VIEWPOINTS – Off-Broadway musicals that think outside the box: The return of MEXODUS, Milo Cramer’s NO SINGING IN THE NAVY

This spring, you’ll find a pair of unconventional Off-Broadway musicals that have caught theatergoers’ imaginations precisely because of their willingness to think outside the box. Read on for my thoughts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Marin Alsop leads yet another satisfying outing by the PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA at Carnegie Hall

Last week, the terrific Philadelphia Orchestra, led by conductor Marin Alsop, returned to Carnegie Hall for one night only. The focal point of Alsop’s 2025–2026 Perspectives series and the United … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Using music to clarify and comment on the drama at hand: HEARTBREAK HOTEL and COLD WAR CHOIR PRACTICE

In theater, music can be a powerfully expressive tool, as evidenced by two Off-Broadway plays whose central utilization of songs to heighten and comment on the drama at hand are … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Chekhov, boldly remixed: Dmitry Krymov’s UNCLE VANYA, SCENES FROM COUNTRY LIFE and Alexander Molochnikov’s SEAGULL: TRUE STORY

Earlier this week, I enjoyed a deliciously improbable doubleheader of Chekhov riffing that included spending the afternoon with Dmitry Krymov’s refocused Uncle Vanya, scenes from country life at La MaMa, … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – New musicals that are throwbacks: York Theatre’s MONTE CRISTO and Maltby & Shire’s trilogy capping revue ABOUT TIME

This spring, theatergoers can essentially travel back in time by attending two new musicals whose respective craft harkens back to musicals of the 1990s and the aughts. As per usual, … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Early Shakespeare and Chekhov, masterfully treated: Red Bull’s visceral TITUS ANDRONICUS and New American Ensemble’s riveting IVANOV

In an intriguing development this spring theater season, you’ll find two largely passed over early works by William Shakespeare and Anton Chekhov receiving masterful treatments Off-Broadway. These would be Red … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Dance roundup: HUBBARD STREET DANCE returns to The Joyce, MARK MORRIS DANCE GROUP performs at BAM

The past week saw the return of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago to The Joyce Theater, as well as Mark Morris Dance Group perform at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Here … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – In search of relevance: Deconstructing the classics in Teatro La Plaza’s HAMLET and Peculiar Works Project’s ANTIGONE IN ANALYSIS

Over the past week or so, I was able to take in a pair of productions that searched for relevance in classic warhorses of Western Drama — specifically, Shakespeare’s Hamlet … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Tapping into the universality of domestic discord: Jeena Yi’s JESA and James Caverly & Andrew Morrill’s TRASH

American drama isn’t a stranger to depicting domestic discord, which can be found in many of the works of such playwrights as Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller, and Edward Albee. Currently … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Assessing world premiere compositions: THE WEALTH OF NATIONS at NY Phil and SINS & GRACE at MasterVoices

Assessing new compositions — particularly world premieres — is tricky business. Indeed, it usually takes at least two listens to fully grasp the scope and craft of newly-minted handiworks. Given … Continue Reading →