Lisa d amour biography of martin

Airline Highway, the new play by Lisa D'Amour, kicks off its run at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre tonight, April 23. The dark comedy, directed by Joe Mantello, began performances April 1 after a run at Steppenwolf Theatre in late 2014.

Airline Highway follows a ragtag group of strippers, hustlers, and philosophers who have gathered at a once-glamorous New Orleans motel to celebrate the life of Miss Ruby, an iconic burlesque performer who has requested a pre-mortem funeral. The show is described as an "ode to the outcasts that make life a little more interesting."

The Broadway cast includes Tony winner Julie White, Carolyn Braver, K. Todd Freeman, Scott Jaeck, Ken Marks, Caroline Neff, Tim Edward Rhoze, Judith Roberts, and Joe Tippett, alongside an ensemble made up of Todd d'Amour, Shannon Eagen, Venida Evans, Joe Forbrich, Leslie Hendrix, Sekou Laaidlow, and Toni Martin. The Steppenwolf production played an extended Chicago run in late 2014 and early 2015.

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For tickets to the Broadway production of Airline Highway, click here.

Every now and then, a good film or play can gain an added resonance when it coincides with current events. Lisa D’Amour’s portrayal of two destructive marriages, Detroit, is enjoying a sold-out off-Broadway run at a time when its eponymous city is in the public eye. The Tigers made it to the World Series; one of its native sons ran for president; and a documentary about its challenges is playing in movie theaters (see pg. 26). At the same time, Edward Albee’s classic portrait of toxic married couples, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” has returned to Broadway in another revival.

Unfortunately, the play is not really about the city of Detroit; it could just as easily be called “Tulsa,” “Kansas City” or “Jacksonville,” and the setting could be the suburbs of any of these cities. Nor does it achieve the catharsis that Albee’s absurdist domestic drama continues to deliver even 50 years after it first shocked Broadway audiences and filmgoers. “Detroit” does, however, dwell on the effects of the joblessness that both presidential candidates promise to address if elected. And the closing scene of the play—involving actual fire on stage—deals with the demons in many a family these days. As such, “Detroit” is an important and relevant addition to American theater today.

The play op

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