Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

There has been unrest in the Middle East since Isaac and Ishmael , and various diplomatic efforts have tried to curb the carnage. In September 1993, the Oslo Accords represented the first-ever peace agreement between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). In J.T. Rogers 's play, we go behind the scenes to see what led to that historic moment. (In program notes, Rogers explains the genesis of the play, and makes a point to point out that this is his telling of the events. He notes that everything in the play happened, but names, locations, and certain details have been changed for dramatic effect and expediency.) It seems that a Norwegian husband-and-wife team got the ball rolling. Terje Rod-Larsen ( Jefferson Mays ) and Mona Juul ( Jennifer Ehle ) hatch the idea that under a specific diplomatic approach an agreement would be possible. Terje, an academic, believes that if a more personal approach is taken by the negotiators, they will be able to find common ...

If ever someone were perfectly cast it's Danny Burstein as Fiddler on the Roof 's leading man, Tevye. Unfortunately, not everyone else in this Bartlett Sher -directed revival is as perfectly cast, which makes this an underwhelming revival of the Sheldon Harnick – Jerry Bock – Joseph Stein musical. Fiddler on the Roof looks in on Tevye the milkman, a Jewish man of modest means living in Anatevka during the pogroms. He and his wife, Golde (Jessica Hecht), have been "blessed" with five daughters. Anatevka, like many Jewish villages and enclaves (then and now) is a place filled with tradition, as is so richly described in one of the great opening numbers in musical theatre. ("Tradition" will make me cry every time; this was no exception. And that it starts with that beautiful violin theme, played by The Fiddler ( Jesse Kovarsky ) is a blessing on your house.) Traditions can be great though, on the one hand, even Tevye's now old traditions broke som...