Michael Dale
BroadwayWorld
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Past articles by Michael:
BWW Review: Lupita Nyong'o and Juan Castano Are Bilingual Lovers in The Public's Radio Drama ROMEO Y JULIETA
The visuals may be left to the listener's imagination in The Public Theater's new audio play, but what lands on the ear takes Joseph Papp's revolutionary concept a bit further. → Read More
BWW Review: Patrick Page Leads a Sumptuous Ensemble in Shakespeare@'s Radio Drama JULIUS CAESAR
Even if Americans weren't recently subjected to the horror of violent deaths and the attempted murder of elected officials inside the U.S. Capitol Building, the issue of representatives desiring the right to carry firearms in congress would be enough to bring new relevance to William Shakespeare's drama of insurrection and its consequences, JULIUS CAESAR. → Read More
BWW Review: Bill Irwin's ON BECKETT / IN SCREEN Takes A Clown's-Eye View Of The Modernist's Words
'I am not a Beckett scholar,' Bill Irwin advises viewers at the outset. 'Mine is an actor's relationship to this language. By which I mean the deep knowledge that comes from committing words to memory, and speaking them to audiences.' → Read More
BWW Review: Trump-Era Liberals Are All At Sea In Anne Washburn's SHIPWRECK
While not exactly a moment of déjà vu, I did feel a sense of the familiar while listening to director Saheem Ali's new podcast production of Anne Washburn's provocative play of Trump-era liberal ideology, SHIPWRECK, subtitled 'a History Play about 2017'. It was followed almost immediately by an internal debate as to whether or not it was okay to mention in in this review. → Read More
BWW Review: David Hargreaves Stars in Shakespeare@'s Enchanting Radio Drama Production of THE TEMPEST
After an impressive inaugural production of HAMLET in the atmospheric surroundings of Jersey City's Grace Church Van Vorst, Artistic Director Sean Hagerty's Shakespeare@, like so many theatre companies around the country, was suddenly placed in the position rethinking its immediate future. → Read More
BWW Review: Richard Nelson Closes Out His Pandemic Trilogy With INCIDENTAL MOMENTS OF THE DAY
When playwright/director Richard Nelson introduced Public Theater audiences to a family of Rhinebeck, New York residents by the surname Apple, he referred to his creation as a 'disposable play.' Well, it's been nearly ten years and, thankfully, he hasn't disposed of the Apples yet. → Read More
BWW Review: Richard Nelson Continues His Rhinebeck Panorama with AND SO WE COME FORTH: THE APPLE FAMILY: A DINNER ON ZOOM
'I was lying in the bath last night. And it just occurred to me, I all of a sudden realized: I have not touched another human being for over three months.' → Read More
BWW Review: Eden Theater Company's THE ROOM PLAYS Zooms In On Teleconferenced Relationships
'I guess I knew that you could miss the things you love; I didn't know you could miss the things you hate,' ponders a New York apartment-dweller who sees little reason to get out of bed as she lives in isolation in this era of COVID-19. → Read More
BWW Review: Richard Nelson Zooms In On The Apples in WHAT DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT?
'The first cough in the audience and who's listening to the play?,' wonders a character when contemplating the return of live theatre. → Read More
BWW Review: Candle House Collective's Remote Immersive Experiences Bring Participatory Theatre To Your Phone
For over two years, the Chicago-based Candle House Collective has been creating non-tradition, immersive theatre for both site-specific locations and virtual enjoyment. But with the current health crisis putting live theatre on hold, their virtual plays can be especially inviting for audience members seeking an artistic connection. → Read More
BWW Review: The 24 Hour Plays' VIRAL MONOLOGUES Takes Site-Specific Theatre Further Outside The Black Box
When thinking of site-specific theatre, visions of following actors through a forest as they play out A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM or sitting in a musty old playhouse for a performance of FOLLIES may dance through your head, but in these days of government-regulated social distancing necessitating the suspension of live performances, one must think even further outside of the black box. → Read More
BWW Review: Company XIV's SEVEN SINS, A Lavish Feast Of Biblical Misbehaviors
As someone who has indulged in all the creations concocted by the genius director/choreographer Austin McCormick for his spectacular mix of performing artists, Company XIV, since the early years of this century when they displayed their talents in modestly-scaled productions on East 4th Street, this reviewer will say without hesitation that SEVEN SINS, a lavish feast of biblical misbehaviors, is… → Read More
BWW Review: A Family Is Separated By Immigration Policies in Hilary Bettis' 72 MILES TO GO...
If it were up to Billy, the sweet-natured Unitarian pastor who opens Hilary Bettis' 72 Miles to Go... speaking to audience members as if they were members of his Tucson, Arizona congregation, the play about his family would be one of those warm domestic comedies where the kids learn valuable life lessons guided by their wise, but somewhat goofy dad. → Read More
BWW Review: Christopher Chen's Detective Drama THE HEADLANDS Unravels a Family Mystery
From the Marin Headlands, a hilly peninsula north of San Francisco that overlooks the Golden Gate Bridge, a father points out to his ten-year-old son the spot across the bay where he first met the boy's mother. → Read More
BWW Review: Deidre O'Connell Is Extraordinary in Lucas Hnath's Very Personal Docudrama DANA H.
It's been said that movies are made in the editing room. To some extent, the same might be said of Lucas Hnath's unconventional, and very personal docudrama, Dana H. → Read More
BWW Review: Ivo van Hove's Alarmingly Charmless WEST SIDE STORY
Dear kindly Ivo van Hove, I often like your work, But when you stage revivals Your concepts go berserk. Your symbolism's clunky, Your edits are too thick. West Side Story doesn't need your schtick. → Read More
BWW Review: Stephanie Berry Plays Both Creature and Creator in FRANKENSTEIN
The first thing that happens in director Timothy Douglas' Classic Stage Company mounting of Tristan Bernays' adaptation of Mary Shelley's beloved gothic novel, Frankenstein, is that actor/musician Rob Morrison, playing a one-member chorus, comes out on stage and tunes the three string instruments he'll use during the 90-minute production. → Read More
BWW Review: Kate Hamill's Clever Take On DRACULA Bites Back At Toxic Masculinity
In this version, Count Dracula is not an obvious outlier with fangs and pale skin, but a charming fellow you'd never suspect is spreading the acceptance of patriarchal attitudes and gender roles through his seductive bites. → Read More
BWW Review: J2 Spotlight Musical Theater Company Commences Premiere Season With SEESAW
Back in the days before multiple workshops and lengthy regional runs, the geniuses of musical theatre often had to work miracles during of-of-town previews to quickly revise and rewrite surefire flops like HELLO, DOLLY! and A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM into Broadway hits. → Read More
BWW Review: Two Tales By Russian Masters Brought To The Stage in The Mint's CHEKHOV/TOLSTOY: LOVE STORIES
'You know, I hate your plays,' the great Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov once recalled the exalted Leo Tolstoy telling him during a friendly visit. 'Shakespeare was a bad writer, and I consider your plays even worse than his.' → Read More