Dear Theatre Friends,
Finally, a breath of fresh air returns to the theatre along with the Fall season. Here are a few suggestions for intelligent plays, worth your time:
I missed earlier productions of David Henry Hwang’s “Yellow Face’, which was an Obie Award winner and a Pulitzer finallist. Roundabout is reviving it– here’s an excellent reviewfrom a London production, albeit a decade ago.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author, James Ijames, created “Fat Ham” and became NY’s darling. His next play “Good Bones” will play at The Public, after a very well received world premiere in Washington. Here’s a superb review from that production.
If you’ve not yet seen Belarus Free Theatre, an unbelieveably fearless company– run to La Mama to experience their defiant, brilliant storytelling. This show, “KS6: Small Forward,” tells of an international, female basketball player turned activist. For serious theatregoers who are curious about this relentlessly political company.
if you’d like to take a chance on a world premiere, you might want to try “Dirty Laundry” by Mathilde Dratwa. It’s produced by “WP” Theater“, a.k.a. Women’s Project– the oldest and largest company producing plays by women authors and directors.
“The Beacon,” by Nancy Harris, is coming to Irish Rep, starring Kate Mulgrew. It originated at the 2019 Dublin Theatre Festival, commissioned by Druid and co-produced by the Gate theatre there. Here’s the Irish Times’ superlative review of that production.
The Mint Theatre Company, is revered for unearthing theatrical gems, not seen for decades. This month, Oklahoma-set “Sump’n Like Wings”, by Lynn Riggs, is opening. If Lynn Riggs name doesn’t ring a bell today— he wrote “For Green Grow the Lilacs”, made into the musical “Oklahoma” in 1930!
I very much enjoyed Delia Ephron’s memoir, “Left on Tenth,” now on Broadway, starring Juliana Margulies and Peter Gallagher. It’s written by Delia Ephron and directed by Susan Stroman. For those who enjoy later-in-life love stories!
That’s all for this month. Keep reading for October’s exciting line up!
See you soon– in a seat next to mine, perhaps?
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.