Yesterday, Geoffrey and I went to see the play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, and it was just fantastic. Starring Robin Williams in the title role, Bengal Tiger seems to be one of the most polarizing plays to hit Broadway in years. Just check out a few online audience reviews and you will see that it’s a show that people either love passionately or totally hate. The disparity between the five and the one star reviews might have something to do with the fact that it’s billed as a “Ferocious Comedy,” when it’s really more of heavy, existential political drama with a few good belly laughs here and there, mostly thanks to Williams’ really terrific performance. Continue reading Must See Show: Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo→
If I didn’t have a calendar in front of me I’d swear it was April Fools’ Day, because I just read about a new musical coming to off-Broadway which is based on the true story of the late sixties’ all female rock band, The Shaggs. For those unfamiliar with this pop cultural phenomenon, the band was composed of sisters Dorothy “Dot” Wiggin (vocals/lead guitar), Betty Wiggin (vocals/rhythm guitar), Helen Wiggin (drums), and later Rachel Wiggin (bass). The Shaggs were formed by Dot, Betty, and Helen in 1968 on the insistence of their father, Austin Wiggin, who believed that his mother foresaw the band’s rise to stardom. Continue reading Shaggs: Philosophy of The World Comes to the Off Broadway Stage!→
Julie Taymor is an extremely literal-minded director. That much is in evidence if you’ve seen the film Across the Universe, a Taymor-directed 2006 release in which she visually interpreted, word-for-word, a cache of The Beatles’ most popular songs in order to tell the most simple-minded love story imaginable.
It seems so funny to think that these days, Pee-wee Herman, a character made famous by the gifted actor Paul Ruebens, is a household name. Most people know Pee-wee from the wonderfully infamous Saturday morning ‘children’s’ program, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, but Pee-wee’s roots are a bit more ‘indie-based.’ Pee-wee’s vehicle for his eventual launch to international superstardom was The Pee-wee Herman Show, a 1981 stage play that became a wildly successful HBO special and thus spawned the entire Pee-wee Herman franchise, including films such as Pee-wee’s Big Adventure and, not long after, Pee-wee’s Playhouse. Continue reading Must See Show: The Pee-Wee Herman Show Opens on Broadway!→
