutes show, “The […]

Stagebuddy:  December 1, 2018 The prologue sets the tone that will quietly pervade the lengthy work “The Ferryman,” the new masterful work by Jez Butterworth, (“Jerusalem”):  When a dead body is discovered in a bog, it is identified as that of Seamus Carney, who disappeared ten years earlier.  Although there had been purported sightings of […]

Stagebuddy:  December 1, 2018 There are several stages of dealing with someone with Alzheimer’s and the revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s play “The Waverly Gallery” will take us through all of them. There’s humor and tolerance followed by frustration leading to anger and finally ending in resignation and acceptance.  In this case, the victim of this […]

Stagebuddy: December 1, 2018 The midterm elections are over and a record-number of women won seats in the House of Representatives.  As of November 11, there were 99 compared to the 12 – 30 years ago when Nancy Pelosi was elected.  In great part, the progress of women is due to the contributions of early […]

– November 30, 2018 TheIslandToday By Elyse Trevers Josh Cohen is back in town, and he’s as engaging as he was in 2012 when the show first opened at the Soho Playhouse. Then “The Other Josh Cohen,” written by David Rossmer and Steve Rosen, was nominated for 6 Drama Desk Awards and followed up with […]