THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jean Smart cuts deep as an aspiring writer in Jamie Wax’s otherwise pedestrian solo show CALL ME IZZY

Last night, Jean Smart (perhaps most recognizable to audiences as Deborah Vance in Hacks or Charlene Frazier in Designing Women) consummated her return to the boards of the Great White … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – June is bustin’ out all over: Ten shows to see this Pride Month

After a dreary, rainy lead-in, can you believe we’ve once again found ourselves in sunny June? That means Pride Month is upon us! In no particular order, here are my … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Revisiting classic musicals: Encores! revival of WONDERFUL TOWN and Roundabout’s rejiggered PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL

This spring, two productions of well known musicals attempt to make a case for arguably creaky material, thereby exhibiting just how much leeway there is in the act of reviving … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Were they worth it?: The stars jack up the prices for Broadway’s OTHELLO, GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, and GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

Currently on Broadway, a trio of plays have been criticized for capitalizing on the A-list actors starring in them, jacking up ticket prices to levels inaccessible to most theatergoers. Here … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW is the theatrical equivalent of a summer Hollywood blockbuster

Last night at the Marquis Theatre, I caught up with the Broadway transfer of the theatrical prequel to the hit science fiction television series Stranger Things. Entitled Stranger Things: The … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The dutiful musical version of REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES has ample heart and melody

Over at the James Earl Jones Theatre, you’ll find the latest incarnation of Josefina López’s 1990 play Real Women Have Curves — this time around, it’s the musical version of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jonathan Groff is spectacular as Bobby Darin in the hugely enjoyable bio-musical JUST IN TIME

I also recently had the opportunity to catch Just in Time, the new Broadway musical at Circle in the Square that chronicles the life of pop star and teen idol … Continue Reading →

Jeremy Jordan in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of "Floyd Collins" at the Vivian Beaumont Theater (photo by Joan Marcus).

VIEWPOINTS – Chasing the American Dream and the Great American Musical: DEAD OUTLAW and FLOYD COLLINS open on Broadway 

Over the past few days, I was able to catch — in quick succession — two musicals on Broadway that share more than merely a passing trait or two, namely … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – “Classics” from her perspective: Whitney White’s MACBETH IN STRIDE and Kimberly Belflower’s JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN

Last week, I took in two new works that inverted canonical plays by presenting them from the perspective of the female characters. As per usual, you can read on below … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The inspired stage adaptation of SMASH is an obsessive love letter to musical theater and the creative process

After what has seemed like a long and winding road, the stage version of Smash at long last opened on the Great White Way on Thursday night at the Imperial … Continue Reading →