Showing posts with label Lyceum Theatre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lyceum Theatre. Show all posts

Friday, December 12, 2014

DISGRACED on Broadway

Dear readers, I want to take this opportunity to make one final push for one of the finest, most thought-provoking plays I've seen on Broadway in years. Do your best to catch it before it closes on March 1st! I want to share with you a special discount code for tickets as well as a new trailer for the play. Below is my review of the play.

Code DIBBOX105 can be used over the phone (212-947-8844), in person at the Lyceum Theatre Box Office (149 West 45th Street), or online at TelechargeOffers.com. The discount offers $95 Select Orchestra and Mezzanine seats and $55 Rear Mezzanine seats. Some black out dates may apply.

The new trailer can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn-py-3JJrE


A few days ago I had the pleasure of seeing DISGRACED on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre. I didn't do much research beforehand and needless to say, I was surprised. Ayad Akhtar's play is though provoking and it will hit your preconceptions like a punch in the face. You have a Muslim Pakistani man, Amir (Hari Dhillon) who is married to a white woman, Emily (Gretchen Mol). Amir works as a lawyer with Jory (Karen Pittman), whom is married to Isaac (Josh Radnor). Isaac and Emily are both artists and having a secret affair. The fifth character, Abe, (Danny Ashok) is Amir's nephew and a supporter of a radical Imam. So now you are caught up.

I saw this play as an allusion to Adam and Eve. Amir has renounced his Muslim upbringing and wants nothing to do with it, while his wife Emily celebrates Islam, studies Islamic art, and encourages Amir to go back to his roots. When Abe wants legal help for an Imam accused of supporting terrorist activity, Emily convinces Amir to jump in. When Amir does get involved, even on the fringe, that's when things fall apart, just as they did for Adam and Eve when Eve convinced Adam to eat the apple. Ownership is such a major theme in this play. Each character meets their downfall when they choose to take or not to take ownership of their own actions. This is particularly interesting because coupling is so important in the structure of Akhtar's play. We have the marital duos and the career duos, but each conflict is ultimately about individuals' decisions.

You may think you are completely open-minded when it comes to race and religion, but Akhtar's work will make you feel uncomfortable. It forces you to ask yourself the difficult questions. It is not for the faint of heart, but if you expect theatre to make you think and feel, this is your show. Don't make plans for any post-show events unless you can discuss the play. Trust me, you will have plenty to talk about. 

Sunday, February 9, 2014

Win a Pair of Passes to THE REALISTIC JONESES on Broadway!


If you've ever wondered about the origin of the phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses," this dynamic new play by Will Eno will shed some light on the situation.

What do you really know about your neighbors?

This spring, TONI COLLETTE, MICHAEL C. HALL, TRACY LETTS, & MARISA TOMEI invite you to find out!


THE REALISTIC JONESES Written by Will Eno Directed by Sam Gold
Academy Award nominee Toni Collette (Muriel’s Wedding, Hostages), Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall (Dexter, Six Feet Under), Tony Award winner Tracy Letts (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Homeland) and Academy Award Winner Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinny, The Wrestler) star in THE REALISTIC JONESES, the new play about love and life, friends and neighbors.
Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Will Eno and directed by Sam Gold (Fun Home), it’s an outrageous, inside look at the people who live next door, the truths we think we know and the secrets we never imagined we all might share.

To enter our contest, post your answer to the following question in the comments section below, along with your email address so we can contact the winner. Please reply no later than Friday February 21st.

Tracy Letts is not only an actor, but also an award winning playwright. For which play did he win the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama? Good luck and come back and visit us soon!

THEATRE
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
(Between Broadway and 6th Avenue) New York, NY 10036

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Monday & Tuesday @ 8pm, Wednesday @ 2pm & 8pm, Thursday & Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm

Beginning April 7:
Tuesday @ 7:30pm, Wednesday @ 2pm & 7:30pm, Thursday @ 7:30pm, Friday @ 8pm, Saturday @ 2pm & 8pm, Sunday @ 3pm

ONLINE & SOCIAL NETWORKS Website: www.TheRealisticJoneses.com Facebook: www.Facebook.com/RealisticBway Twitter: www.Twitter.com/RealisticBway Instagram: www.Instagram.com/RealisticBway 

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Take Another Little Piece of My Heart Now Janis

"People like their blues singers miserable...and dead," or at least that's what Mary Bridget Davies tells us as Janis Joplin. I'm not old enough to have experienced Joplin in her heyday, but I feel like I caught a glimpse of her world last Tuesday night at A Night with Janis Joplin at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. I have to say that those who were of her generation got the most out of the show, particularly (hey girl hey) the woman three rows ahead of me in the mezzanine who couldn't stop dancing in her seat.

Structurally, the show is bizarre. Janis (Mary Bridget Davis) sits down in her Texas-sized chair with a bottle of SoCo, tells a story about her past, and then segues into a song. The odd part is that sometimes she sings her own songs and sometimes she relives one of her idols singing their songs. Hearing the music of Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin to name a few was a pleasant surprise for me. We see two very distinct Janises. We have Janis the electrifying performer, and Janis the reflective thinker who, on the surface, seems like your quirky best friend. I take issue with the fact that Randy Johnson's book makes Janis appear so calm and calculated, nothing like the woman who died much too young of a drug overdose.

Aside from the nonsensical book, this show really is enjoyable. Okay, so it's probably more Vegas than Broadway and the sets and costumes were all borrowed from a regional production of Hair, but I was entertained and so was the rest of the very full house. Mary Bridget Davies is a revelation as Janis Joplin. She has all of her tendencies and inflections down pat, and girlfriend just plain sings her face off. Her Cry Baby and Stay With Me are religious experiences, though I question how she can maintain that level of vocal performance deep into the run. I certainly wouldn't want to see an understudy when I just saw the reincarnation of Janis Joplin herself.

A Night With Janis Joplin
Starring Mary Bridget Davies
Lyceum Theatre
149 West 45th Street
Writer/Dirctor: Randy Johnson
Choreographer: Patricia Wilcox
Scenic & Lighting Design: Justin Townsend
Costume Design: Amy Clark
Sound Design: Carl Casella
Production Design: Darrel Maloney