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W.M. Akers

W.M. Akers is a Tennessee playwright who lives in New York. He writes silly plays, and blogs about theater at AstorPlaceRiot.net. He is good at Twitter.

The Power of Jo of Arc
Essay

The Power of Jo of Arc

18 April 2017

The grace and fury in the performance of Jo Lampert as Joan in Joan of Arc: Into the Fire.

Photo from Kung Fu.
The Life of Bruce Lee on Stage
Essay

The Life of Bruce Lee on Stage

18 March 2014

W.M. Akers looks at David Henry Hwang's Kung Fu, a bio-play about the life and career of Bruce Lee

Image from Marie Antoinette.
First They Took Her Wigs, Now They Want Her Head
Essay

First They Took Her Wigs, Now They Want Her Head

21 November 2013

W.M. Akers reviews Marie Antoinette at Soho Rep. What is to be gained by following the notorious queen past her glamour and into the hour of her death?

Photo from Julius Caesar.
Hard Times
Essay

Hard Times

From London, A Caesar In Chains

22 October 2013

The Donmar Warehouse's all-female production of Julius Caesar encloses the story into a women’s prison to bring to light contemporary commentary on freedom and betrayal.

Photo from Mr. Burns.
When The Lights Go Out, Dumb Jokes Keep Us Warm
Essay

When The Lights Go Out, Dumb Jokes Keep Us Warm

26 September 2013

The world has gone dark, and no one will ever watch The Simpsons again. This is where Anne Washburn begins Mr. Burns: a post-electric play.

A still from A Public Reading Of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney.
A Public Reading Of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney
Essay

A Public Reading Of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney

6 June 2013

W.M. Akers examines immortality in Lucas Hnath's A Public Reading Of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, questioning can our creations keep us here after we have past?

Still from Here Lies Love.
Here Lies Love
Essay

Here Lies Love

16 May 2013

W.M. Akers looks at how this immersive musical from Alex Timbers, David Byrne, Annie-B Parson and Fatboy Slim tells Imelda Marcos' story through disco, audience involvement, and theatrical hypnotism.

Photo from the play Geek!
Soaring Geeks, Gangster Clowns, and Sludge Villains
Essay

Soaring Geeks, Gangster Clowns, and Sludge Villains

25 April 2013

Crystal Skillman’s play Geek is everything that is wonderful about geek theatre, an Off-Broadway subgenre that has become increasingly mainstream over the last ten years.