I originally began this review with a long paragraph about the meaning and function of criticism, but I've deleted it; the summer heat is not conducive to abstract discussions. Besides, I knew in my heart that I'd written it merely to avoid discussing four shows I don't particularly want to review. Their openings, and even some of their closings, are long past, the Off-Broadway institutions having as usual dumped all their major spring openings into the weeks after the Tony cutoff date, apparently just to cause backlogging in weekly columns. Now the hot weather's here, and nobody cares very much about anything, least of all the theater. Same-sexers, who make up such a large segment of the playgoing audience, are all busy having celebratory same-sex in Texas bedrooms while they plan their Canadian weddings. (I recommend Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, where a translation of mine opens at the Shaw Festival later this month.) The world is in upheaval; the resident lunatic in the White House is busy truckling alternately to God and Mammon, with zero regard for the American public; and the Middle East, the economy, and the environment are all busily making a bleak future look bleaker. With all that going on, who really needs a report on recent plays that... More >>>