VIEWPOINTS – Holding on to fast fading cultural identities: Conjuring the past in MEET THE CARTOZIANS, LAOWANG, and A BODEGA PRINCESS REMEMBERS

This fall, a fascinating common concern of several Off-Broadway plays has been the gradual erasure of cultural identities within the melting pot that is, for better or worse, America. In … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – American womanhood through the lens of absurdity: Peggy Stafford’s EVERYTHING IS HERE and Rice & Roland’s WHAT IF THEY ATE THE BABY?

Currently Off-Broadway, you’ll find a pair of new plays that use theatrical absurdity as the lens through which American womanhood is refracted. In the resulting disorienting environments, everyday realities are … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jordan Harrison’s sleek and speculative play MARJORIE PRIME arrives on Broadway more relevant than ever

This past weekend, I was able to catch up with Jordan Harrison’s play Marjorie Prime, which has arrived on Broadway this fall season at the Hayes Theater courtesy of Second … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Trinity Church’s briskly conducted, newly truncated MESSIAH continues to be the gold standard

Just like performative versions of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, the New York holiday season also typically has a handful of different versions of Handel’s Messiah on offer for music … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Slightly dwarved at the Armory, the freewheeling stage adaptation of THE FAGGOTS AND THEIR FRIENDS casts its sensuous spell

The Park Avenue Armory’s massive drill hall is a space that begs to be utilized to its extravagant physical potential. With such an expanse, the possibilities are almost limitless — … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Dancing in and out of the closet: TERE O’CONNOR and CALEB TEICHER reflect their queer identities in their dance aesthetic

This week, I attended a pair of dance performances that expressed queerness in fascinatingly distinct ways. Seen side by side, they chronicle the evolution of dance from being a reaction … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Well meaning Americans pushed to the edge of sanity in Chris Gabo’s THE SURGEON AND HER DAUGHTERS and Scott Organ’s DIVERSION

Currently playing Off-Broadway are two new plays — Chris Gabo’s The Surgeon and Her Daughter and Scott Organ’s Diversion — that depict well meaning Americans pushed to the edge of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – CHEYENNE JACKSON at Carnegie Hall: Joyously fulfilling a lifelong dream as his authentic self

This past Monday, Cheyenne Jackson made his highly anticipated Carnegie Hall debut in an eclectic concert that found the stage and screen star joyously fulfilling his lifelong dream — emphatically … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Distinctively French, American: William Christie’s LES ARTS FLORRISANT and a Gustavo Gimeno-led NY PHILHARMONIC

This past weekend, two music ensembles strove, respectively, to evoke distinctly French and American stylings. These would be William Christie’s early music specialists Les Arts Florrisant at the Brooklyn Academy … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Cunning deviousness at the heart of artistic and political success: Examining the moral corruptness that fuel KYOTO and PRACTICE

This fall, Off-Broadway has delved into the heart of darkness, particularly in two new works that investigate the cunning deviousness that often fuels success and so-called progress. These would be … Continue Reading →