Author Archives: burdreviews

`           In the 1950’s and ‘60’s, entertainment in the Catskill Mountains in Upstate New York, was dominated by many extraordinary entertainers. Tony Bennett, Harry Belafonte, and Sammy Davis, Jr. were among the scores of famous performers. Even more than the singers, the Catskills (also known as the Borscht Belt for decades) were the great comediansContinue reading “Christmas in the Catskills at Act II Playhouse”

            In 1962, as a young teenager, I visited my brother at Wilmington College in Ohio. While there, I learned that they needed a young guy in the next play and wound up staying the summer. While building the sets with the group, everyone was singing songs from a show that they all knew- “TheContinue reading “The Fantasticks at Quintessence Theatre”

Lynn Nottage is an American playwright who during her prolific career has won two Pulitzer Prizes, the only woman to have done so. She received them for “Ruined” and “Sweat,” in 2009 and 2017. Her subjects are the Black working class. “Crumbs From the Table of Joy,” one of her first plays, was written inContinue reading “Crumbs From the Table of Joy at Lantern Theater”

 “The Elephant in the Room” is the name of the one-woman show at Azuka Theatre, written and performed by Priyanka Shetty. She is a young Indian woman who decides to leave the restrictions surrounding her life in India and come to the United States to pursue a dream. Trained as an engineer, she wants toContinue reading “The Elephant in the Room at Azuka Theatre”

What is the point of life? What is in our power? Do we control our own fates? These are the questions asked by the existentialist thinkers of the late 19th and the 20th century. And one of its greatest proponents was philosopher Jean Paul-Sartre, who expressed those ideas in film, in books, and in plays.Continue reading “No Exit at Quintessence Theatre”

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation in which the abuser attempts to sow self-doubt and confusion in their victim’s mind. That is the definition from Google. Most people are familiar with the term from a 1944 film starring Charles Boyer and Ingrid Bergman, based on a 1938 play by Patrick Hamilton. Act II PlayhouseContinue reading “Gaslight at Act II Playhouse”

“True West” is one of acclaimed playwright Sam Shepard’s many plays. He won eleven Obie Awards as well as a Pulitzer Prize for “Buried Child” in 1979. The following year, “True West” opened. And over the next 20 years, the two main roles were played by Peter Coyote, Gary Sinese, John Malkovich, Dennis Quaid, PhilipContinue reading “True West at People’s Light”

Say the name Boca to young people and they probably won’t know what you’re talking about. However, most seniors recognize it as the shortened version of Boca Raton, a city in South Florida where many go, first for a winter getaway, and later, to retire in active adult communities. The play, “Boca,” by Jessica Provenz,Continue reading “BOCA at Act II Playhouse”

Lettie is a young woman in her early 30’s who has recently been released from prison after serving seven years for using and dealing drugs. She lives in a halfway house and plans to find work as a welder after she completes an internship. She is also hoping to reunite with her children who areContinue reading “Lettie at People’s Light”

In my junior year in college, I took a class in Shakespeare. I was a history major and only familiar with the few plays I read in high school, with a Cliff’s Notes by my side to help me understand what was going on. Fast forward a half century later and I find that ShakespearianContinue reading “Twelfth Night at Wilma Theater”