THE HANGOVER REPORT – The spirited ROMEO & BERNADETTE is a guilty musical pleasure despite a barebones production

This past weekend at the Mezzanine Theatre at A.R.T./New York Theatres, I caught Amas Musical Theatre’s Off-Broadway premiere of Romeo & Bernadette: A Musical Tale of Verona and Brooklyn (the piece was … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In Simon Stone’s new adaptation, Rose Byrne is a MEDEA for our time, co-starring a vulnerable Bobby Cannavele

Last night at the Harvey Theater at BAM Strong, I caught Simon Stone’s loose adaptation of Medea. Mr. Stone is emerging as one of the can’t miss auteurs of the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The New York Philharmonic responds radiantly to Simone Young, who conducts Britten, Elgar, and Dean

This week saw Simone Young return to lead the New York Philharmonic for the first time in more than two decades. The talented Australian conductor, who was recently named Music … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The singular Kathryn Hunter captivates as a re-gendered TIMON OF ATHENS

Earlier this week, I caught Shakespeare’s Timon of Athens courtesy of Theatre for a New Audience – in a co-production with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Washington, DC’s Shakespeare Theatre Company … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Four tough broads: Michelle Dooley Mahon’s THE SCOURGE & Richard Maxwell’s QUEENS ROW

Over the last week, I caught two productions that featured women toughing out exceedingly difficult situations. One involves the true story of a woman who all but dedicates her life … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The talent-filled EMOJILAND is lots of fun but as two-dimensional as its namesake

Over at the Duke on 42 Street, we have the new Off-Broadway musical Emojiland: The Musical by the writing duo of Keith Harrison and Laura Schein (together, they wrote the show’s score and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The long-running London hit THE WOMAN IN BLACK gets an intimate staging at the McKittrick Hotel

Last night at the McKittrick Hotel, I finally attended a performance of Stephen Mallatratt’s adaptation of Susan Hill’s ghost story The Woman in Black. At 30-years-old, the play – which tells the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s inadvertent concert presentation of Berlioz’s LA DAMNATION DE FAUST proves sonically glorious

This past weekend, I attended the opening performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s inadvertent concert presentation of Berlioz’s La Damnation de Faust. I say inadvertent because the opera company had originally planned to … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – PROTOTYPE 2020 finds the new opera festival as adventurous and vital as ever

One of the highlights of the frigid winter months in New York is the opportunity to bask in Prototype, the vital annual festival celebrating new opera and music theater. This year’s edition … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Bess Wohl’s semi-successful comedy GRAND HORIZONS opens on Broadway, led by the great Jane Alexander

This week, Second Stage Theater’s production of Grand Horizons by Bess Wohl opened on the Great White Way at the Helen Hayes Theatre. The new comedy was developed in conjunction … Continue Reading →