THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ike Holter’s EXIT STRATEGY at Primary Stages succeeds through its winning characters

I recently had a chance to catch Ike Holter’s Exit Strategy at the Cherry Lane Theatre, courtesy of Primary Stages. The play, which chronicles the final days of a Chicago … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Paper Mill’s PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES is sweetly diverting

This afternoon, I took a short field trip out to the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ to catch a matinee performance of the breezy musical Pump Boys and Dinettes, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lessing’s still-relevant NATHAN THE WISE casts a quiet spell at CSC

Last night, I caught a performance of Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s rarely-performed Nathan the Wise (in a 2003 translation by Edward Kemp) at Classic Stage Company. Lessing’s play, a plea for … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A gorgeous-sounding 110 IN THE SHADE charms at Ford’s Theatre

Last night, I attended Ford’s Theatre charming revival of the under-appreciated musical 110 in the Shade, which features a score by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones (who also provided the immortal … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Two women playwrights explore new forms to get further to the core of things

Currently on display on the boards of New York theater are two thought-provoking works from two boundary-pushing women playwrights. First up is Antlia Pneumatica (RECOMMENDED) by Anne Washburn, which is … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Messieurs Levine and Domingo revive the Met of old in this season’s SIMON BOCCANEGRA

This past weekend, I attended the final performance of this season’s run of Simon Boccanegra at the Metropolitan Opera. In all my years of going to the opera, I had … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Unsurprisingly, Frank Langella rules the stage in Florian Zeller’s THE FATHER

Last night marked the opening of Florian Zeller’s much-hyped new play The Father on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. The play – which depicts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Back at BAM, André Campra’s rarely-performed LES FÊTES VÉNITIENNES is stunning in the hands of William Christie and Robert Carsen

Last night, I caught a rare staging of André Campra’s episodic opera-ballet Les Fêtes Vénitiennes at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The much-loved conductor William Christie and his influential early-music … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – The magisterial KING AND COUNTRY cycle at BAM showcases the RSC in tip-top form

After last season’s epic Wolf Hall on Broadway, the venerated Royal Shakespeare Company returns to New York to present some more juicy tales of the triumphs and woes of English … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Mike Birbiglia and Neal Brennan’s stand-up comedy acts at the Lynn Redgrave prove the legitimacy and potency of the form

Currently playing in repertory down at the Lynn Redgrave Theater is an outstanding pair of solo shows in the guise of stand-up comedy acts: Mike Birbiglia’s Thank God for Jokes … Continue Reading →