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I’m Not Racist, But…
There is a moment in James Agee and Walker Evans’ Let Us Now Praise Famous Men—possibly the pinnacle of white liberal guilt—in which Agee accidentally startles a young Black couple: “I was trying in...
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Richard II at the Pearl Theatre
Walter Pater once wrote, “Shakespeare’s kings are not, nor are meant to be, great men,” something that is deeply understood by director J.R. Sullivan in his new production of Richard II at the Pearl...
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It’s Past Now: Beyond the Horizon at the Irish Rep
Beyond the Horizon must be one of Eugene O’Neill’s worst plays—it is humorless, overlong, and maudlin, with language that is almost insultingly obvious; only minutes after curtain, Robert Mayo (Lucas...
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Mediocrity Always Trumps Genius
James Joyce loved Henrik Ibsen; he considered his work superior to Shakespeare’s. In fact, an early, lost play of his—A Brilliant Career—was partially modeled on An Enemy of the People, which is...
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The Secret Sits in the Middle and Knows
About halfway through Craig Wright’s Grace, Sam (Michael Shannon) explains his job to Steve (Paul Rudd). He works for NASA, helping to purify the information they are receiving through probes in the...
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Win Two Tickets to Hamlet
WIN TWO TICKETS TO HAMLET This new production of William Shakespeare’s epic masterpiece updates the setting and strips the play down to its most basic elements, featuring Kyle Knauf in the title role...
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Win Free Tickets to Hamlet!
WIN TWO TICKETS TO BEDLAM’S HAMLET ! Bedlam’s HAMLET has been hailed as “the most direct access to Elsinore possible” by Backstage Magazine, and as “lively, modern, and brisk” by the New York Times....
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A Rash and Bloody Deed
Peter Sarsgaard is a very good actor, and he shouldn’t be ashamed of his unfortunate and dreadful performance in Hamlet, since the role has swallowed up greater performers than he. Still, the...
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Valanced Faces
STRATFORD, ON—Apparently Jonathan Goad takes Hamlet at his word when he says he will “put an antic disposition on.” His performance is full of hopping and howling; he walks backwards like a crab and...
View ArticleWith Forms to Her Conceit
The first and most important thing about Yaël Farber’s revival of Hamlet is that it is one of the best-spoken Shakespeares I have heard in years. These are actors who both understand the meaning of the...
View ArticleToo Much i’ the Sun
In Thomas Ostermeier’s production, now running at the Harvey at BAM Strong, Hamlet (Lars Eidinger) spits food back onto his plate before speaking his first lines. He throws and kicks beer cans,...
View ArticleWe Tragic
A young man’s father is killed. His uncle marries his widowed mother, and while they celebrate the nuptials, the young man is visited by his father’s ghost, who accuses the uncle of murder. This is,...
View ArticleThe Whole Ear of Denmark
In director Kenny Leon’s 2019 production of Much Ado About Nothing, the play was performed under a banner reading STACEY ABRAMS 2020. The choice was optimistic, pointing to the future. The same slogan...
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