Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).
Bio
I have been writing on theater since 1982. A graduate from Manhattan College B.S. A member of Alpha Sigma Lambda, which recognizes excellence in both English and Science. I have produced 14 shows on and off Broadway. I've seen over700 shows
Stories (310)
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Ni Mi Madre.
"Ni Mi Madre' (which has been extended through September 25th) has a lot of good, bad and ugly to it. In one hour we get to know Bete, the mother of writer and solo performer Arturo Luis Soria. In this sixty minutes we get to see the life of a woman who has been through many ups and downs of what life has to offer. She grapples with the secrets that tear her and her son apart, the unbidden memories of her estranged mother and the traditions that keep them apart. The play further explores the intersection of queerness and Latindad; examines to a small degree gender, sexuality. and citizenship. i think the play has more to do with identity: hers and Arturo's as well as past husbands. Although other family members are mentioned, the play lays bare the secrets, memories, fears of raising a family and getting by in her world that is at hand.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).4 years ago in Beat
"Pass Over"
"Pass Over" "This One Can Be Passed Up" Robert Massimi. A show like "Pass Over" should be played off off Broadway and not at the August Wilson Theater on Broadway. One of the many problems with this play is that it goes nowhere; it never really challenges us and it surely doesn't move us one way or the other, it more or less floats in the rarified atmosphere. The shows premise is two young men from Chicago living in the hood waiting for their lives to change. The problem with its two characters is that Moses (Jon Michael Hill) and Kitch (Namir Small Wood) do nothing to help themselves. When you add bland direction by Danya Taymour into the mix, the play goes downhill fast. In "Pass Over" Taymour never has the audience feeling any empathy for the two characters, we only see two men who want to get off the block and into the promised land, however, they never discuss any plans nor dreams other than their top ten list as to what they would do if they could.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).4 years ago in Geeks
PNC Concert Series
Robert Massimi. Squeeze are an English rock band that came to prominence during the new wave period of the late 1970's. They continued recording i the 1980's, 1990's and 2010's. While songs like "Cool for Cat's", "Up The Junction" and Labelled with Love" were UK top-ten chart hits, they were not commercially successful in the US. "Hourglass", "Tempted" and "Pulling Mussels" faired far better.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).4 years ago in Beat
"Spring Awakenings" and "Wake of Dorcas Kelly"
"Spring Awakenings" at performed at The Vogel at the Basie Center is a classic musical performed on Broadway and countless regional theaters across America is a 1891 German play with the same title by Frank Wedekind. Set in late 19th Century Germany it tells of teenagers discovering the inner and outer tumult of sexuality.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).4 years ago in Beat
"Audience"
Fri, Jun 25 at 12:42 PM "Audience" written by Vaclav Havel is an absurdist comedy that focuses on a time in Havel's life when he was remanded to work at a brewery as punishment for writing critical articles about the communist Czechoslovakian government. "Audience" follows his fictional alter ego Ferdinand Vanek and his dialogue between he and the Brewmaster (Teresa Linnihan). Havel would eventually go from a prison cell to the presidential palace: from 1989 till 2003 and through the overseeing of the newly formed Czech Republic, Havel would lead his people toward democracy throughout his long presidency. With the infusion of the CAMT Marionette's, The Bohemian Theater put forth what is billed as Havel's funniest, most absurdist play.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Beat
"Impact"
"Impact" is a virtual show that was written and acted in a solo performance by Amy Engelhardt. The play is about her life; the catastrophe of Pan Am flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland due to terrorism by Libyan Nationals. In what Engelhardt describes as "Follow Signs"... where and how her life moves, she talks about music moving her during difficult times. A former alumnus of Syracuse University, she was able to know her fellow students by name in the theater department. Her senior year she decided to focus more on music than acting. At The Cell Theater and produced by The Playhouse at White Lake, the play at times is very moving; at other times it can be both slow and more about Engelhardt's corniness than the main issues that she is trying to portray.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Geeks
"Blindness", "Tennessee Rising".
In an epidemic year what better play than one about another epidemic that plagues an entire country seemingly overnight? In a sound extravaganza, Blindness, which was first produced in London’s Covent Garden and written by Simon Stephens (The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night Time) is as imaginative, as anything I have seen in a long while.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Beat
"Waiting for I Dunno"
The Signal Through The Noise/ Tolerance Party #4B put forth by The Cell Theater virtual recent project "Waiting for I Dunno" is mish mosh of Absurdism that goes nowhere important. Based off the play :"Waiting for Godot", Joseph Handel and Kira Simring write an incoherent play.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Geeks
Voyeur: The Windows Of Toulouse-Lautrec"
It's 1899 and Bated Breath has turned the West Village into Paris; from the fantastic costumes of that time period to great dancing on MacDougal St. and wonderful opera singing on 5th Avenue, "Voyeur" is an interesting body of work both conceived and directed by Mara Lieberman.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Geeks
"White Noise"
The Cell gives us Tolerance Party #4, "The Signal Through The Noise". Joseph Hendel gives the viewer a very interesting play; two main characters with different lifestyles as well as different views of the world. The entire play takes place in a breakout room where we encounter a total of three characters, two of whom are the main focal point of a well written play; for the most part. Hendel presents the bohemian actor, Heather Mo Witz as a woman who is educated in a Charter school and has certain ideas about the world. Although a somewhat radical bohemian, she is not immersed in overly radical ideas; she simply makes her points and listens for a reaction. She hears more from the noise than her counter part India Menete(~ over the N). India is a suburban housewife who sees the world in a different place; this place involves her children, parades and a sense of history that omits the imperfections. Where India hears a parade, Heather sees slavery, injustice and a global New World Order that is out of her grasp.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Beat
"Adjust The Procedure"
"Adjust The Procedure' Robert Massimi. Member Dramatists Guild and The Drama League. Many of the current virtual plays being produced are thrown together and seem willy nilly, however, " Adjust The Procedure" was written for and directed for virtual theater. In its efforts, Jake Shore makes better work of it than the virtual as usual style I have seen so far. Set on a university campus somewhere in lower Manhattan, New York (the play mentions Chamber Street); there are four characters, all of whom are affiliated with the university. These four characters have different personalities which adds to the many different positions that they take. The play is set in Zoom meetings with sometimes two characters, other times three actors and for a brief period, with all four being on the call. The crux of the play shows us the inner workings of a university; how universities are a very big business. With the Covid pandemic, we see four different points of view as how to deal with the many problems this pandemic has caused.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Geeks
"Pretend It's a City"
Netflix has a way at certain times of putting out what I call a hidden gem. A hidden gem too me is that off off Broadway play that is really entertaining; a movie downtown that no one has spoken about but is really artistic; a restaurant that is off the beaten path, yet excellent. What is entertaining at times with Netflix is that they can do many different shows about many pithy things. "Pretend It's a City" is one of those pity, pragmatic series.
By Robert M Massimi. ( Broadway Bob).5 years ago in Geeks
