THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lucy Thurber’s well-meaning TRANSFERS is only moderately successful

Last night, Lucy’s moderately successful new play Transfers opened at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre, courtesy of MCC Theater. The play tells the story of two potential college transfers from low income … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The fleet-footed jukebox musical SUMMER is an enjoyable, well-oiled machine

Last night, Summer: The Donna Summer Musical opened on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The musical is shaped in the same mold as two of Broadway’s more successful jukebox musicals, Jersey … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Ives’ THE METROMANIACS is pure hilarity in rhyming couplets

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child wasn’t the only production to open yesterday on 42nd Street. Practically next door at The Duke, a very, very funny staging of David Ives’ The … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The exhilarating HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD opens on Broadway, and there’s real magic in it

Last night, one of the most hotly anticipated shows in many a Broadway season opened at the significantly re-designed Lyric Theater. Yep, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A rare revival of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WANDA JUNE proves to be a timely and well-acted satire

This afternoon, I caught a rare revival of Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.’s rarely-performed satire Happy Birthday, Wanda June at the Gene Frankel Theatre, courtesy of Wheelhouse Theater Company. Mr. Vonnegut is widely regarded … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Basil Twist’s genre-busting SYMPHONIE FANTASTIQUE returns, triumphantly

What’s the most compelling dance performance currently playing in town? Well, I’d place my bet on singular visual artist Basil Twist’s gorgeously handcrafted Symphonie Fantastique at HERE Arts Center. The thing is, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lynn Nottage’s minimalist MLIMA’S TALE is a haunting, unexpected parable

Last night, I caught Lynn Nottage’s haunting parable of a play Mlima’s Tale at the Public Theater. Ms. Nottage’s latest is an unexpected departure from the meaty naturalistic dramas that have … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Patch of Blue’s WE LIVE BY THE SEA is a visceral, uncomfortable portrait of teenage autism

Each year, I look forward to Brits Off Broadway, 59E59 Theater’s wonderful spring festival which brings the best of the UK’s fringe theater scene to New York. The festival got off … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – An unexpected PYGMALION-fest: A sterling MY FAIR LADY and a penetrating Bedlam treatment

Perhaps inadvertently, New York has been having quite a mini-Pygmalion festival this winter. It started a few weeks ago with two very different one-act operatic adaptations (one by Donizetti, the other by … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The new musical MISS YOU LIKE HELL is earnest and topical, but not yet fully-formed

I recently had a chance to catch Quiara Alegría Hudes and Erin McKeown’s earnest new musical Miss You Like Hell at the Public Theater. The musical tells the story of a fraught mother-daughter relationship. … Continue Reading →