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

I had never heard of gospel stars Sister Rosetta Tharpe or Marie Knight, and I'm not a churchgoer, but damn it if Kecia Lewis (Rosetta) and Rebecca Naomi Jones (Marie) aren't providing a magical, religious experience in George Brant 's play with (lots of) music, Marie and Rosetta . Set in 1946 Mississippi, Marie and Rosetta , directed by Neil Pepe , lets us in the room where Marie, a 23-year-old aspiring singer, comes under the tutelage and becomes a colleague of established gospel singer, Sister Rosetta. As the two women get to know each other and groove to the soul-shaking music we get treated to two vocal powerhouses raising the roof. Kecia Lewis ( Dreamgirls , Leap of Faith ) commands the stage as the swinging Sister Rosetta, a full-fledged diva in the most wonderful way. Rosetta is strong-willed, and passionate about her art (she insists that all the singing is in joy, it's all a celebration), and Lewis brings the bombast and puts her hips into the music. S...

"If I feel it, someone's gonna know it." That's Strings McCrane in a nutshell. McCrane is the country music star and matinee idol at the center of Kenneth Lonergan 's latest work, Hold On To Me Darling . The title is the name of one of Strings' songs, and it's also what Strings is searching for. We first meet Strings (Timothy Olyphant) in a Kansas City hotel room. He's in KC to shoot a movie (which has already gone over due to Strings' "process"), but production has stopped so Strings can mourn the loss of his mother. Without her as his constant, he doesn't know where home is anymore. Strings has people around him, to be sure. He has, for example, his assistant, Jimmy ( Keith Nobbs ), who is at his beck and call. Jimmy describes himself as Strings' closest friend, but this doesn't do the trick. Strings is still longing for a connection. Playwright Lonergan ( This Is Our Youth , You Can Count On Me ) takes his time dev...