Tag: Broadway Theater

Theater in NYC: Betrayal by Harold Pinter on Broadway

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Theater in NYC: Betrayal by Harold Pinter on Broadway

Betrayal, the most famous play by English playwright Harold Pinter is running on Broadway with incredible Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Cox, and Zawe Ashton; until December 8, 2019

Zawe Ashton, Charlie Cox, and Tom Hiddleston in BETRAYAL at London's Harold Pinter Theatre
Zawe Ashton, Charlie Cox, and Tom Hiddleston in BETRAYAL at London’s Harold Pinter Theatre; photo by Marc Brenner

The play Betrayal, directed by Jamie Lloyd, a recognized interpreter of Pinter’s oeuvre, and staged by a scenic designer Soutra Gilmour, comes to New York after a triumphant run in London at the standing-room-only sold-out house at Harold Pinter Theater. The reverse chronology of the script coupled with the bare stage design put a premium on acting in this tense psychological drama. This is where the superb cast shines. Tom Hiddleston, Charlie Cox, and Zawe Ashton successfully navigate the intricacies of the script progressing from the first scene when the affair is over back in time to its start.

Hiddleston’s refined performance as Robert, the deceived husband, sets the finely measured tone and carries the plot to its highest points of controlled tensions. Cox as Jerry, Robert’s close friend, excels in depicting a character that goes with a flow. Emma, Robert’s wife, and Jerry’s lover, in Ashton’s interpretation, comes across as reserved and underwhelming.

Lloyd employs the novel technique of keeping all three characters on stage even in the scenes written for two. This is a cunning way to stress the unconscious awareness of guilt. Locked in a bitter love-triangle, each of the three is guilty in deceiving the other two. Coupled with the reverse chronology of the script, the production is deceptively simple yet deeply sophisticated. A few fine accents like costume change would help in articulating the passage of time for this otherwise fluid and well-balanced spectacle.

Betrayal runs for only 17 weeks on Broadway until December 8, 2019. Click below for tickets at 56% off.

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Theater in NYC: Hans Christian Andersen – Tales Real & Imagined

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Theater in NYC: Hans Christian Andersen – Tales Real & Imagined

A play about the life of the beloved author of fairy-tales Hans Christian Andersen opens at The Duke on 42nd Street from May 5 – May 25, 2019

Jimmy Ray Bennett in the title role of HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN: TALES REAL & IMAGINED by Ensemble for the Romantic Century
Jimmy Ray Bennett as HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN: TALES REAL & IMAGINED by Ensemble for the Romantic Century; Photo credit: Shirin Tinati

The Ensemble for the Romantic Century tells a story about Andersen’s life by weaving in Andersen’s autobiographical writings, his fairy tales, and the emotionally deep musical scores by Britten, Purcell, Part, Stravinsky, and Barber. The production about the beloved children’s book writer is much more serious and deep than the name suggests. It runs at The Duke on 42nd Street from May 5 – May 25, 2019.

The artistic directors of the Hans Christian Andersen: Tales Real & Imagined use the genre of theatrical concert, combining theater, classical music repertoire, voice, and puppets. Accompanied by highly sensual music, Eve Wolf’s script tells the touching story of Andersen’s life by intertwining biographical details with references to the characters from his famous fairy tales. The scores by Purcell, Britten, Arvo Part, Stravinsky, and Barber organically color the episodes of Andersen’s life in tense, poetic, and desperate hues. Performed by the outstanding pianists Max Barros and Carlos Avila, and a formidable percussionist Shiqi Zhong, the music often takes an upper hand over the rest of the production’s components.

Jimmy Ray Bennet stars as Andersen with countertenors Daniel Moody and Randall Scotting alternating as Andersen’s dearest friend Edvard Collin. They are joined on stage by the familiar puppets from The Ugly Duckling, The Princess and the Pea, The Little Mermaid, and other fairy tales. While giving a nod to Andersen’s childhood interests in the puppet theater, the puppets and the puppeteers are a tenuous addition to the show. The musicians and singers, on the other hand, save the day by making the music tell it all.

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Theater in NYC: Popcorn Falls at the Davenport Theater Off-Broadway

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Theater in NYC: Popcorn Falls at the Davenport Theater Off-Broadway

Hilarious, witty, and heartwarming story about small-town problems artfully told with lots of energy and genuine acting; through January 6, 2019

Adam Heller as Mr. Trundle and Tom Souhrada as Joe in a scene from Popcorn Falls
Adam Heller and Tom Souhrada; photo by Monique Carboni

Welcome to Popcorn Falls, a small town in a hinterland which only attraction and a claim to fame was a now-defunct waterfall! When the river flow was diverted to a next-door town, the parched land seemed to open up all the problems for people of Popcorn Falls. Out of nowhere a salvation for the town presents itself in a form of an improbable grant which invigorates everyone in town and on stage. If only those grants come about more often.

The story, masterfully delivered by an unstoppable pair of comedic actors Tom Souhrada and Adam Heller, is tender, eager and hard-to-believe at the same time. The actors’ sincerity coupled with the script’s entertaining yet warm jokes about broken promises, everyday misfortunes, and local misfits keeps the audience engaged and laughing throughout the performance. In fact, the audience is in a way serves as town residents or the participants in the town hall meetings. The play with its fast-paced acting is suited so well for a small and cozy Davenport Theater, that at times it feels that the stage is filled with a troop of actors. That is a true mastery of the duo that manages to play all 12-odd characters almost simultaneously. Treat yourself to an entertaining night out at Popcorn Falls! The play runs through January 6, 2019.

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