VIEWPOINTS – Ballet Theatre’s SWAN LAKE & DON QUIXOTE: What’s the relevance of classical story ballets?

I recently had the opportunity to catch American Ballet Theatre’s warhorse productions of Swan Lake and Don Quixote at the Metropolitan Opera House. I had seen these stagings more times than I can count, so … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jordan Harrison’s LGBT-centric comedy LOG CABIN crams a lot it in, by why not?

Last night, Jordan Harrison’s Log Cabin opened Off-Broadway, just in time to coincide with New York Pride. Mr. Harrison has emerged as one of the vital voices in American playwriting. His previous … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – POLICE COPS IN SPACE & YOGIEBOGEYBOX: Proving that derivative theater can be thrillingly original

For years now, a number of fans of commercial Broadway theater have been vocal about mourning the demise of the completely original musical (with Dear Evan Hansen being a recent shining … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Charles Mee’s slight, fractured FIRST LOVE disappoints on several fronts

Thespianism was designed for the young. The life of a struggling actor is not an easy one; it’s financially unpredictable, and health benefits often times elude stage practitioners. Therefore, whenever … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Cave’s immersive THE LET GO asks us to jubilantly dance off our chains

Despite the continued sell-out success of Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More and Third Rail Project’s Then She Fell, there’s been a relative dearth of notable immersive performances in New York of late. It’s with this in … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jessica Walker’s Suzy Solidor bio-play ALL I WANT IS ONE NIGHT is tastefully erotic, intimately musical

Last night, I caught Jessica Walker’s latest musical portrait All I Want Is One Night at 59E59 Theaters. The show – one of the final offerings of this year’s Brits Off Broadway festival … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mike Lew’s TEENAGE DICK is “Mean Girls” meets “Richard III”, and it’s an entertaining summer diversion

This week, Teenage Dick, Mike Lew’s very loose updating of Shakespeare’s Richard III, opened at the Public Theater, in a production by Ma-Yi Theater Company. The play re-imagines the Bard’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Shakespeare in the Park’s refreshingly straightforward OTHELLO smartly stays out of the Bard’s path

This week, a traditionally-staged Othello opened at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, courtesy of the Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park. Cleanly but assertively directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the staging refreshingly … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – FAIRVIEW & PASS OVER: Two ferocious new plays that forcefully, provocatively explore race in America

Over the last couple of days, a pair of ferocious racially-charged Off-Broadway plays roared opened in New York. Theater can be a confrontational medium, and both productions utilized this trait to … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The enticing Kander/Thompson/Stroman hybrid THE BEAST IN THE JUNGLE registers as traditional musical theater

This afternoon, I caught a matinee performance of The Beast in the Jungle at Off-Broadway’s Vineyard Theatre. The new, much anticipated self-proclaimed “dance play” is an enticing collaboration between some living legends of … Continue Reading →