THE HANGOVER REPORT – A pair of fierce leading performances and Bill T. Jones’s choreography elevate the otherwise workmanlike PARADISE SQUARE

Last night, the new musical Paradise Square opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The show – with music by Jason Howland; lyrics by Nathan Tysen and Masi Asare; … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In CONFEDERATES, Dominique Morisseau broadens her playwriting by dissecting institutional racism through melodrama and satire

This weekend at the Pershing Square Signature Center, I caught Signature Theatre Company’s production of Confederates by Dominique Morisseau. Morisseau, one of the preeminent Black playwrights of her generation, is … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – C. Julian Jiménez’s scrappy but buoyant BRUISE & THORN empowers queer youths to envision a fabulously uninhibited world for themselves

Last night, I got the chance to catch up with Pipeline Theatre Company’s production of C. Julian Jiménez’s new play Bruise & Thorn, which is currently playing Off-Broadway at the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The hyped revival of PLAZA SUITE, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, is a timid, moderately amusing throwback to a Broadway of yesteryear

This week, the much hyped revival of Neil Simon’s 1968 play Plaza Suite (one of the unqualified hot tickets of the current theater season) finally opened on Broadway at the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Heather Christian’s bizarre, profound, and altogether singular ORATORIO FOR LIVING THINGS asks big questions from a cosmic perspective

Last night, Heather Christian’s Oratorio for Living Things opened Off-Broadway at the Greenwich House Theater. The immersive production, which comes courtesy of the folks at Ars Nova, was one of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MJ is an ideally constructed jukebox bio-musical that shies away from the Shakespearean tragedy of its subject

Over the years, the jukebox bio-musical (Jersey Boys, Summer, Ain’t Too Proud, Beautiful, Motown, The Cher Show) has been taking an increasing amount of real estate on the Great White … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Exploring our humanity through speculative science: Michel van den Aa’s UPLOAD & Sam Chanse’s WHAT YOU ARE NOW

We live in rapidly changing times in which technological and scientific advances are threatening to outpace our ability to fully assess how they fundamentally alter the human experience. Recently, I … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Robert Cuccioli delivers a titanic performance in Irish Rep’s revival of Eugene O’Neill’s problematic A TOUCH OF THE POET

This past weekend, I attended a rare revival of Eugene O’Neill’s A Touch of the Poet, which is currently being staged Off-Broadway by the Irish Repertory Theatre. As one of … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Paul Taylor launches the inaugural City Center Dance Festival and Mark Morris’s timeless, undisputed masterpiece returns to BAM

This week, the works of a pair of legendary dance-makers graced the stages of two beloved New York performing arts institutions. Here are my thoughts. PAUL TAYLOR DANCE COMPANYNew York … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Led by a sensational April Matthis, Claudia Rankine’s philosophical and confrontational HELP demands attention

Last night, Claudia Rankine’s Help opened Off-Broadway at The Shed in Hudson Yards. The production was actually in previews this time two years ago when the pandemic emphatically shut down … Continue Reading →