Eve Ensler's The Good Body Program Sock & Buskin’s recent charity performance of Eve Ensler’s The Good Body—benefiting Centre Safe—was a great performance of a generally powerful play about the psychological and physical difficulties women experience in their own bodies. Stephanie Whitesell’s directorial debut was a triumph, and the performers were each amazing. Ensler’s most …
Tartuffe, by Moliere—28 Mar. 2024
Penn State Theatre's Tartuffe Penn State Theatre’s production of Moliere’s Tartuffe, directed by Sam Osheroff, was an exceptional modern re-imagining of a play that has some antiquated feeling elements but overall remains exceedingly relevant to the world of 2024. On the one hand, Tartuffe’s rhymed lines and aristocratic subject matter feel very old. On the …
The Will to Kill, by Sock & Buskin—23 Mar. 2024
Sock & Buskin’s The Will to Kill was a new one for my partner and I, because we had never attended one of the company’s murder mystery parties before. Part performance, part cocktail party, part whodunit, the murder mystery party is an interesting, interactive, hybrid genre. Unlike most theatre, the majority of the action is carried out between “audience members” and the performers, rather than amongst performers themselves.
The Final Rose, by Stefanie Austin—10 Feb. 2024
The program of The Final Rose It’s always a treat seeing Sock & Buskin perform, since the company consistently produces high quality community theatre for central PA. Seeing their production of Stefanie Austin’s The Final Rose was particularly interesting for me, because—by way of full disclosure—I participated in a late stage readthrough of the script …
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The Value of Many, by Matteo Esposito—18 Dec. 2023
On my YouTube channel, I had done a video about Matteo Esposito’s The Value of Many as a text, but this review is about the 3 Dec. 2023 dramatic reading at The Tank NYC, directed by Meghan Finn. The recording of the reading is available here. My understanding is that The Tank NYC is dedicated …
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Bonnets: How Ladies of Good Breeding are Induced to Murder, by Jen Silverman—1 Dec. 2023
The cover of the program for Bonnets Jen Silverman’s Bonnets: How Ladies of Good Breeding are Induced to Murder was written as part of a Big Ten initiative to produce more plays by women and with strong roles for college age female actors. This is a really good initiative, not only for getting the work …
The Witching Hour, by Kari Williamson and Nate Schierman—28 Oct. 2023
Kari Williamson and Nate Schierman’s The Witching Hour is a murder-mystery-comedy dinner theatre about a group of witches in Salem, MA, running a magic healing retreat. When their magic begins to go haywire, the sisters—Hazel, Athena, and Lorelei, along with their niece Miranda—have to find a way to save their business. Each of the sisters …
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Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, by Aaron Sorkin—14 June 2023
The big draw of the Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s production of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, by Aaron Sorkin, was undoubtedly Richard Thomas in the role of Atticus Finch. Thomas, famous as John-Boy in The Waltons, was certainly a big factor in my mother’s excitement to see the production—and considering that many of the …
Continue reading Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, by Aaron Sorkin—14 June 2023
Jay Hopkins and John Hunter’s The Iliad, The Odyssey, And All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less—13 May 2023
Jay Hopkins and John Hunter’s The Iliad, The Odyssey, And All of Greek Mythology in 99 Minutes or Less (IOGM from here on out) has to be an incredibly taxing play to perform, as each of the five actors plays a multitude of roles, each demanding its own character. The actor with the fewest number …
Moon Over Buffalo, by Ken Ludwig—29 Apr. 2023
The Sock & Buskin Theatre Company’s production of Ken Ludwig’s comedy Moon Over Buffalo was an enjoyable performance marked by excellent comic timing. Under the direction of Stefanie Austin—a co-founder of Sock & Buskin—the full force of the farce came to the fore through Ludwig’s trademark wit and series of happy accidents. Moon Over Buffalo …
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Phillip Zapkin 