TDF Stages Archive

By MARK BLANKENSHIP When you’re writing a play about a real person, where do you start? At the day she’s born? At the moment he becomes “significant?” The entry point not only dictates the shape of your script, but also underscores who you are as a playwright. Consider Lauren Gunderson’s Bauer, now at 59E59. Inspired […]

The Representatives are an underground theatre sensation — This week The Representatives — the most beloved theatre troupe you may not have heard of — stage their newest show, Of Orient Are. If you’re in the mood for hyper-intimate, socially relevant comedy, leap into action; they only play through the weekend. But if you’re busy […]

Circus Amok’s latest show marks 25 years of public fun (with a message) — When my then-three-year-old first saw Jennifer Miller, she blurted out, “You’re a girl with a beard!” It’s an exclamation the Circus Amok founder has gotten used to hearing over the decades, whether she’s onstage or off. A performer, playwright, Pratt professor, […]

Susan Reiter covers dance for TDF Stages.

For a practical lesson in economics, try being hungry on Governors Island. The ferry ride to this lovely enclave is only $2—or completely free if you sail out early—and considering all the activities, views, and traffic-free silence the place offers, that’s a spectacular deal. But if you don’t bring your lunch, noontime might find you […]

By MARK BLANKENSHIP Kenneth Lonergan’s play This Is Our Youth, now on Broadway at the Cort Theatre, begins with shenanigans. In 1982 a troubled kid named Warren gets kicked out of his house, so he steals $15,000 from his dad and scurries over to Dennis, his drug-dealing, narcissistic friend who lives by himself on the […]

In some ways, Bootycandy is a wild fantasy. Robert O’Hara’s latest play, now at Playwrights Horizons, just keeps breaking storytelling conventions, so that every time we think we understand it, it dodges and weaves. For instance, we might start with a sitcom-style scene about a little boy and his mother, but in a just a […]

Welcome to Geek Out/Freak Out, where theatre fans get super enthusiastic about things. This week, Stages editor Mark Blankenship geeks out (via Gchat) with Allison Taylor, TDF’s very own Manager of Individual Giving and Events. Today’s Topic: Which performance would you go back in time to see? — Mark Blankenship : Hello Allison! Before we […]

Welcome to Fanmail, our tributes to theatre artists we admire — As a small white boy from Honolulu, I always had difficulty explaining my obsession with The Color Purple. I suppose it started with Alice Walker’s graceful writing in the book, and intensified when I watched Whoopi Goldberg’s and Oprah Winfrey’s powerful performances in the movie. But […]