2017 Year in Review – Opera

2017 was another interesting year in opera in New York. Even with the mediocrity on the boards of the Met and the unevenness coming from New York City Opera these days, … Continue Reading →

2017 Year in Review – Theater

2017 was another all-encompassing year in the world of New York theater. If you’re like myself and have more than just dabbled in exploring the city’s various samplings of the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Billy Crudup’s expert performance lifts the clichéd HARRY CLARKE

Last night, I caught David Cale’s new one-man play Harry Clarke at the Vineyard Theatre. The play, a sexy, psychological thriller, tells the story of an introverted man and the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The immersive COUNTING SHEEP thrusts its audiences deep into revolution

I recently had a chance to catch Counting Sheep, aptly subtitled “an immersive guerilla folk opera” at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in downtown Manhattan. The piece, created by … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Geoff Sobelle creates a resonant HOME onstage, beguilingly and quite literally

Last night, I took a trip out to Fort Greene to catch Geoff Sobelle’s Home at the BAM Harvey Theater. I couldn’t have asked for a better theatrical experience for my final … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS — Not too big to fail: DESCRIBE THE NIGHT and A ROOM IN INDIA implode under the weight of their ambition

Last night, two highly anticipated large-scale plays opened Off-Broadway, Rajiv Joseph’s Describe the Night and Ariane Mnouchkine’s production of A Room in India. Unfortunately, both new works collapse under the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT — Bedlam’s confounding, playful PETER PAN dissects and jumbles J.M. Barrie’s text

I recently had a chance to catch up with Bedlam’s fascinating, scatterbrained Off-Broadway adaptation of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan at the Duke on 42nd Street. Bedlam, as led by artistic … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Good musicals come in all sizes: The winning SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and HUNDRED DAYS open

Last night, New Yorkers unwrapped a pair of early theatrical Christmas presents – one an unabashedly lavish Broadway spectacle, the other an affecting small-scale autobiographical musical. The good news is that … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT — Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s DOWNTOWN RACE RIOT, starring Chloë Sevigny, is languorous, aimless

Last night, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s languorous new play Downtown Race Riot opened Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center, courtesy of the New Group. Set in 1976 in Greenwich Village, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT — Ahrens and Flaherty’s ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is gloriously revived on Broadway in Michael Arden’s revelatory production

Last night, Ahrens and Flaherty’s Once on this Island was gloriously revived on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre, thanks largely to Michael Arden’s bold, deeply-felt direction. Although … Continue Reading →