My Wonderful Day

photo: Robert Day

When her mom is rushed to the hospital while working as a housemaid, 8 year old Winnie (played credibly and with no trace of preciousness by 28 year old Ayesha Antoine) is left behind in the care of a house full of patronizing adults she doesn't know. As this is a play by (and directed by) Alan Aykbourn, you can be sure that the adults are comic gems - neurotics who are capable of behaving more like children than children and who reveal far more of themselves than they realize. It's especially delicious to see this particular collection of Aykbourn characters given the contrast of a wise-beyond-her years child who (hilariously) mostly takes in their foolishness without a word. There's just one week left of the run (at 59E59, as part of the Brits Off Broadway festival) and all performances are sold out, but it's worth your time to try your luck on the waitlist.

Seven in One Blow, or The Brave Little Kid

Like any good kids' hero, the brave little tailor of Grimm's fairy tale is both bold and clever, defeating powerful enemies by outwitting them. (He also gets the girl.) In this play for children, the tailor is, reasonably enough, turned into an actual kid, and rather than killing the baddies, as in a traditional quest saga like the Twelve Labors of Hercules or The Wizard of Oz, this hero wins their respect and turns them into allies. It's a questionable plot change, as a) the real world does contain real baddies, and b) sometimes one does have to live by one's wits. But it's a nice excuse for songs, bright costumes, and amusing mugging. All in all this is a diverting show for kids up to about eight years old. (The nine-year-old I brought gave it the equivalent of one thumb up.) Read the full review.

Race

photo: Robert J. Saferstein

A wealthy white man (Richard Thomas) stands accused of raping a black woman. Claiming that it was consensual, he has enlisted the services of a particular law firm for one chief reason: both its founding partner, Henry Brown (David Alan Grier), and young associate (Kerry Washington) are African American. Also on the scene is Jack Lawson (James Spader), Brown's white partner, who has conflicted feelings about the nature of the case but decides to focus on a specific factual aspect that, if true, would all but assure acquittal. David Mamet has sidestepped the issue of identity politics in previous plays, but Race is his first evening-long exploration of the topic. It is also his finest work in years. Spader and Grier are both brilliant as best friends and business partners who, try as they might, cannot escape the inbred associations of their races; the former shows not a trace of the legal-eagle showboating for which he became famous on television, and the latter taps into the conflicted nature of his character terrifically. Though his role is slightly underwritten, Thomas strongly conveys the duality of his character: your opinion of his guilt or innocence changes from moment to moment, as it should. And despite early preview reports claiming that she was out of her league, Washington (at the critics' performance I attended) more than held her own against her more-seasoned co-stars and delivered a richly layered performance in one of the most complex female roles Mamet has ever written. Very highly recommended.

She Like Girls

Photo: Julie Rossman

This smartly observed play about inner-city kids focuses on the sexual awakening of one in particular. Unlike some "ghetto kid" dramatizations, it avoids the sin of trying too hard. In language that's spicy and realistic, playwright Chisa Hutchinson crafts believable characters who are vividly realized by an excellent cast of mostly newbies. The one thing Ms. Hutchinson can't seem to do is think of an ending. But until that disconcerting, disappointing five seconds, the neatly plotted She Like Girls is an entertaining and affecting journey through one kid's troubled life and psyche. Read the full review.

A Streetcar Named Desire

Is Cate Blanchett's Blanche DuBois a Blanche for the ages? Hard to say, this soon, but it's powerful and memorable, and this triumphant production is a highlight of the season. From all the way on the other side of the world, the Sydney Theatre Company, run by Ms. Blanchett and her husband Andrew Upton, bravely brings this most American of plays back to America in its full faded glory. The New Orleans accents may be a touch touch-and-go, with lines occasionally hard to make out and Ms. Blanchett's southern drawl marked by a curious semi-lisp (not that these accents are much easier for American actors to master). But the three-plus hours of this nearly flawless production – helmed in inspired, fluid fashion by Liv Ullman (firmly established in a second career as a director) – dash by, leaving us both shaken and stirred. Read the full review.

The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Everyone wants someone to connect with. Everyone wants to be understood. Everyone wants to be heard. In The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter, a group of people, each seeking to be connected, understood, and heard, share their deepest longings with a deaf man, John Singer, who can read lips but can barely keep up with the tsunami of words pouring out of their needy souls. And who will hear him? Rebecca Gilman's adaptation of Carson McCullers' novel efficiently sets up and manages the interlocking storylines and gracefully introduces us to the union organizer, the young music lover, the African-American physician and his family, and the others whose hearts are lonely hunters. Nicely directed by Doug Hughes and well-acted by a strong ensemble cast (standouts include Henry Stram as John Singer and the always excellent Roslyn Ruff), the production is solid but lacks a certain spark.