MonoBlog
“With a monologue, you can be unendingly elliptical” – Mike Birbiglia
Really great live theater can inspire audience members by allowing them to experience people, places and ideas that they might otherwise never encounter. In his “monoblog”, Tony shares his thoughts about life inspired by the great lines and big ideas of the plays he’s seen.
Put Your House in Order
One of the best things about zombie apocalypse movies (or plays) is getting to watch how human beings react to the complete breakdown of society. It’s what makes sci-fi, fantasy and horror genres powerful – their ability to use outrageously fictitious circumstances to reveal something true or insightful about the human experience. On this level, I think Put Your House In Order fell short. The play focuses on two characters, Roland and Caroline, who are meeting for their 3rd date as news of a strange illness is just beginning to be reported online. Far too late in the play, we discover that this outbreak is actually a zombie apocalypse, but, unfortunately, what we’ve seen in the meantime hasn’t given us much reason to care about the characters. The author attempts to give us a few vulnerable moments – Caroline feels
What You Are
I have fond memories from my childhood of spending time at my grandparent’s homes. We lived just a few blocks from both sets of grandparents, so I’d often walk to one or the other’s house to visit, watch TV, have dinner and occasionally spend the night. On many occasions I’d flop on the sofa and with “Nanu” (my dad’s dad) and watch reruns of old sit-coms. One of his favorites was All in the Family. There are two things that I remember most about watching that show with my grandfather. The first is how Archie Bunker’s character was written in such a way that you could somehow feel fond of him even as you disagreed with every word that came out of his mouth. The second is how my grandfather would freely talk to the TV while watching. Nanu was,
“Ready or Not…”- They Promised Her the Moon
“Ready or Not…” They Promised Her the Moon, by Laurel Ollstein, tells the story of Jerrie Cobb, one of 12 women who were part of NASA’s astronaut training program in the 1960’s. Despite equaling or outperforming the likes of John Glenn and Alan Shepard during testing, Cobb was not selected to go on any of the missions. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to guess why. Nonetheless, it was quite unsettling to watch as, quite literally, a rocket scientist – along with congressmen and another famous woman pilot, Jackie Cochran – spelled it out: the world was “not ready” for a female astronaut. More about the world’s lack of readiness in a minute, but first, a little about my own expectations. I knew going in that sexism would be the main motivating factor behind keeping a woman out of a
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Recent MonoBlogs
Put Your House in Order
One of the best things about zombie apocalypse movies (or plays) is getting to
What You Are
I have fond memories from my childhood of spending time at my grandparent’s homes.
“Ready or Not…”- They Promised Her the Moon
“Ready or Not…” They Promised Her the Moon, by Laurel Ollstein, tells the story
Recent Reviews
The Merry Wives of Windsor
Setting: The living room. Tony sits on one couch engrossed in the last pages
Sister Act – A Review
Scene 1: The Sidewalk Outside Horton Grand Theater It’s the intermission of Sister Act
Disney’s Frozen – A Review
Michael: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Morbi commodo, ipsum sed pharetra
