Ahoy There

Ahoy there, me hearties! I hope both of you enjoyed a week-plus off from my ranting and randomness. I’ve got plenty to say about one of the most insanely satisfying vacations I’ve ever had. But since it’s theater that you come here for, below is a collection of all the reviews I’ve been catching up on and that you might be interested in as well.

Ms. Haubenstock had nice things to say about both “Rabbit Hole” and “Mona’s Arrangements.” John Porter's reviews of these two productions are also available at the Idea Stations site. I’ve got to figure out when I can sneak out to see these two, given that there are other “must sees” on the horizon (“R&GrRIP” and “Pulp” just to name two).

As just because I haven’t mentioned them, doesn’t mean I’m ignoring “Gilligan’s Island: The Musical” (at the Glen Allen Cultural Arts Center) or “Life Upon the Wicked Stage” (Firehouse) (CORRECTION! LUtWS is at ComedySportz! Sorry!) and the other theater events going on around town. I just can’t keep up with it all!

While on vacation, I burned through quite a backlog of New Yorkers (the magazine, not people). Among the things I was able to catch up on were its take on “Guys and Dolls” (just a capsule available online) and a further exploration of Damon Runyon’s works, from which G&D springs. And, in contrast to the generally cheery take on the production that the New Yorker had, Entertainment Weekly had kind of a sour review.

EW did put out some interesting capsules on two other highly anticipating productions – “33 Variations” with Jane Fonda and “Distracted” with Cynthia Nixon – that are worth a look-see.

Finally, because mainstream pop culture can’t seem to talk about theater without poking fun at the reality-star / stage wannabe crossover, I’ve picked up a couple of mentions of Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks and their latest bounces on the boards.

Speaking of pop culture, I’m planning on going to “Watchmen” tonight. It was that or “The Reader” and, while as regular readers know I love me some Kate Winslet, if you’ve got one night for a true big-screen experience, I’m thinking “Watchmen” is the way to go. Call me shallow. What did you other fanboys think of "Watchmen?"