279 stories by "Elyse Trevers"
This season Broadway is hoping to use star power to boost ticket sales. So popular movie and television performers are headlining new theatrical productions as well as revivals. Producers ho…
They say you never forget your first time and one of the first shows I ever saw was "Once Upon a Mattress" starring comedienne Carol Burnett. It was unforgettable! Incomparable! For me, it w…
Jane makes me uncomfortable. Maybe it's her nervousness and twitching. Maybe it is the gun she is brandishing as the play JOB begins. According to Anton Chekhov, if a writer includes a gun i…
Orthodox Jews won't work on the Sabbath. Work includes simple tasks, such as turning on air conditioners and lights. Over the years they have enlisted the aid of a Shabbos Goy, a non-Jew who…
What can the audience learn from the new production "Empire: The Musical" directed by Cady Huffman? The building was originally supposed to be named after former governor Alfred E. Smith. Th…
I had a stressful week and was really hoping to see a lighthearted play, certainly not one about politics. However, "N/A," the new play by Mario Correa, was next in the queue. Correa comes t…
Cephus Miles never wanted to leave his home in Crossroads, North Carolina. The central figure of the beautiful revival of Samm " Art Williams's "Home" presented at Roundabout's Todd Haimes T…
Can two extremely talented female performers overcome their history of unhappy relationships and learn to love again? Zoe Sarnak and Rachel Bonds's rock musical, The Lonely Few, is a lesbian…
Brian Friel's play "Molly Sweeney" directed by Charlotte Moore is staged in the simplest form imaginable. The three major characters are seated in chairs on stage. They speak directly to the…
It's estimated that there are over 5 million people who belong to book clubs and 80% of the participants are women. Some of the clubs are organized and have a paid leader while others are mo…
The NYTW production of "Here There Were Blueberries" in a co-production with Tectonic Theater Project, begins with a single object onstage. It is a Leica camera and the narrator explains how…
Imagine you are the fly on the wall in a recording studio. One of your favorite groups is scheduled to record its latest album. It's the 1970's, and the group has an album on The Billboard c…
The post The Heart of Rock and Roll appeared first on StageBuddy.com.
The revision of "Uncle Vanya" at Lincoln Center is notable for two reasons. One is that it has been modernized by Heidi Schreck ("What the Constitution Means to Me") making it more relatable…
As we approach Mother's Day, it was fitting that two of the plays I saw this week had mothers as central characters, and they could not have been more different. "Mary Jane" is loving, self-…
Fans of "The Crown" written by Peter Morgan may flock to see "Patriots," his new Broadway play but they will discover a very different historical drama. However, the trip is worth it to see …
One problem with revivals is that creatives often feel a need to change things up. So they might use a different time, setting, storyline and sometimes even remove music. The recent revival …
Few film actors can easily transition from film to the stage with live audiences and no do-overs. Yet Rachel McAdams makes a splendid Broadway debut in the revival of Amy Herzog's play "Mary…
In 2002, Long Island Reads initiated a program designed to bring together readers in Nassau and Suffolk Counties to discuss a Long Island-related book. Unsurprisingly, the first book was the…
Years ago, I taught the book The Outsiders to classes of teenagers. My students were intrigued by the two warring gangs separated by economic circumstances: the Socs, wealthy kids in madras …
Adaptations are common in theater and often popular shows are revised and modified to reach different audiences. Shakespeare is a favorite source of material."Hamlet" inspired "Fat Ham" and …
"The Who's Tommy" The music from "The Who's Tommy" is part of the fabric of my life. I grew up singing it, hearing it and loving it. Snatches of songs immediately evoke images and remind me …
I was 14 years old when i went to the circus for the first time. I don't recollect any of the acts, but I can remember the sideshow and even bought a souvenir 'giant' size ring. Overall, I r…
It's good to know that classical theater continues to be relevant. Although "An Enemy of the People" by Henrik Ibsen was written in 1882, it feels pertinent today, and as I sat in the Circle…
Creating a musical from a successful book and movie is a mixed bag. The upside is that the material already has thousands of loyal fans. At the same time, it attracts audiences with expectat…
