Winter Spent Seeing Lots of Theatre Around Town: First Up: LOOKING FOR THE PONY, OTHELLO, HEROES

Lately I’ve been spending the quiet winter months going to various intimate, Off-Broadway shows which can be a crap shoot…some are wonderful, some not so good. I’ve had a great lucky streak, however and am doing a “round up” here:
LOOKING FOR THE PONY by Andrea Lepcio.
Small show (4 people in the cast) at a tiny theatre on 74th and Broadway about two sisters, one of who has been diagnosed with cancer and is dying…and her sister who is helping her live her life and die with dignity. This feels autobiographical…I wonder if the playwright herself lived thru this, since the “sister” in the story is a writer…hmmm. There are two additional people in the cast and they play ALL the other people (doctors, nurses, neighbors, patients, etc.) which adds a light touch to this serious show.
OTHELLO by William Shakespeare
My friend Elizabeth Rouse is in this! Playing at the intimate DUKE THEATRE (Doris Duke’s $$$ funded it) on West 42nd St., this OTHELLO is one to see…powerful, well-staged, riveting acting by mostly unknown professionals. My friend Elizabeth has a small role (Bianca, the courtesan) but she’s just one reason to see this stripped down production which isn’t weighed down with a lot of scenery and production values…simply speaking, it’s Shakespeare done well by people who know how (directed by Arin Arbus). It originally was a limited run and recently closed but got such good notices in the Times and other papers , Elizabeth tells me it’s re-opening in April!
HEROES by Gerald Sibleyras, translated by Tom Stoppard
One of the good things about a shaky economy where big, expensive shows and musicals are being scrapped, is really good actors are suddenly available for small, quality productions in tiny theatres. Finely acted, small production with big Broadway names (John Cullum, Ron Holgate, Jonathan Hogan) and a heart. It’s a French show that was translated by Stoppard and won the Olivier award in London, but this is the first NYC production. It’s about a group of elderly men in a retirement home for old soldiers (set in the 1950s) and how they are slowly coming to grip with their own impending deaths. It makes the audience think, because aren’t we all eventually coming to grips with this?
FOOTNOTE: John Cullum is currently in two New York shows at once…he’s in AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY at the Music Box Theatre on W. 45th St. with Estelle Parsons, Elizabeth Ashley and a great cast. His character dies after the first scene, which allows him to leave the theatre and go 3 blocks down to West 42nd St. to do HEROES. I spoke to Cullum at the reception after the show and he said he was hoping the press would downplay this because audiences seeing AUGUST OSAGE COUNTY aren’t aware that the character he plays dies until much later in the play.