DF Review — Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike at Bucks County Playhouse (August 2014)
Hooray for homecomings! In this case, we have two. Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, a sweet-sad comic riff […]
DF Reviews Herringbone (Flashpoint Theatre — July 2014)
They don’t call it “star power” for nothing! The musical Herringbone is a worthy, intriguing show that takes too many detours, and […]
Sondheim, Into the Woods, Artistic Flexibility & Compromise
Last week, a Talk of the Town column in The New Yorker reported on a masterclass given by Stephen Sondheim, during which […]
The Tara Erraught Affair: Size, Opera, and What Matters
If you’re an opera fan (and perhaps even if you’re not), you may be aware of a dust-up that occurred in May, […]
A Coffin in Egypt Review (Opera Philadelphia, June 2014)
I heard Frederica Von Stade 40 years ago, and it was love at first sound. This was the summer following my high […]
DF’s Tony 2014 Tirade
Still in the grip of post-Tony fog, I’ll offer a few grumpy observations. Of course, there’s more to say, but we’ll leave […]
A Loss of Roses (St. Clement’s Theatre, NY) — And Why I Love Revivals
Last weekend, I bumped into my friend Toby Zinman, theater critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer, on the street in New York. Both […]
Incorruptible Review (Arden Theatre — DF for City Paper)
So how was the play? I’ll get to that, I promise. But first, let me take a moment to celebrate the exceptional […]
Altar Boyz and the Rise of 11th Hour Theatre Company
Nothing gladdens my heart like seeing a new theater company grow and prosper. These are tough times for the arts, and the […]
How to Succeed (Walnut Street Theatre) and the Great Frank Loesser (DF for the City Paper)
In 1950, Frank Loesser redefined how musical theater looked at New York. Oh, other composer-lyricists – notably Cole Porter— got there first. […]
reclining standards 