THE HANGOVER REPORT – Influences collide in Tori Sampson’s exuberant IF PRETTY HURTS UGLY MUST BE A MUTHAFUCKA

I recently had a chance to catch up with Tori Sampson’s lively new play If Pretty Hurts Ugly Must Be a Muthafucka at Playwrights Horizons. Set in the West African village … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Chisa Hutchinson’s spare, tender SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY is lifted by Jay Mazyck’s disarming performance

This weekend at the newly-renovated Theatre Row, I caught the New York premiere of Chisa Hutchinson’s Surely Goodness and Mercy, courtesy of Off-Broadway’s Keen Company. Set in Newark, NJ, the play tells the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Michael McKeever’s AFTER efficiently, mechanically examines marriage, bullying, and gun culture

Last night, Michael McKeever’s new play After opened Off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters, in a co-production with Penguin Repertory Theatre. On the surface, the work calls to mind Yasmina Reza’s Tony-winning play … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Plexus Polaire’s ASHES beguiles via haunting, expertly rendered puppetry

I’ve long had a fascination for puppetry. There’s something intensely theatrical about taking inanimate objects and injecting them with the spirit and spontaneity of life itself. This past January as part … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Haruna Lee’s SUICIDE FOREST makes for terrifically strange, emotionally naked theater

As an Asian American, I’ve gone out of my way to seek out works by people like myself, whose stories are unfortunately rarely represented in the theater, by and large. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Madeleine George’s masterful satire HURRICANE DIANE maximizes hilarity and heartache

This week, I had the opportunity to catch up with Off-Broadway’s Hurricane Diane, Madeleine George’s latest play at New York Theatre Workshop and a co-production with Women’s Project Theater. Ms. George … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s eagerly awaited ALICE BY HEART is a muddled, misjudged affair

This past weekend, I caught the eagerly awaited production of Alice by Heart, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater’s musical spin on Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. The team attained considerable and deserved … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s FLEABAG is incendiary and as brilliant as they say it is

This past weekend, I caught the revival of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s career-making Fleabag (the show inspired a hit television series, launching Ms. Waller-Bridge into stardom), which is only now making its … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Milo Rau’s FIVE EASY PIECES is a provocative experiment that pushes the envelope

For three performances only this weekend, Milo Rau’s Five Easy Pieces, which has been created in collaboration with the International Institute of Political Murder and Ghent’s CAMPO Arts Centre, played NYU Skirball. Mr. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Matt Williams’ ACTUALLY, WE’RE F**KED is a generic, workmanlike play that’s been polished to a professional sheen

Yesterday, I caught Matt Williams’ new play Actually, We’re F**ked at the Cherry Lane Theatre. The play tells the story of two seemingly normal youngish couples. When infidelity, secrets, and personal fears are … Continue Reading →