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 – The ravishing 10th anniversary reunion concert of THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA was a night to cherish

Last night I was lucky enough to be in the audience of the ravising 10th anniversary reunion concert of Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’s The Light in the Piazza at … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Three auteurs grab hold of New York theater and opera goers’ imaginations

Cinema has long had the concept of the auteur in its vocabulary, which is defined as “a filmmaker whose personal influence and artistic control over a movie are so great … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Roundabout’s sterling revival of SHE LOVE’S ME is musical theater heaven

Folks, it doesn’t get much better than this. Yesterday, I had the great good fortune of catching Roundabout’s sterling revival of the effervescent, warm-hearted She Loves Me at Studio 54. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – BRIGHT STAR sparkles magnificently on Broadway

A refreshing breeze just blew through Broadway, and I’m not talking about spring. That’s because the enchanting, open-hearted original new musical Bright Star opened last night at the Cort Theatre. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – DISASTER! strikes Broadway against all odds

Disaster! by all accounts shouldn’t work – but it does. Against considerable odds, Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick’s 1970s disaster movie mash-up cum jukebox musical spoof made the huge leap … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Harrower’s BLACKBIRD finally lands on Broadway, and it’s devastating

Tonight marks the opening night of David Harrower’s devastating two-hander Blackbird on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre. Like many other plays, the Strindberg-esque Blackbird – a play that harrowingly depicts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Forest Whitaker audaciously gives a low-key performance in the Broadway revival of O’Neill’s HUGHIE

Last night, a rare revival of Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie opened at the Booth Theater in a pungent, haunted production starring a low-key Forest Whitaker and directed by Michael Grandage. At … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Manhattan Concert Productions’ glorious 25th anniversary staged concert of THE SECRET GARDEN was a night for the ages

In the spring of 1991, a beauty of a musical opened at the St. James Theater, Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon’s lush adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel The Secret … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – As an opera, Kurt Weill’s flawed and dated LOST IN THE STARS was ahead of its time

What is opera vis-à-vis musical theater? Which form is more on the cutting edge of serious music theater? Is there even a difference between them? Famed German American composer Kurt … Continue Reading →