Dear Theatre Friends,
I know most aren’t reading to find out about Broadway plays, but this month there are three that appeal to me and, I think, worth your time and money.
First, is one I’ve seen and I agree with the Olivier judges– Jodie Comer is incandescent in “Prima Facie.” Jodie also won a Bafta Award for the television series, “Killing Eve,” but we know how much harder it is to sustain eights performances a week in a one woman show!
Here’s a rave review in the Evening Standard for her work in this high energy legal drama.
For star power, the two leads in “Summer, 1976,” Laura Linney and Jessica Hecht, cannot be rivaled. After seeing Laura single-handedly hold the mainstage of the Bridge Theatre, London in “My Name is Lucy Barton”– I have no doubt we will delight in her ability to mesmerize audiences once again. This MTC production by Pulitzer Prize-winning David Auburn (“Proof”) promises new insights into female friendship and is directed by Daniel Sullivan.
Coming to New York from Chicago’s Goodman Theatre is “Good Night ,Oscar” written by Doug Wright, another Pulitzer Prize-winner (“I Am My Own Wife”). It stars Sean Hayes, who has received countless accolades, such as in this Chicago Tribune review. “Oscar” is Oscar Levant– I anticipate learning more about this early TV musician and talk show host.
For off-Broadway fans– the annual Brits-off-Broadway series returns to 59e59 Theatre. The centerpiece is Alan Bennett’s “The Habit of Art” which has garnered multitudinous raves. It concerns a meeting between Benjamin Britten and his mentor W.H. Auden, after a hiatus of about thirty years, when Britten was writing the opera “Death in Venice.”
There are several others in this series which sound appealing: “Cecil Beaton’s Diaries”; “Foxes”; “Invisible,” among them. You can be assured the acting will be excellent and terribly British!
Finally, a revival I can wholeheartedly recommend: “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” by a winner of my Award, David Grieg (“The Events”). Run to The McKittrick Hotel, grab a brew, then sit back and enjoy a wild ride to the Scottish borders and dance with the Devil! Unlike any other– “Prudencia” is unforgettable.
That’s all for this coming month– I’ll return with more tips in May.
Hope to sit next to you in a theatre– soon!
Carol Tambor publishes a monthly newsletter, which announces worthy shows coming to New York, along with occasional information about London theatre and, of course, the Edinburgh Fringe.