THEATER REVIEW

BY

BINA SHARIF

"ROSMERSHOLM"

BY

IBSEN

AT

PEARL THEATRE COMPANY

Rosmersholm was written in 1886 and anyone who knows the works of Ibsen, knows that

he was way ahead of his times. Its about Politics besides many other things such as repressed emotions, desires, courage, liberalism, expression of free Ideals and the failure of those Ideals at the same time. But Politics, the right wing and the left wing makes your mind wander to

the thoughts of present day tea party movement and the the left wing's roundabout way of dealing with liberal Issues. Politics and the Ideals work side by side in this wonderful production and both fail at the end.

Some people will disagree with this conclusion because they would swear that

the right wing radicals win here but by their devious nature and because of it, they destroy

the liberal change which might had come if the Idealists didn't meet with the eventual tragedy.

Rosmersholm in this recent production under the taught direction of Elinor Renfield seems

fresh and breezy and the cast delivers Ibsen's language adapted by(Mike Poulton) in a crisp

manner.

Johannes Rosmer, a well respected and wealthy widower who has renounced his faith and

has joined a young, beautiful and dangerously liberal woman Rebecca West(Margot White)

who took care of Rosmer's late wife and stayed on after her mysterious suicide. Rosmer(Bradford Cover) also has given up on his political thoughts and is now a progressive thinker such as his companion and love interest Rebecca West,

But the things do not move along as smoothly as a romantic liberal fairy tail.

There are other ominous elements and persons to deal with such as Kroll(Austin Pendleton) Rosmer's brother in law who gives one of the finest, haunting and carfty performance of the evening. One just can not watch another performer no matter how good when Austin Pendleton is on stage.

Though the whole cast is extremely admirable, Pendleton offers something special. Spiced with mirth, sly knowing and cunning with a grin scary enough to keep you on the edge. It gives you the chills. No one can win against Kroll who knows and reveal a disturbing secret that Rebecca with all her honest and straight forwardness might be hiding a terrible secret about the death of Rosmer's wife and this revelation turn the the ending into a horrifying and disturbing tragedy.

The set and lighting design is very elegant and the space is utilized in a wonderful way making

it look more spacious.

Bradford Cover as Rosmer and Margot White handle their characters very well though the

monologue delivered by Rebecca in the second act is a bit long and should come to the point she wants to make a bit sooner and thus make a stronger impact. But that's in the writing and not the fault of the actress.

Pearl Theatre company has proved once again that this is certainly the place to watch the

classics which not many other theater companies dare to produce. Every one should see this

mesmerizing production.

Pearl Theatre Company

131 55th Street

212-581-1212

pearltheatre.org

Review by Bina Sharif

artsinternational.blogspot.com

email:binasharif@earthlink.net

THEATER REVIEW
BY
BINA SHARIF

THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES
BY
FRANK D.GILROY
DIRECTED BY
AMY WRIGHT

THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES is produced by Pearl Theater Company (J.R. Sullivan,Artistic Director)
THE SUBJECT WAS ROSES, a Pulitzer and Tony award winner, produced in 1964 a revival by the excellent Pearl Theater Company still holds because the conflicts and confusions of family relationships and the sense of possession by the parents of their children, an only son in this case has never gone out of fashion, neither the love nor the struggle in a universal family drama.

This is a conflict not only in an American family but all families. The children dying to get noticed by both parents and parents individually exercising more authority in the name of love over the kids and thus the bickering and complaining and fighting begins and unfortunately never ever ends especially in this play.
The reasons of bickering between two parents in The subject was roses is not however very clear. Is this a routine bickering between a husband and wife or is there a deep dark secret
of animosity which is oozing out in profusion from the wife especially towards the husband which I hoped will be clarified by the end but actually there was nothing concrete to be mentioned except that the family fought for the sake of fighting perhaps depicting the life of an Irish family where none of the members want to reconcile their inherent differences of personality depicting perhaps of a wrong match between two people thus empahsising the delicate title of the play, The subject of roses which is by far a beautifully romantic title of a very un-romantic relationship.

The subject was roses is about a family, Cleary family, mother, father and a son named Timmy who just returned from the war. Its set in the Bronx in 1946. The whole decore is very 1946.
It can be called a kitchen sink drama, nicely put together and must have been very timely when it was written but seems a bit dated though the production achieves perfection in acting and directing.
I found the father,John (Dan Daily) more interesting a charcter than the mother,Nettie (Carol Schultz) because the cause her conflict and hatred for her husband wasn't clear. I guess she did not like her husband's lack of sensitivity and tenderness which she experienced by her own father who always send her roses on her birthdays. The son tries very hard to patch things up between the two of them even asking for the father to bring roses for her which she does appreciate but only for a short while and is jealous of the son's affection for the father.
The actors did a stunning job and I liked the direction by Amy Wright also but I had a little confusion about the script.
However its extremely admirable of Pearl theater company to always revive the classics.
This company is brave and bold and almost the only one in NY to do that. For this very reason they need to be congratulated because they always do a good job.

REVIEWED BY BINA SHARIF OF ARTSINTERNATIONAL.COM
binasharif@earthlink.net

THEATER REVIEW
BY
BINA SHARIF

THE SHAPE OF THINGS
BY
Neil LaBute

THE SHAPE OF THINGS by Neil LaBute is produced by VARIATIONS theatre group at long
Island City. Artistic directors,Rich Ferraioli and KirkGostkowski.
Getting to the theater in Long Island City was an adventure especially for me who hardly ever venture out of Manhattan theater scene and it was well worth it.
The theater space in itself is a little Intimate gem and the production of THE SHAPE OF THINGS was wonderful. The play is very well directed by Rich Ferraioli.

Neil LaBute has a patience of a saint as the dramatist. He keeps his surprises hidden till the very end unlike most of the contemprary writers of drama.
In most of the plays one can predict the ending of the play in the first fifteen or twenty minutes
but not here. He takes us on a journey of un expected steamy love between a shy nerdy kind of a guy named Adam played by, (Kirk Gostkowski) and a very confident, hip, Cosmopolitan kind of a gal named Evelyn played brilliantly by, (Alice Bahlke)

I missed the original Production of the play when it was done at Almeida Theatre, London
and I am happy that I didn't know the ending till it came.
But I do have to confess that I had an un-comfortable feeling about the love affair between Evelyn and Adam throughout the play because some body like Evelyn, so out going, so charismatic a woman won't fall for Adam who is not much of a love target for her but luckily even I didn't suspect that she was just using him for an art project and was willing to go all the way in the name of art to manipulate and hurt a real un-suspecting, trusting and kind human being. But that's the point of the play that in the name of art one can cross all bounderies and justify the cruelty to advance themselves.

My only hesitation about the plot of this play is that how many times one can see this play knowing the ending and still enjoy it? But still the writing is very sharp and hold your interest.
The whole cast does a very good job but I liked Deven Anderson as Phillip. He had that wit and humor and sarcasm which involves you fully in the actor playing the character.

Scenic artists: Stephanie Ferraioli and India Quimby was very clean and impressive. I loved the
Make believe paintings in those frames.
I just wondered about the platform used in the museum scene if it was necessary because it did work nicely in the first scene but was in the way of many later scenes which seemed cramped.
But all these are minor problems to be thought about in the future productions of the play and also I caught the play on the opening night with some rough spots...I still was very impressed by the whole cast, the crew and especially by Rich Frraioli's excellent direction and the fast
pacing he maintained throughout the play. Every one involved in this production was totally professional and exteremly hospitable. My companions and I enjoyed the evening very much. My Guest from London, Paul Shaw who had also missed this play in London loved it and so did Kevin Martin who is also a theater Critic and publisher of CINEMASTAGE.COM
I hope other theater goers will make an effort and see future productions by VARIATIONS theatre Group. My congratulations to the team for a great effort.

Reviewed by Bina Sharif
of ARTSINTERNATIONAL.BLOGSPOT .COM
binasharif@earthlink.net

THEATER REVIEW

BY

BINA SHARIF

HARD TIMES

By

Charles Dickens'

The Pearl Theater Company

"Hard Times" A novel by Charles Dickens' about the industrialization and factory workers in a fictional Victorian city called Coketown which exposes the economic and social hardships of factory workers and other inhabitants of that city.

In a wonderful,clear and fluid adaptation by Stephen Jrffreys and a minimalist approach in staging by J.R. Sullivan the play which is three hours and fifteen minutes long moves along smoothly and powerfully keeping all of us awake and concentrated. I say this because in today's theater expectations this play is a long one and people are getting used to mere ninety minute

long plays. Its a great achievement on the part of Pearl's creative team to not only do the classics but to do them well.

The central character in Hard Times is Thomas Gradgrind (T.J.Edwards) headmaster of Coketown school.

He is determined to live by facts and teach his students nothing except facts. To create, to imagine, to dream. to have a fantasy is not part of the lessons delivered by Gradgrind.

This kind of dry and sterile training at a young age leaves his students to lead unhappy lives.

That Includes his own children Louisa (Rachel Botchan) and Tom (Sean McNall)

The other main character in the play is Josiah Bounderby (Bradford Cover) factory owner and

a banker of ferocious power and greed very much resembling the present time bankers with the whim of demolition of the human spirit.

The headmaster, Gradgrind's children end up having wasted lives. Louisa, the daughter ends up marrying the much older banker Bounderby and Tom, the son who works for Bounderby in his bank ends up being into heavy debts which the sister often take care of and into drinking.

There are other subplots such as factory workers and a circus in town which provides most of the humor in the play. Stephen Blackpool (T.J.Edwards) a weaver in the factory owned by Bounderby, an honest man with a pure heart ends up in a heartbreaking tragedy.

Six actors in this Superb production play more than twenty characters and the director keeps the pacing fast and sharp.

My favorite actors (though all actors did a great job as an ensemble) were Bradford Cover as

Bounderby, Harthouse and a stern law clerk and T.J.Edwards as Gradgrind and Blackpool.

Bradford Cover got every tick, every gesture, every move of the character right and he had the toughness and the elegance of a Baron whom one wants to hate but is also mesmerized by.

T.J. Edwards was clear, coherent, a strict father determined to follow his beliefs as a good father and a good teacher no matter how harmful those good actions of his turned out to be.

Both these actors gave elegant performances.

The Lighting design by Stephen Petrilli created the perfect mood for the play.

This is by far the best adaptation and the best direction I have seen in a long time of a classic novel for the modern stage.

Reviewed by

BINA SHARIF

ARTSINTERNATIONAL

BLUE SURGE

BY

Rebecca Gilman

REVIEWED

BY

BINA SHARIF

Blue Surge by Rebecca Gilman is at the Wild Project on East third Street.

I missed the play when it ran at the Public theater. Rebecca Gilman is a Joseph Jefferson award winner playwright whose many plays have been produced at the Goodman theater in Chicago and elsewhere.

One thing very admirable about the playwright is that she takes her time. She is not in a rush to write a mere 85-90 minute play because the attention span of the today's audience is so in flight to rush out of the theater to get to that cab or to that drink and steak.

Blue Surge is two and a half hour long and a lots of it is worthy of its length. Only one problem

is apparent here in this production by EXTANT ARTS COMPANY.

Most of the actors are not equipped to handle the poetry of the playwright for a sustained period of time and thus it sounds like that the actors are repeating themselves in various

scenes especially between Curt,(Pete Caslavka) and Sandy,(Lauren M.Nordvig) when they exchange stories of their respective mothers, one with many dogs and the other with burdens of many marriages including a last one with a woman.

Somehow or the other one feels as this has been heard before. The main reason for this is

the pacing. Its extremely slow. It needs to be picked up. It drags the poetry of the writing.

Once in a while, to create a nostalgic sadness its fine but its constant and makes the play seems longer than it actually is.

The BLUE SURGE is about a cop named, Curt who is a very decent fellow with a good heart

who wants to help the good people who by some tragic stroke of luck have been reduced to doing jobs they don't want to do. But thats what he thinks. Some people want and like the jobs they are doing like Sandy who works as a hooker in a massage parlor which is being raided by

the cop Curt one day and by Doug, (Justin Gallo) another cop who works with Curt and is a close friend.

The day Curt is visiting the massage parlor Sandy suspects him that he is a cop because he doesn't take his underwear off and thus doesn't agree to go any further than a very tender back rub. Curt who has an upwardly mobile fiance named Beth,(Bridget R. Durkin) gets smitten by Sandy and for the rest of the play wants to save her soul while Sandy just has the heart of a hooker and ends up having her own business while Curt destroys his Upcomin marriage and his job and ends up like a big nothing....

There is a side plot where Doug falls for another hooker named Heather,(Louise Flory) who works with Sandy and they end up having a family together which is much more positive an ending.

Though I liked Ms. Gilman's writing...At certain moments it really draws you inside the souls of the lost and lonely and you feel lots of tenderness for these characters but at some other moments you want Curt to save himself and not be so Naive and good hearted for others.

These moments have the danger in the writing and the acting to make the lead character into a victim.

The show drags a lot in the first act but moves a bit faster in the second act.

Some actors such as Justin Gallo as Doug and Louise Flory as Heather has more of a spark to their acting.

Bridget R. Durkin as Beth is excellent in her first scene at the police station but then fades away afterwards.

Pete Caslavka as Curt and Lauren M. Nordvig as Sandy are good also but they are in so many scenes which sound similar to their previous ones that they begin to feel tired and tedious to us.

I would like to see this play one more time with very fast pacing and some editing because there was a, "FEEL" in the play that I admired much.