Bob Verini – Arts in LA
For this chamber musical, Shaun Davey and Richard Nelson have crafted Irish faux folk tunes that rely more on vocal brio than beauty. And let’s face it, the characters’ increasing insobriety lowers the bar on singing quality as the play’s Christmastime celebration progresses. But the adaptation of James Joyce’s brilliant, deep novella—possibly the best of its kind in the English language—is a bitch to stage, with its tonal shifts, huge cast, multiple settings, and thematic ambiguities. Read more…
Now running through February 22.