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| 2005-
2006 |
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Above: Taye
Diggs; (left to right) Mike Colter,
Michael Genet, Steven
Pasquale and James McDaniel. (Photos: Joan
Marcus)
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A Soldier's
Play
By Charles Fuller / Directed by Jo Bonney
With Teagle F. Bougere, Mike Colter, Taye
Diggs, Nelsan Ellis, Joe Forbrich, Michael
Genet, Royce Johnson,
James McDaniel, Anthony Mackie, Dorian
Missick, Steven Pasquale,
Joaquín Pérez-Campbell
Sets by Neil Patel / Costumes by David Zinn /
Lighting by David Weiner / Original Music and
Sound by Fitz Patton/
Production Stage Manager C. Randall White /
Stage Manager Rachel J.
Perlman
"A GREAT
PLEASURE, AUTHENTIC AND EXCITING! MOVINGLY
ACTED BY A TOP-OF-THE-LINE
CAST! The magnetic Taye Diggs is a commanding
center of attention.
Anthony Mackie expertly gives sharp, chilling
form to currents of
rage. Mike Colter, the find of this
production, turns in a fresh,
lyrical performance. James McDaniel exudes
the blistering heat of
someone who feels imprisoned in his own skin.
Nelsan Ellis, Michael
Genet, Royce Johnson, Teagle F. Bougere and
especially Dorian Missick
turn their interrogation scenes into
delicately and completely carved
cameo portraits. A Soldier's Play finds
the pain, friction and
fire in the displacement of African-Americans
in an Army that both
needs them and doesn't really want
them."
—Ben Brantley, The New York
Times
"CHARLES
FULLER'S UNCOMPROMISING AND PAINFUL PULTZER
PRIZE WINNER HAS BEEN
BEAUTIFULLY REVIVED BY SECOND STAGE! Under Jo
Bonney's direction, the
cast is a tight ensemble, bringing out all
the play's
harshness."
—Howard Kissel, The Daily News
"AN ELECTRIFYING
REVIVAL! A FIRST-RATE CAST! Director Jo
Bonney whips the action from
baseball field to barracks to a tiny jail
cell with split-second
precision. Ms. Bonney and her accomplished
cast turn their pain into
the audience's hard-earned
pleasure."
— Eric Grode, The New York Sun
" A major, much
-anticipated revival with a diligent and
attractive cast!
"
— Linda Winer, Newsday
"A CRACKLING-
GOOD WHODUNIT, EXPERTLY REVIVED WITH A STARRY
CAST! A fast-paced
production. The dialogue is courtroom crisp
and the characters
sharply etched."
— Michael Kuchwara, Associated
Press
"A SATISFYING
SLICE OF DRAMA that
surely pleases as fully as it did 24 years
ago!"
—Jacques Le Sourd, The Journal
News
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Above: Johnny
Galecki and Neal Huff; Julie White
(Photos: Joan Marcus) |
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The Little
Dog Laughed
By Douglas Carter Beane / Directed by Scott
Ellis
With Johnny Galecki, Neal Huff, Zoe Lister-
Jones, Julie White
Sets by Alan Moyer / Costumes by Jeff Mahshie
/ Lighting by Don Holder / Original Music and
Sound by Lewis Flinn /
Production Stage Manager Linda Marvel / Stage
Manager Heather Prince
"Lean, mean,
brash, crass and about as deep as a shot
glass, Diane the Hollywood
agent is just the tonic New York theatergoers
need in the gray depths
of an urban winter. Played by Julie White in
an irresistible
adrenaline rush of a performance, Diane can
be thought of as the
wicked witch or the fairy godmother of The
Little Dog Laughed,
the tangy new fable of fame and its
discontents by Douglas Carter
Beane that opened last night at the Second
Stage Theatre. Either way,
she's certainly more of a pick-me-up than
your average jukebox
musical."
—Ben Brantley,The New York Times
"SCATHING,
SCABROUS AND HILARIOUS! Directed at
appropriate high-speed velocity
by Scott Ellis, it makes you laugh while it
goes for the
jugular."
— Michael Kuchwara, Associated
Press
"DEFTLY
ENTERTAINING! Douglas Carter Beane's new play
strikes gold, elevating
the glib one-liner to a caustic art
form."
— Sam Thielman, Newsday
"GOOD, NAUGHTY,
LAUGH-OUT-LOUD FUN!"
— Jess Cagle, WCBS-TV/People
Magazine
"WICKEDLY FUNNY!
Julie White's brilliant performance will be
counted among the
season's brightest highlights!
"
— Michael Sommers, The Star-
Ledger
"BEANE HAS
WRITTEN JULIE WHITE A THEATRICAL DREAM COME
TRUE! With a gift for
ratcheting her physicality and emotions from
1 to 10 and back again,
she has many superb comic moments. Director
Scott Ellis coaxes the
action into near-screwball tempo!
"
— Eric Grode, The New York Sun
"A FEROCIOUS,
FUNNY TURN FROM JULIE WHITE! Scott Ellis'
tight, stylishly pop-
minimalist production is ideally timed to tap
into the zeitgeist of
same-sex politics in
Hollywood."
— David Rooney, Variety
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Top: Debra Monk,
Lawrence Pressman. Bottom: Ty Burrell, Judy
Greer (Photos: Joan
Marcus)
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Show
People
By Paul Weitz / Directed by Peter Askin
With Ty Burrell, Judy Greer, Debra Monk,
Lawrence Pressman
Sets by Heidi Ettinger / Costumes by Jeff
Mahshie /
Lighting by Jeff Croiter / Original Music and
Sound by Lewis Flinn /
Production Stage Manager Rachel J. Perlman /
Stage Manager Kit Ingui
"A REAL LAUGH-
OUT-LOUD COMEDY! REQUIRED VIEWING! Guaranteed
to make audiences laugh
themselves silly!"
— Jacques Le Sourd,The Journal
News
"YOU'LL BE
WIPING TEARS OF LAUGHTER FROM YOUR EYES!
"
— David F. Richardson, WOR Radio
"THE REAL DEAL -
IT'S REALLY FUNNY!"
— Roma Torre, NY1
"A JOYOUSLY
FUNNY
ROLLERCOASTER OF LAUGHS!"
— Matt Windman, amNY
"HILARIOUSLY
DROLL, SKILLFUL COMIC PERFORMANCES!
"
— Frank Scheck, New York Post
"SHOW PEOPLE
DEFINITELY TANTALIZES! IT'S HARD TO
IMAGINE A MORE ENGAGING
CAST!"
— Ben Brantley, The New York
Times
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Top: Tony
Goldwyn, Kate Burton. Bottom: Austsin Lysy,
Mamie Gummer, Tony
Goldwyn
(Photos: Joan Marcus) |
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The Water's
Edge
By Theresa Rebeck / Directed by Will Frears
With Kate Burton, Tony Goldwyn, Mamie Gummer,
Austin Lysy, Katharine Powell
Sets by Alexander Dodge / Costumes by Georgia
Junghyun Lee / Lighting by Frances Aronson /
Sound Design by Vincent
Olivieri / Original Music by Michael Friedman
/ Production Stage
Manager Roy Harris / Stage Manager Shanna
Spinello
"A STYLISHLY
ACTED MIX OF CLASSICAL DARKNESS AND LATTER-
DAY LEVITY! Kate Burton
beautifully proves herself one of our most
flexible and resourceful
actresses. Tony Goldwyn is first-rate. Mamie
Gummer, Austin Lysy and
Katherine Powell make this essential viewing
for those on the watch
for fresh talent. Theresa Rebeck has a gift
for lively dialogue
teasingly layered in
ambivalence."
— Ben Brantley, The New York
Times
"A SHOCKING
HYBRID OF CONTEMPORARY DRAMA AND GREEK
TRAGEDY! Mamie Gummer is
dazzling - we dare you to take your eyes off
her!"
— Linda Winer, Newsday
"AN ABSORBING
DOMESTIC DRAMA with smart, often dryly
humorous dialogue. The
remarkable Kate Burton commands
attention."
— David Rooney, Variety
"AN
EXCEPTIONALLY SKILLED CAST! Kate Burton is
particularly excellent.
Austin Lysy is superb."
— Alexis Greene,The Hollywood
Reporter
"COMPELLING,
BRILLIANT AND AFFECTING! IT MUST BE SEEN!
There is no question that
Theresa Rebeck is one of the strongest
playwrights of her generation.
The cast is first-rate!"
— Gwen Orel, Back Stage
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Manu Narayan,
Marcy Harriell, Brian Henderson (Photo: Carol
Rosegg) |
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Getting Home
By Anton Dudley / Directed by David Schweizer
With Marcy Harriell, Brian Henderson, Manu
Narayan
Sets by Andrew Lieberman / Costumes by Erin
Chainani / Lighting by Aaron Black / Sound
Design by Ryan Rummery /
Production Stage Manager Rachel J. Perlman /
Stage Manager Stephanie
Atlan
"SURPRISING AND
EFFECTIVE!"
— The New York Times
"****FOUR STARS! The
dramatis personae, all single and looking for
love, sound straight out of "Sex and the City"— a
neurotic young woman with self-esteem issues, an effervescent gay
romantic, a damaged Indian-American entrepreneur, a skateboarding
philosopher. There’s even a dashing, artistic and well-endowed
Russian. But Anton Dudley’s sprightly new comedy is determined
to dig a little deeper. Evoking archetypal fairy-tale roots (daring
deeds, love potions, tricky transformations, mythical powers),
Getting Home explores contemporary New Yorkers search for love
with a refreshing sense of wonder."
"Tristan
(Henderson) gets a free ride—and
more—from a lovelorn
cabbie (Narayan); a shy zookeeper (Harriell)
finds her wish for
romance come true, twice; a businessman with
a lonely soul (Narayan)
reclaims his long-lost love. Despite drawing
on hoary tropes,
Dudley’s script remains witty,
unexpected and often magical:
The characters tell their stories directly to
the audience, flirting,
confessing and scolding one another. Director
David Schweizer keeps
the pace lilting and lyrical, as befits the
fast-talking and
freethinking figures, and the cast brings
zest and intelligence to
their multiple roles. It’s like falling
in love all over
again."
— Time Out NY
"Second Stage
Theatre goes out of its way to give good
workshop in its annual summer series in its Uptown theatre. What's
not to like?!
"
— Variety
"GETTING
HOME IS WITTY, SHOCKINGLY BEAUTIFUL AT
TIMES, AND DELIGHTFUL!
Brian Henderson, Marcy Harriell, and Manu
Narayan throw themselves
with glee into the multitude of characters,
delivering each quip and
pop culture reference with hipster
precision!"
— The Village Voice
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Krysten Ritter
(above), Thomas Sadoski (Photo: Joan
Marcus) |
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All This
Intimacy
By Rajiv Joseph / Directed by Giovanna
Sardelli
With Gretchen Egolf, Adam Green, Amy
Landecker, Kate Nowlin, Krysten Ritter,
Thomas Sadoski
Sets by David Newell / Costumes by Amy Clark
/ Lighting by Rie Ono /
Sound Design by Bart Fasbender / Production
Stage Manager Rachel J.
Perlman / Stage Manager Stephanie Atlan
"**** FOUR
STARS! It's the best show I've seen in
months! It's one worth
catching!"
— Matt Windman, amNY
"HAS A CAN'T-
LOOK-AWAY PULL!"
—The New York Times
"RIFE WITH
GENUINE FUN & PINPOINTS OF POIGNANCY!
"
— Broadway.com
"A VERY BRAVE
TOUCH WITH CHARACTERS & THEMES!
"
— New York Sun
"VERY FINE
WRITING!"
— TheaterMania.com
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