Aida
At The Granada, Sunday afternoon’s performance, helmed by director Michael Rau, this roughed-up, scaled-down aesthetic worked its own kind of magic, both in terms of bringing fresh face to an old familiar opera we thought we knew, and, in no small measure, by the confident powers of its singing cast. Somehow, the twisted, period-crossing vision works, respecting the integrity of the Verdi original while zooming forward to apresent-tense tension and relevance.
Francesca Zambello’s version of Aida, first shown at New York’s esteemed Glimmerglass Festival last year, concentrated on the romance rather than the spectacle to excellent effect under revival director Michael Rau
SONG OF A CONVALESCENT AYN RAND GIVING THANKS TO THE GODHEAD
“Crowley’s writing is smart and often gorgeous, his performance (as always) masterfully precise and affecting… The disparate elements of the piece create a dance that’s fascinating to experience, engage with, and contemplate; like some of the best art they don’t try to coalesce into a statement about this or that, but rather set the auditor’s mind ablaze with new ideas and connections.”
— Martin Denton, nytheatre.com (Full review.)
“What would it take to lure Paul Ryan to Off-Broadway? Perhaps Michael Yates Crowley and Michael Rau’s [show].”
— The New York Times
If you only see one free, 85-minute theatrical meditation on migraines and objectivism this year, by all means make it the Song Of A Convalescent Ayn Rand Giving Thanks To The Godhead (In The Lydian Mode)…the piece offers a bit for everyone: financial puppets, an intellectual drag queen (her covers are divine), animal loving nurses, many, many migraines, Beethoven bashing and, of course, Ayn Rand.”
— Gothamist Daily – Featured Recommendation
The Ted Haggard Monologues
New York Magazine Critics Pick
Winner of the Undergroundzero Festival award for Artistic Excellence
“[A] terrific showcase for its author/performer, Michael Yates Crowley, who proves himself to be a deft and charismatic actor and clever and articulate playwright…Michael Rau’s staging is tight and effective…and the monologues are alternately funny, touching, and provocative.”
— Martin Denton, nytheatre.com
“Crowley is a talented writer and a performer…Director Michael Rau has done a great job of creating simple but effective staging…even once the show started, it felt very collegial and intimate. That kind of summed up the overall vibe of the show: low-key, laid-back, bare-bones and enjoyable.
The Ted Haggard Monologues is a very promising debut from a very gifted group of young artists.”
— Andy Horowitz, Culturebot
Evanston: A Rare Comedy
“Prepare to be rocked by Michael Yates Crowley’s new play, Evanston: A Rare Comedy…a hilarious (at times unnervingly on-point) portrait of yearning Evanston citizens whose oblivion proves to be their most dangerous threat. This play definitely deserves an audience.
— Elizabeth O’Neill, Huffington Post
“The production achieves something remarkable in that it’s a black comedy that isn’t cynical…Evanston: A Rare Comedy is not to be missed.”
— Joshua Conkel, nytheatre.com
The Games We Used to Play
Anyone familiar with their work over the years no doubt expected whimsical yet insightful subversions of theatrical convention…This powerful and intimate show was one of the more thoughtful gifts Wesleyan audiences have received. It was a chilling gift, a gift of noir uncertainty and unexplainably quickened pulses. Consider this a heartfelt thank you note.
–Liz Thaler, the Wesleyan Argus, Wesleyan University, Oct 1, 2004
The Games We Used To Play is a sordid and amazing piece made all the more spectacular because so
much is created from nothing…We are immersed in the gloom of a chilling relationship and the unnerving game that adults play, where amusement can morph slowly into disturbing dares and terrifying commands that play with the very morbidity of life and death… All of these themes come to an apex, as Rau and Goldblatt demystify the very duality of love and detestation – and imagine, this whole piece was written in a workshop spanning only three weeks!
–Alexis Apfelbaum, the Maroon News, Colgate University, Feb.18 2005
Righteous Money
RIGHTEOUS MONEY
“An example of that sublime and uncommon marriage of good acting with good material. Written and performed by the excellent Michael Yates Crowley, ‘Righteous Money’ is an acerbic social commentary and dark comedy…Having toured several cities around the globe, Crowley and director Michael Rau bring it to New York with polish and style. It is funny, engaging, and right on the money.”
— Sloan Rollins, EDGE Magazine
GO SEE THIS…a seductive and poetic tour de force.
— New York Theater Review (Full review.)
Full of wit and with a fantastic undercurrent of dark humour, Righteous Money has important things to say.
— The Scotsman | ★★★★ (Full review.)
An unashamedly bitter, sharp and biting satirical attack on the American dream…Crowley pulls no punches.
— Fringe Review | ★★★★ (Full review.)
A nasty piece of work…[the] unique blend of misogyny and self-delusion is delicious to watch.
— What’s On Stage | ★★★★ (Full review.)
Confident and sexy…a blackly humorous snapshot. Crowley, who also wrote the one-man play, delivers a compelling performance.
— METRO | ★★★★