VIEWPOINTS – PROTOTYPE 2018, one of the festival’s finest outings, was an eclectic exploration of the possibilities of opera

This past weekend marked the closing of this year’s PROTOTYPE, an annual two-week festival curated to celebrate and showcase the cutting edge in opera and music theater. In just its … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Dael Orlandersmith’s affecting docudrama UNTIL THE FLOOD asks us to empathize, firstly

This past weekend, I caught Dael Orlandersmith’s one-woman Off-Broadway play Until the Flood at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Commissioned by St. Louis Repertory, Ms. Orlandersmith’s docudrama depicts a series of interviewed St. Louis residents – black … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s revival of David McVicar’s Goya-inspired IL TROVATORE is fiercely sung and acted

When performed by the right cast with sufficient theatrical intensity, Sir David McVicar’s 2009 production of Verdi’s Il Trovatore has the potential to be one of the more compelling of the Metropolitan Opera’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lucy Kirkwood’s brilliant THE CHILDREN is quietly harrowing; don’t miss it

This weekend, I finally had a chance to catch Lucy Kirkwood’s The Children at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Broadway, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. The play, set in the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Robert O’Hara’s disappointing MANKIND is ambitious but poorly realized

This afternoon, I caught up with Robert O’Hara’s Mankind at Playwrights Horizons. I really wanted to like this new play. I had though Mr. O’Hara’s ferocious breakthrough play Bootycandy was bold, hilarious, and theatrically … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s run of LE NOZZE DI FIGARO closes with an ideal cast

Last night, I caught this season’s closing performance of the Metropolitan Opera’s production of Le Nozze di Figaro. When done right, Mozart’s deservedly much-loved opera can be a transcendent experience, both musically and dramatically. … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – 2018 AMERICAN REALNESS wraps up, and it was as defiant as ever

Today marks the final day of American Realness, the annual festival that celebrates and challenges performative norms, particularly in the sphere of contemporary dance and performance at large. This year’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s traditional new TOSCA excels in its casting

Tonight, I caught the highly anticipated but much-maligned (it lost two conductors and its three principals!) new staging of Puccini’s Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera. The production, which replaces Luc Bondy’s controversial version, is … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – UNDER THE RADAR 2018: A Festival Recap, Part 2

Today marks the final day of the Public Theater’s 2018 edition of its Under the Radar Festival. Here are my thoughts on six more shows. All in all, its been … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – John Lithgow slowly unspools STORIES BY HEART, nostalgically and masterfully

The first show to open on Broadway in this new year of 2018 was John Lithgow: Stories by Heart, a production at the American Airlines Theatre under the auspices of Roundabout … Continue Reading →