74. NEW YORK, NEW YORK (seen April 29, 2023)

 

For my review of New York, New York, please click on THEATER LIFE.

73. THE THANKSGIVING PLAY (seen April 27, 2023)

 

For my review of The Thanksgiving Play please click on THEATER LIFE.

72. SUMMER, 1976 (seen April 26, 2023)

 

For my review of Summer, 1976 please click on THEATER LIFE.

71. PRIMA FACIE (seen April 25, 2023)

For my review of Prima Facie please click on THEATER PIZZAZZ or THEATER LIFE.

 

70. GOOD NIGHT, OSCAR (seen April 22, 2023)

 

For my review of Good Night, Oscar please click on THEATER PIZZAZZ.

69. CAMELOT (seen April 21, 2023)

 

For my review of  Camelot please click on THEATER LIFE.

68. PETER PAN GOES WRONG (seen April 15, 2023)

 

For my review of Peter Pan Goes Wrong please click on THEATER PIZZAZZ.

67. FAT HAM (seen April 14, 2023)

 

Fat Ham, James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, racially offbeat takeoff on Hamlet, which opened last May at the Public Theatre to a chorus of raves, including—for the most part—mine, has moved to Broadway, where it’s been greeted by yet another string of critical huzzahs. Presented Off Broadway in the three-quarters round, it’s now been reconfigured for a Broadway proscenium stage; otherwise, everything else (including the outstanding cast) remains intact. 

Seeing it for a second time, however, left me less impressed. The dramatic structure struck me as clumsier than I remembered, seeming more a series of set pieces than a well-developed plot. More significant, it took far longer than it should have for me to so much as chuckle at the often farcical monkeyshines. Some of the raucously ebullient performances, which had barely managed to teeter on the right side of overkill at the Public, seemed too insistently loud and exaggerated the second time around. 

While many around me—including a lady who found every syllable hysterical—laughed their heads off, I sat like an Easter Island statue in a sea of joyous natives. Or maybe I’d shouted happily too often at Shuck’s shenanigans two nights earlier, when I should have saved some laughs to share with Fat Ham. Hopefully, my humor reflexes will be back in shape for Peter Pan Goes Wrong. 

These things aside, my original review for Theater Pizzazz, which you can read here, should offer a good idea of what everybody else is so enthusiastic about.

Fat Ham

American Airlines Theatre

227 W. 42nd St., NYC

Through June 24

66. SHUCKED (seen April 12, 2023)

 

For my review of Shucked please click on THEATER LIFE.

65. VANITIES--THE MUSICAL (seen April 2, 2023)

 

For my review of VANITIES--THE MUSICAL please click on THEATER PIZZAZZ.

64. LIFE OF PI (seen April 1, 2023)

 

For my review of Life of Pi please click on THEATER LIFE.