The Lehman Trilogy at Arden Theatre Company

From 1844 to 1850, three brothers emigrated from Bavaria to the U.S., settling in Montgomery, Alabama. From a dry goods store to one of the largest investment companies in the world, these brothers created an enterprise that invested in businesses throughout the U.S. and the world. “The Lehman Trilogy” traces the evolution of the companyContinue reading “The Lehman Trilogy at Arden Theatre Company”

the ripple, the wave that carried me home at People’s Light

            The play begins with Janice Collen, alone on stage, telling us that she hates water. She understands that it is necessary for life, that the body is made up of 60% water… but she still hates it. Janice, an African-American woman, grew up in landlocked Beacon, Kansas in the 1960’s and 70’s. She escapedContinue reading “the ripple, the wave that carried me home at People’s Light”

Faith Healer at Lantern Theater Company

A man, Francis Hardy, the faith healer, comes out onto a nearly empty stage and talks to us. He does not preach. He does not try to convince us of his healing powers. He does the very opposite- he reveals all the phoniness of the profession, the acting, the bogus shamans. This is the firstContinue reading “Faith Healer at Lantern Theater Company”

The Flatlanders at 1812 Productions

A couple that has been together for 14 years has decided to tie the knot. On their way from Philadelphia to the Poconos where their marriage will take place in the company of a dozen friends, a snowstorm intrudes, and Michael (Scott Greer) crashes into a tree demolishing their car and only finds refuge afterContinue reading “The Flatlanders at 1812 Productions”

My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion at The Wilma Theater

Sasha Denisova’s 82-year-old mother is living in Kyiv, Ukraine, when the Russians invade in 2022. She has lived her whole life there, and when her daughter, a successful playwright living in Russia flees that country and tries to get her mother out of the vulnerable Ukraine, her mother refuses to leave her home, even toContinue reading “My Mama and the Full-Scale Invasion at The Wilma Theater”

Ladysitting at Arden Theatre Company

            Ladysitting is the term used to define the caring for Lorene Cary’s Nana (grandmother) near the end of her life so as not to use the more embarrassing, word babysitting, for the elderly. The premier of the show “Ladysitting” at the Arden Theatre is a dramatic representation of the memoir by Cary.             NanaContinue reading “Ladysitting at Arden Theatre Company”

Tea For 3 at Act II Playhouse

From 1964 to 1976, there were three married U.S. Presidents in the White House. Their wives, referred to as First Ladies, were Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, and Betty Ford. All three lived into their 80’s and 90’s and outlived their husbands by many years. As First Ladies, they were known to the public asContinue reading “Tea For 3 at Act II Playhouse”

Christmas in the Catskills at Act II Playhouse

`           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”

The Fantasticks at Quintessence Theatre

            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”