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10 questions for 10 years – Matthew Parker

As the Hope Theatre’s outgoing AD prepares for his final season and new adventures, Matthew Parker takes a little time to answer Ten Questions for Ten Years

It is no mean feat to transform a fringe theatre into a must-see venue but that’s what Mr Parker has done so successfully over the last few years at the Hope. Both as a director (Her Aching Heart and Steel Magnolias being particular highlights) and as an artistic director (his programming really has been reliably delightful), he has flourished and consequently, I’ve kept on going back even on Arsenal matchdays…  
Continue reading “10 questions for 10 years – Matthew Parker”

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Review: Fun Home, Young Vic

As exciting as musical theatre can get – Fun Home becomes a must-see production at the Young Vic

“Caption—My dad and I were exactly alike
…
Caption—My dad and I were nothing alike”

It’s fitting that Fun Home should open in Pride month, not least because it is an all-too-rare show that focuses on the L in LGBT+. But as stirring and gratifying and significant as it is to have a lesbian protagonist, this musical works because it is straight-up fantastic – an unabashedly bold queering of the form that reins back any notion of excess to reveal the simple truth that beneath it all, we all hurt the same.   

Fun Home is based on Alison Bechdel’s memoir of the same name, a graphic novel musing on her experiences in coming out and later discovering her father is a closet homosexual, yearning for a deeper understanding about how he could have, maybe, possibly, taken his life while she was still a teenager. Lisa Kron’s book adopts a non-linear approach, using an adult Alison as a narrator to recall fragments of memory from her childhood and from her early university days, the bruising experience of her own life facilitating a deeper reflection.  Continue reading “Review: Fun Home, Young Vic”

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Winners of 2013-2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards

John Gassner Playwriting Award
Scott Z. Burns, The Library
WINNER – Eric Dufault, Year of the Rooster
WINNER – Madeleine George, The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence
WINNER – Steven Levenson, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin
Lauren Yee, The Hatmaker’s Wife

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Andy Karl, Rocky
WINNER – Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love Murder
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Continue reading “Winners of 2013-2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards”

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Winners of 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards

Outstanding Play
Bad Jews, Produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, Written by Joshua Harmon
Domesticated, Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, Written by Bruce Norris
The Night Alive, Produced by Atlantic Theater Company, Originally Produced by the Donmar Warehouse, Written by Conor McPherson 
WINNER –The Open House, Produced by Signature Theatre, Written by Will Eno

Outstanding Musical
WINNER – Fun Home, Produced by The Public Theater, Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron Based on the Alison Bechdel book
Here Lies Love, Produced by The Public Theater Concept and Lyrics by David Byrne, Music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Additional Music by Tom Gandy and J Pardo
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Produced by Howard & Janet Kagan, Paula Marie Black, John Logan, Lisa Matlin, Daveed Frazier, Tom Smedes, Vertical Ent./Roman Gambourg/Lev Gelfer Written by Dave Malloy
What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined, Produced by New York Theatre Workshop, Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David and Others Conceived by Kyle Riabko and David Lane Seltzer   Continue reading “Winners of 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards”

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Nominations for the 2014 Drama Desk Awards

Outstanding Play
Nell Benjamin, The Explorers Club 
Steven Levenson, Core Values
Conor McPherson, The Night Alive 
Richard Nelson, Regular Singing
Bruce Norris, Domesticated
Robert Schenkkan, All The Way
John Patrick Shanley, Outside Mullingar 

Outstanding Musical
A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder 
Aladdin
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Fun Home
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Rocky
The Bridges of Madison County Continue reading “Nominations for the 2014 Drama Desk Awards”

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Nominations for 2013-2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards

John Gassner Playwriting Award
Scott Z. Burns, The Library
Eric Dufault, Year of the Rooster
Madeleine George, The (Curious Case of the) Watson Intelligence
Steven Levenson, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin
Lauren Yee, The Hatmaker’s Wife

Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Michael Cerveris, Fun Home
Neil Patrick Harris, Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Andy Karl, Rocky
Jefferson Mays, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love Murder
Bryce Pinkham, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Continue reading “Nominations for 2013-2014 Outer Critics Circle Awards”

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Nominations for 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards

Outstanding Play
Bad Jews, Produced by Roundabout Theatre Company, Written by Joshua Harmon
Domesticated, Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, Written by Bruce Norris
The Night Alive, Produced by Atlantic Theater Company, Originally Produced by the Donmar Warehouse, Written by Conor McPherson 
The Open House, Produced by Signature Theatre, Written by Will Eno

Outstanding Musical
Fun Home, Produced by The Public Theater, Music by Jeanine Tesori, Book and Lyrics by Lisa Kron Based on the Alison Bechdel book
Here Lies Love, Produced by The Public Theater Concept and Lyrics by David Byrne, Music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, Additional Music by Tom Gandy and J Pardo
Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Produced by Howard & Janet Kagan, Paula Marie Black, John Logan, Lisa Matlin, Daveed Frazier, Tom Smedes, Vertical Ent./Roman Gambourg/Lev Gelfer Written by Dave Malloy
What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined, Produced by New York Theatre Workshop, Music by Burt Bacharach, Lyrics by Hal David and Others Conceived by Kyle Riabko and David Lane Seltzer   Continue reading “Nominations for 2014 Lucille Lortel Awards”

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Nominations for 2011 Lucille Lortel Awards

Outstanding Play
In the Wake – Produced by The Public Theater; Written by Lisa Kron.
Other Desert Cities – Produced by Lincoln Center Theater; Written by Jon Robin Baitz.
Peter and the Starcatcher – Produced by New York Theatre Workshop; Written by Rick Elice, Based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.
The Coward – Produced by Lincoln Center Theater/LCT3; Written by Nick Jones.
The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity – Produced by Second Stage Theatre; Written by Kristoffer Diaz

Outstanding Musical
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson – Produced by The Public Theater and Center Theatre Group in association with Les Freres Corbusier; Music and Lyrics by Michael Friedman, Book by Alex Timbers.
In Transit – Produced by Primary Stages, the Baruch/Viertel/Routh/Frankel Group, Jane Bergere, Jodi Glucksman, Ken Greiner, Chip Meyrelles, Christina Papagjika, and Janet Rosen; Music, Lyrics and Book by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, Sara Wordsworth.
The Burnt Part Boys – Produced by Playwrights Horizons and Vineyard Theatre; Music by Chris Miller, Lyrics by Nathan Tysen, Book by Mariana Elder.
The Kid – Produced by The New Group; Music by Andy Monroe, Lyrics by Jack Lechner and Book by Michael Zam.
We the People: America Rocks! – Produced by Theatreworks USA; Book by Joe Iconis, Songs by Brad Alexander (Music) and Kevin Del Aguila (Lyrics), Eli Bolin (Music) and Sam Forman (Lyrics), Joe Iconis (Music and Lyrics), Tommy Newman (Music and Lyrics), Ryan Scott Oliver (Music and Lyrics), Adam Overett (Music and Lyrics), Mark Weiner (Music) and Erik Weiner and Jordan Allen-Dutton (Lyrics). Continue reading “Nominations for 2011 Lucille Lortel Awards”