Young Jean Lee Looks at US Laughing at US by Barry David Horwitz Young Jean Lee’s “The Shipment” (2009) is made up of four episodes involving ordinary family or friends who engage in what passes for stereotypical behavior in the lives of African Americans–or, maybe not. The play is written by the phenom, underground…
Mike Bartlett’s Splendid, Dangerous Comedy by Barry David Horwitz ACT’s stage set for “King Charles III” sets a high bar for the show—it’s a stunning, spectacular castle, many stories high. As you look upwards, the vaulted gothic arches and windows soar to the sky, as though we were in Buckingham Palace or Westminster Abbey—and…
“With a Little Bit of Love,” Eliza Masters the King’s English by Barry David Horwitz How did Lerner and Loewe get U.S. audiences to accept a simple formula about class conflict, taken from the socialist playwright Bernard Shaw? In his play “Pygmalion” (1912), Shaw shows us a Cockney girl, who sells violets on the…
Secrets & Lies Hide in Plain Sight at The Strand by Barry David Horwitz Phillip Howse’s world premiere in S.F. Playhouse’s Sandbox Series tries to bring the interior world of a teen age girl threatened from all sides into the arena of drama. It’s a psychological adventure, rare on the stage and tricky to…