The Half-Life of Marie Curie

Posted by Donna Herman | Nov 22, 2019 | Reviews

The Half-Life of Marie Curie

Score 93%

L-R: Kate Mulgrew; Francesca Faridany in "The Half-Life of Marie Curie" by Lauren Gunderson. Photo by Joan Marcus

Score 93%

By Donna Herman

“I go so you know”

If you know anything at all about Marie Curie, or nothing at all, go see “The Half-Life of Marie Curie” by Lauren Gunderson now playing at the Minetta Lane Theatre. It’s charming, riveting, fascinating and eye-opening. The acting by Kate Mulgrew and Francesca Faridany is superb and the writing is absolutely quotable. It will make you want to go out and split an atom (or at least a bottle of wine) with your best friend. Read my full review here.

“The Half-Life of Marie Curie” By Lauren Gunderson, Directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch

WITH: Francesca Faridany (Marie Curie); Kate Mulgrew (Hertha Ayrton)

Scenic Design by Rachel Hauck; Costume Design by Sarah Laux; Lighting Design by Amith Chandrashaker; Sound Design by Darron L. West; Production Stage Manager, Michelle Bosch; Assistant Stage Manager, Noam Lautman; Dialect Coach, Kate Wilson; Hair & Wig Design by Charles G. LaPointe. Presented by Audible at The Minetta Lane Theatre, 18 Minetta Lane, NYC through December 22^nd. Running Time: 85 minutes without intermission. For tickets visit HERE

Review

93%

The Half-Life of Marie Curie

93%

About The Author

Donna Herman

Donna Herman is a native New Yorker and a self-confessed theater addict. It all started in her childhood, which was spent on movie and television sets and in dark empty theaters while her mother, an actress, and her father, a make-up artist and playwright/screenwriter, worked. She knew she wanted to be an actress at 4 years old while on location with her father who was working on the movie “West Side Story.” They were filming the “Officer Krupke” number on the street and Donna was inside the police barricades being helpful and pressing the lever on the coffee urn for the crew. Meanwhile, the kids from the neighborhood were pressed against the sawhorses looking in. She knew then she always wanted to be on the inside. But it wasn’t until her 8th birthday when she saw her first Broadway show, “My Fair Lady,” that she fell prey to her addiction. Donna went on to act throughout her school career and attended Boston University’s School of Fine Arts Theater Program where she studied Acting and Directing. After graduation, she returned to NYC and began the life of a struggling actress. She was fortunate enough to originate the role of Chang in John Jesurun’s downtown cult serial classic play “Chang In A Void Moon” which performed a new episode at The Pyramid Club on Avenue A every Monday night for almost a year in the 80’s. Many downtown notables were in the cast including Steve Buscemi, Black-Eyed Susan, David Cale, Greg Mehrten, and Anna Kohler. While pursuing acting, Donna made money by working in recording studios and eventually got hired full time to manage Spyro Gyra’s new recording studio when Julian Lennon was recording his first album there. From there she became the Production Coordinator on the film of his concert tour for his production company. This led her to a job with the award winning audio post production facility where she stayed for 12 years and was the Controller. From there she went to Charlex, Inc. an award winning special effects and design company for the advertising industry, where she was the CFO and stayed for 17 years. But her love for the theater has never waned and living in New York, she has always been able to indulge it. She has even been called to revise her role as Chang occasionally over the years, the latest for episodes 59 to 61 in 2015. She is now looking to get back to a more creative life and reviewing theater and designing jewelry.

Search

Links

Opening Night
Our Criteria
Get our reviews by email

Subscribe

Archives

Want our reviews delivered to your inbox?

Want our reviews delivered to your inbox?

Join our mailing list to receive the latest reviews from the Front Row Center. We will email you all of the reviews twice weekly.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest