- Michael Brosilow
- Larry Yando’s Scrooge—er, Roy Cohn, explains it all to his disciple in Angels in America
The two biggest openings of the week left our Reader critics feeling unsatisfied. Kerry Reid says some triage might benefit The March, Frank Galati’s stage adaptation of the Civil War novel by E.L. Doctorow. With 26 cast members and numerous intertwining narratives, the play lacks focus. Meanwhile, Tony Adler argues that Angels in America has aged into a period piece, and Court Theatre’s production does it no favors.
Other shows with strong temporal ties get more love. Though Jersey Boys plays on 60s nostalgia, it doesn’t gloss over the rocky relationships among Frankie Valli and his fellow Four Seasons. And Marriott Theatre manages to preserve the spirit of the 1879 Gilbert & Sullivan romp The Pirates of Penzance while appealing to contemporary audiences.