Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium

 Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium
Classic Stage Company
May 16, 2026 

Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

Classic Stage Company’s production of Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium is inspiring.  Kudos to playwright Kirk Lynn for uncovering this unfinished Thornton Wilder play and bringing it to fruition.  The play encompasses Mr. Wilder’s philosophical point of view.  It has the powerful images contained in The Skin or Our Teeth, and the poetic scope of Our Town.  Director Rob Melrose orchestrates the action, putting focus on the repeated motifs that culminate in a poignant message. 

John (played by Joe Tapper) wants to work at the Emporium.  It’s all he thinks about while growing up at the orphanage, and the reason why he runs away from the farm he works on after he is adopted.  It’s not until he gets to the city that he realizes how hard it is to get a job there.  He meets Laurencia (played by Cassia Thompson), who works at the Emporium.  She starts to tell John how to get a job there, but he cuts her off before she can finish.  He runs off to apply through an independent employment agency, and ends up working at Craigie’s Departmental Store.  It’s not as glamorous, but it’s steady work and offers immediate satisfaction.  Just as he is about to achieve a top-level position at Craigie’s, John realizes he longs for something more. 

Candy Buckley & Joe Tapper
Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

Joe Tapper is full of ambition and chutzpah as John.  He strives to achieve his ultimate goal and becomes smaller when he settles for less.  He and Cassia Thompson have natural chemistry.  Ms. Thompson portrays Laurencia as grounded and sure of herself.  As the action progresses, it becomes clear that the calm security she project can dissipate at any time.  When the action culminates in the final scene, these two characters are united in a full understanding of their journey, and these two actors play it beautifully.  

Candy Buckley, Partrick Kerr, Joe Tapper, Eva Kaminsky, & Mahira Kakkar
Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

Candy Buckley plays numerous characters.  She is Bernice, an employee at the Emporium.  She plays Mrs. Foster, the woman who runs the orphanage with her husband.  She plays the Farmer’s wife who adopts John.  She is the woman who runs the independent employment agency.  Her most uniquely comic role is Ermengarde, the daughter of the man who own Craigie’s Departmental Store.  Ms. Buckley creates distinct and bold characters in each of these roles.  Her energy establishes a throughline, connecting every scene and leading the audience to Mr. Wilder’s stunning conclusion.  

Eva Kaminsky, Derek Smith, Candy Buckley, & Mahria Kakkar
Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

Derek Smith also plays numerous roles, and always opposite Ms. Buckley.  They are wonderful
together.  Mr. Smith’s characters challenge John, constantly pushing him out of his comfort zone.  Their scenes build with urgency, propelling the action forward and forcing John to make decisions to face his true calling. 

There are also strong and enigmatic performances by Mahira Kakkar, Eva Kaminsky, and Patrick Kerr.  Their roles and purpose in the story are constantly shifting, until the final scene, where it all falls into place. 

Thornton Wilder’s The Emporium is playing at Classic Stage Company through June 7.  As in all Thronton Wilder’s plays, it contains a strong message of hope, which is something we all need to feel at this time.  It is certain to ring differently for each audience member.  Don’t miss it! 

Domenick Danza

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

Classic Stage Company

November 17, 2018

Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

This is an ideal time for a revisit of Bertolt Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and the Classic Stage Company production hits every mark in this political parable.  The Brecht style and utilization of theatre as a vehicle for strong social commentary is heightened in this production by actors changing hats to portray numerous roles and side glances to the audience to acknowledge their presence.  Under the direction of John Doyle this amazing cast finds the poetic timing of Brecht’s writing to incite humor, identification, and outrage.  

Bertolt Brecht wrote The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui after escaping Germany in 1933.  The play parallels Hitler’s rise to power with that of Brooklyn-born Chicago gangster, Arturo Ui (played by Raul Esparza).  He offers protection to the grocery industry by inciting fear in an unknown enemy.  He them proves the presence of this fictional enemy by having his goons burn down a warehouse.  This action is a reference to the burning down of the Reichstag in 1933, which brought Hitler and the Nazi Party to a powerful public position.  Arturo Ui trains himself to have the public persona he knows he needs to gain power with the working class.  Once this is achieved, he is able to rise to greater self-serving heights.

Raul Esparza as Arturo Ui
Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

Raul Esparza displays an amazing range of skill in his portrayal of Arturo Ui.  His character yearns for power and transforms to achieve it.  His vocal characterization goes from nasal and comic to bold and powerful.  His physicalization changes from timid and flippant to magnetic and controlling.  He embodies the power as it shapes his identity.  He takes ownership it, and fully believes it is part of him.  His performance is riveting and inspiring.  You cannot take your eyes off him.  

From the Classic Stage Company electronic program notes: “The play is a parable in which Brecht demonstrates, through satire and high drama, how mundane irrationality can lead to an inhumane and barbaric government."  This is a powerful message for our time, and the cast works as a tight ensemble to deliver it with full impact.  Each actor (George Abud, Eddie Cooper, Elizabeth A. Davis, Christopher Gurr, Omoze Idehenre, Mahira Kakkar, and Thom Sesma) creates distinctive characters that are genuinely layered in truthful detail. 

Raul Esparza & Eddie Copper
Photo courtesy of Classic Stage Company

The purpose of a parable is to simplify a complex situation and offer perspective for deeper and clearer understanding.  The Classic Stage Company production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui does that to perfection.  Don’t miss this timely production.  It is running through December 22.

Domenick Danza

The Winter’s Tale

The Winter’s Tale

Theatre for a New Audience

Polonsky Shakespeare Center

March 17, 2018

Photo courtesy of
Theatre for a New Audience

The Theatre for a New Audience production of The Winter’s Tale brings brilliant clarity to Shakespeare’s unique two part story.  The first half is dark and tragic, fueled by a King’s jealous passion.  The second part transitions into a love story full of redemption and forgiveness.  Director Arin Arbus magnificently weaves Shakespeare’s mixture of genres.  As the play shifts locations before the intermission, so does the tone, texture, and timing.  The cast seamlessly carries the audience through the journey to Shakespeare’s comic and enchanted conclusion.

When Leontes, King of Sicilia (played by Anatol Yusef), suspects his wife Hermione (played by Kelly Curran) of infidelity with his friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia (played by Dion Mucciacito), he lets his jealous nature rule his decision making.  He has Hermione arrested and orders Camillo (played by Michael Rogers) to kill Polixenes.  Camillo sees the error in Leontes’ judgement, vows loyalty to Polixenes, and exiles himself to Bohemia.  While imprisoned, Hermione gives birth to a daughter, who Leontes suspects is not his.  He sends Antigonus (played by Oberon K. A. Adjepong) to abandon the infant in a far off, baron location.  While on trial, Hermione collapses after hearing that her son, Prince Mamillius (played by Eli Rayman) has died of grief.  Shortly after the Oracle of Delphi confirms Hermione’s innocence, Paulina, the Queen’s lady-in-waiting (played by Mahira Kakkar), delivers the tragic news that she has died.     

The Cast of The Winter's Tale
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

Antigonus chooses to leave the infant princess in Bohemia with a chest of gold and jewels that belonged to Hermione.  He defends the infant from a bear attack, and is himself devoured.  A shepherd and his son (played by John Keating and Ed Malone) find the child, name her Perdita, and raise her as their own.  Sixteen years pass and Perdita (played by Nicole Rodenburg) falls in love with Polixenes’ son Florizel (played by Eddie Ray Jackson).  He defies his father by vowing to marry her.  Camillo, in an effort to make amends with Leontes, tells Florizel to take his bride to Sicilia and ask Leontes to marry them.  When they arrive in Bohemia, it is discovered that Perdita is heir to the throne of Sicilia.  The love between her and Florizel reunites Leontes with Polixenes.  In the final moment of the story, Paulina unveils a statue of Hermione.  Leontes becomes emotional at the excellence of the likeness.  His remorse and love is so great that the stature is brought to life. 

Director Arin Arbus
Photo courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience

The cast brings truth to the depth of emotion in the tragic first half of the show, then joy to the lighthearted frolic of the second half.  All the characters develop over the sixteen year time span between these sections.  Ms. Arbus skillfully illustrates Shakespeare’s theme of atonement and forgiveness that comes with the passage of time.  Mahira Kakkar (as Paulina) creates a clear through line of this theme with the persistence and fortitude in her character.  Her transition of age and demeanor are concise.  Her character observes the growth and change of Leontes, waiting to unveil the statue of Hermione until he is truly rehabilitated.  Is it magic, or her and Hermione’s secret plan to stay hidden until the time is right?  See the production and decide for yourself.

The Winter’s Tale is playing at Theatre for a New Audience’s Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Downtown Brooklyn through April 15.

Domenick Danza