Springtime, 1916. Irish expatriate and soldier-turned-outlaw Trooper O’Hara is adrift in the baring woods of Southern Ohio. Thirty-some years away from home, Trooper’s leather face is furrowed, the fire of his hair all but extinguished by the darkness he has seen; he is a man changed by America. Having crossed the mark of middle age, [...]
Author Archives: Jennifer Dwoskin
Glass & Parwaz Playhouse
May 10, 2010 – 11:45 am
Cast and Crew of Parwaz Playhouse’s debut production, Glass.
New Yorkers often forget that the theater is a treasure. For when you live amongst the fixed twinkle of Broadway, the art of mimicking life can become as repetitive as a bodega or a yellow taxi. But the theater is not something that we should take for [...]
The Subject Was Roses
April 21, 2010 – 7:31 am
On Sunday, The Pearl Theatre Company unveiled the final show of its 2009-2010 season: Frank D. Gilroy’s deceptively deep The Subject Was Roses, which garnered the Pulitzer Prize in 1965. Wearing the uniform of the classic American family drama, Roses centers around the homecoming of John and Nettie Cleary’s veteran son, Timmy. Yet, [...]
Pat Kinevane’s “Forgotten”
February 23, 2010 – 10:27 am
Every once in a while, if we are lucky, we stumble upon a work of art so staggering that it whirls about our memories long after our initial encounter. Something about it, even if we can’t pinpoint what that “something” is (which, of course, only adds to its intrigue), resonates. A most curious kabuki-based play, [...]
Dickens’ “Hard Times”
February 15, 2010 – 3:58 pm
This week, the Pearl Theatre parts its curtains for Stephen Jeffrey’s page-to-stage adaptation of Hard Times by Charles Dickens. After sitting through the production, I contemplated suggesting an addendum to the Playbill. Perhaps, a WARNING on the cover: “This play is long, and the chairs are Amish in comfort level.” But, I realize that such [...]
Sam Shepard’s Ages of the Moon
January 27, 2010 – 10:00 am
In Waiting for Godot, Pozzo the slave-owner offers the grim yet illuminating commentary, “They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.” This idea is a reflection of mortality—life as a flicker—and it hovers above Sam Shepard’s Ages of the Moon, opening this week at the Atlantic Theater. Although [...]
The Tracks
November 21, 2009 – 6:08 pm
You would never expect it to happen. Then when it does, you wonder why it doesn’t happen more often. How have you lived in this city for years, and today is the first day you’ve experienced it. The subway — the F — the same train you ride every morning and every evening. You go [...]
