robert massimi
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 12 shows on and off Broadway. I've seen over700 shows
"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.
robert massimiPublished 11 days 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.
robert massimiPublished 27 days 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.
robert massimiPublished 2 months 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.
robert massimiPublished 3 months 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.
robert massimiPublished 4 months ago in Geeks
"An Imperfect Murder"
Sometimes you watch a performance and wonder what you are watching, or why the movie was even made. It so happens that "An Imperfect Murder", originally named "The Private Life of a Modern Woman" is one of those movies. In the short time frame of its duration... only and hour and fifteen minutes long, we see a famous actress who is haunted by a nightmare involving her ex-boyfriend, she begins to question her reality and whether the incident took place.
robert massimiPublished 4 months ago in Humans
"Christmas Carol, OY! Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, Happy Ramadan".
In what bills itself from ages 5 years old to 105 years old, "Christmas Carol, OY! Hanukkah, Merry Kwanzaa, Happy Ramadan" is more to keep children's attention I think rather than an adults. It is not because of the plays plot, but rather because of the marionette's. The Theater for the New City is famous for shows with puppetry (Bead and Puppet as well as others). Like Bread and Puppet, this play is based on radical undertones; poking fun at religion and capitalism, "Xmas Carol" has a very thin plot at best and is loosely based on Dickens "A Christmas Carol".
robert massimiPublished 5 months ago in Geeks
"The Professor and the Madman"
When I read "The Professor and the Madman" a few years ago, I loved it. The story is one of those over the top crazy but true stories. Netflix this month is presenting the 2019 movie adaptation of the book. Mel Gibson bought the rights to the movie some twenty years ago and he has once again teamed up with Farhad Safrina (Apocalypto, 2006) to direct and produce "Madman".
robert massimiPublished 5 months ago in Geeks
