Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Using music to clarify and comment on the drama at hand: HEARTBREAK HOTEL and COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE

• By drediman
• April 4, 2026
• No Comments

In theater, music can be a powerfully expressive tool, as evidenced by two Off-Broadway plays whose central utilization of songs to heighten and comment on the drama at hand are worth calling out. As per usual, read on for my thoughts.

HEARTBREAK HOTEL
DR2 Theatre
Through April 19

Currently at Off-Broadway’s intimate DR2 Theatre, you’ll find New Zealand theater company EBKM’s production of Heartbreak Hotel (RECOMMENDED). Neatly divided into discrete chapters, the play is an observant two-hander about navigating grief that emanates from a breakup, comprehensively investigating romantic heartbreak from multiple angles — including pretty in-depth forays that give scientific explanations as to how a broken heart can impact our bodies and minds. What’s fascinating about the work’s messaging is that it suggests that heartbreak is a state of being rather than a condition to be eradicated. Written and performed by Karin McCracken — alongside co-star Simon Leary — the quirky and succinct production comes to New York after having traveled around the globe, which is evident in the polish of director Eleanor Bishop’s stylized production and the carefully calibrated performances. As a woman indefinitely stuck in the purgatorial limbo of heartache after breaking up with a man who is likely her soulmate, McCracken is giving a clear-eyed and uncannily convincing performance, which includes some unnerving renditions of recognizable “breakup” pop songs, which she austerely accompanies herself on synthesizer (e.g., “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinéad O’Connor, “I Can’t Make You Love Me” by Bonnie Raitt, “Dreams” by The Cranberries, and of course “Heartbreak Hotel” by Elvis Presley). Indeed, the piece is at its most visceral and emotionally potent during these musical interludes, perhaps because the act of losing oneself in song disables over-analysis, favoring emoting over articulating. As the multiple men in her life — including her ex-boyfriend, a rebound date, an accountant, etc. — Leary is giving a likable and impressively malleable performance that generously frames McCracken’s smart central performance.

COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE
MCC Theater
Through April 5

Before shuttering this weekend, I was able to catch Ro Reddick’s surreal new play with music Cold War Choir Practice (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), a co-production between MCC Theater, Clubbed Thumb, and Page 73 (the Off-Broadway staging is a remount of a production that I originally caught at Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks series last year). In essence, the piece defies description, haphazardly mashing 1980s Cold War espionage thriller, cult intrigue, roller disco antics, and family drama (I would be doing the play a disservice if I endeavor to explain how it all cohesively hangs together from a narrative perspective). Perhaps the work’s unlikely masterstroke is its ample incorporation of children’s choir music to tell the wacky story, setting just the right campy, tongue-in-cheek tone for the whole theatrical experience. Thanks to Knud Adams’ inspired and assured direction, the precisely choreographed and visually stylish production — kudos to scenic designer Afsoon Pajoufar’s striking set design, which is boldly lit by Masha Tsimring — admirably avoids any tentativeness and hesitation, assertively unfolding with wicked wit and its own brand of charm. Knud’s expanded production (MCC Theater’s excessively wide stage seems more than double the expanse of the wild project’s intimate stage) imbues Reddick’s play with a newfound sense of spectacle that was not readily apparent when I saw it last summer in the East Village. Much like Lauren Yee’s equally wild play Mother Russia which recently concluded its run at Signature Theatre, Cold War Choir Practice is in many ways an homage to the chaotic “anything goes” theatrical aesthetic of Charles Ludlam, which once was a mainstay in downtown theater. Suffice to say, the performances across the board are razor sharp, wonderfully broad, and comedically spot on. Indeed, their giddy glee was infectious throughout.

As quirky as Heartbreak Hotel is, this play takes the prize

music play’s a central role in

WINNER of the 2026 SUSAN SMITH BLACKBURN PRIZE! In this celebrated new play with music by RO REDDICK, a young girl is embroiled in intrigue when her estranged uncle, a prominent Black conservative, brings his mysteriously ill wife home for the holidays. An explosion of roller disco, Reaganomics, espionage, and cults—underscored by the cryptic Syracuse, NY chapter of the Seedlings of Peace Children’s Chorus—COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE arrives Off-Broadway for 6 WEEKS ONLY!

Co-produced by MCC THEATER, CLUBBED THUMB, and PAGE 73 and directed by Tony Award nominee KNUD ADAMS (ENGLISH), COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE was a NEW YORK TIMES Critic’s Pick in 2025 and is among VULTURE’s “can’t wait to see shows” of 2026.