‘Paradise Square’ Review: A Belabored History Lesson of a Broadway Musical
The body can sometimes say more than words, but even the most expressive moves cannot make a coherent case for “Paradise Square.” The blunt and belabored history lesson of a new musical set in Manhattan’s Five Points, and produced by Garth Drabinsky, purports to be a fable of American race relations. But while conflicts between the neighborhood’s Black and Irish residents at times come thrillingly to life through dance, “Paradise Square” is wrong-footed from the jump.
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An Evening Spent at Home Beats a Night at this “Plaza Suite”
What does it say about our society that Plaza Suite, the first Neil Simon play to return to Broadway in over 11 years, and the first since his death in 2018, is a middling affair buried in milquetoast acting with inept direction? During his heyday, Simon defined what Broadway comedy meant. Nicknamed “Doc,” for his […]
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‘Confederates’ Mightily Walks Down the Elusive Road to Freedom
Time sways back and forth like a Newton’s Cradle in Dominique Morisseau’s new biting comedy Confederates, where the differences between understanding, or experiencing racism from a historical, intellectual context, and being confronted with it in a visceral way, become stark clear. The play tackles the subject of slavery in the raw, as well as its […]
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