THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE GREAT COMET miraculously stays intact on Broadway, and it’s better than ever

I was deeply skeptical that it would work. Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 was one of the seminal musical theater experiences in my theatergoing in recent years. In its … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s stylish new production of Rossini’s epic GUILLAUME TELL impresses with its superb cast

It’s been about 85 years since The Metropolitan Opera has staged Guillaume Tell, Rossini’s epic 39th and final opera. With the quality of the cast that the mighty Met has … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MJ Kaufman’s precious SAGITTARIUS PONDEROSA feels incomplete

Yesterday evening, I caught a performance of MJ Kaufman’s overly precious Sagittarius Ponderosa at the 3LD Art & Technology Center all the way downtown, courtesy of the National Asian American … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Exploring Identity through Theater (and the Internet): Daniel Alexander Jones’s DUAT and Jenny Rachel Weiner’s KINGDOM COME

This past weekend, I took in two new though-provoking Off-Broadway plays that had me contemplating the very notion of identity. Does gender and sexuality hold claim to it? Does even … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Red Bull’s red-blooded production of CORIOLANUS is timely, must-see Shakespeare

Yesterday at the Barrow Street Theatre, I was able to catch Red Bull Theater’s red-blooded production of Shakespeare’s Coriolanus, just in time for tomorrow’s election. Even if Coriolanus doesn’t exhibit … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – KRISTIN CHENOWETH’S love letter to Broadway is sweet and sassy

Kristin Chenoweth is at an interesting juncture in her career – no longer Broadway’s brassy ingénue, and not quite ready to graduate to a more mature persona. Therefore, why not put … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Power in Painful Transition (it’s an election year!): Ivo van Hove’s audacious and stunning KINGS OF WAR

Last night at the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, I had the opportunity to catch Ivo van Hove and Toneelgreop Amsterdam’s audacious and altogether stunning Kings of War, a four-and-a-half-hour … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Two high profile revivals of revered British plays moderately disappoint: David Hare’s PLENTY and Christopher Hampton’s LES LIASONS DANGEREUSES

Two of the theater season’s most anticipated highbrow revivals – David Hare’s Plenty and Christopher Hampton’s Les Liasons Dangereuses – arrived in New York this fall. Both plays share very … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The mesmerizing and devastating REQUEST CONCERT is an exquisite exercise in hyper-realism

Last weekend, as part of the ongoing Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, I was able attend the remount and reboot of the installation-cum-theater piece entitled Request … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – En Garde Arts’ earnest, well-meaning WILDERNESS is ultimately dull theater

I recently had a chance to catch Seth Bockley and Anne Hamburger’s Wilderness, which is currently running at Abrons Arts Center. This earnest and well-meaning play is a pseudo-documentary piece … Continue Reading →