‘Topdog/Underdog’ Is the Sharpest Show on Broadway
The writing and direction are scythe-sharp and precise, and Hawkins’ and Abdul-Mateen’s are two superlative performances—for this critic, the standout of this current Broadway season so far: energetic, witty, mischievous, searing, tender, and vulnerable.
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This “Piano Lesson” Hammers the Obvious Note Over Its Head
The best horror films understand that what is left unseen is more powerful than anything that could ever appear on-screen. And though August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson is no horror flick, when staged well, its treasure trove of invisible forces and tensions leaves even the most stoic audiences alternating between pathos, humor, […]
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Is the American Dream Worth the ‘Death of a Salesman?’
Can you put a price tag on a life? In America, it seems as though you must. In the land of dreams, everything you have and everything you are, is what you can sell. Or at least that’s what’s been drilled into Willy Loman (Wendell Pierce), the protagonist of Arthur Miller’s seminal work Death of […]
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