J Hunter
By J Hunter. Examine this sentence: “I told the truth! I just didn’t know I was lying!” Think of it this way: What if what you THOUGHT was the truth was a product of seeing something – or being told something – and you got it wrong? This concept is the basis for “Girl on […]
By J Hunter. If you saw Harbinger Theatre’s productions of playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis’ “The Motherfucker with the Hat” and “Between Riverside and Crazy,” then you know the UAlbany alum does not do Happy-Go-Lucky Rom-Coms that climax with a Merry Mix-Up. Guirgis’ plays may have funny moments, but the works themselves get deep and dark […]
By J Hunter. As we saw the last time he was In The Spotlight, Patrick White’s days are both full and rich: between his podcast The Play That Changed My Life, his articles & reviews he’s written for multiple Capital Region publications, the acting classes he leads, and all the plays he attends (here and […]
Review by J Hunter. “The struggle is real.” That phrase has been around long enough that it’s way too easy to parody. Unfortunately for some, the struggle is all too real as they deal with personal issues, career choices, and the support they get (or don’t get) from their respective families. Kate Fodor’s deeply intimate […]
By J Hunter We all want life to be simpler, but sometimes that just isn’t possible – mainly because real life just keeps getting in the way. For instance, in Kate Fodor’s play “100 Saints You Should Know,” the lead character Theresa is the single mother of a challenging teenager, while the young priest Matthew […]
YEAR IN REVIEW: The Year in Jazz2K – by J Hunter. I know what you’re thinking: “Who in his right mind would WANT TO look back at 2024? It was a dumpster fire inside a dynamite factory!” While that’s a fair point in general terms, I have to say the music coming across my ever-cluttered […]
Review by J Hunter. I understand the argument for community theater companies doing new plays versus old classics, especially given the area theater scene’s current inclination toward relevant, challenging (and, preferably, never-before-seen) content. There is also something intimidating about a venerable piece like Eugene O’Neill’s A Moon for the Misbegotten, both for the actors performing […]
Words by J Hunter. Photo provided. All-women jazz groups aren’t a new thing. Their history goes back to the era of Louis Armstrong and continues right up to today, where drummer Sherrie Maricle leads the powerhouse DIVA Jazz Orchestra: A group that nurtured altoist Sharel Cassity, tenor player/vocalist Camille Thurman-Green, bari-sax killer Lauren “El Boogie” […]
REVIEW: The Squirrels @ Sand Lake Center for The Arts, Averill Park By J HUNTER It’s been established right from the jump that the Albany theater group Harbinger is dedicated to showing us things we’ve never seen before. Up until now, that’s meant putting on regional premieres of wild plays like Theresa Reback’s Dig (produced […]
Patrick White – In The Spotlight – by J Hunter. It’ll soon be Winter in the forest, and the rich Gray Squirrels literally have it all: The best nuts, the best tree, you name it. The outcast Fox Squirrels want what the Gray Squirrels have, and they’re not the only ones, as hardship gets worse […]
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