VIEWPOINTS – The highs and lows of NYMF 2018

As this summer’s New York Musical Festival enters its fourth and final week, I thought it would be a good time to take stock of this year’s offerings. I didn’t get … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – DC-favorite Edward Gero is undeniably magnificent as THE ORIGINALIST, the polarizing Justice Scalia

One of the biggest hits Arena Stage – a powerhouse regional theater located in Washington, DC – has had in recent years was its premiere production of The Originalist, John Strand’s well-balanced portrayal of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Stephen Rea absolutely horrifies in David Ireland’s deeply unsettling CYPRUS AVENUE, a love child of Albee and McDonagh

This weekend, I managed to sneak in a viewing of David Ireland’s deeply unsettling Cyprus Avenue, which closed this afternoon at the Public Theater. The production, which enjoyed runs at the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Liza Jessie Peterson’s urgent THE PECULIAR PATRIOT grapples with mass incarceration with grit, humor, and heart

Last night, I made the trek uptown to Harlem to catch one of the final performances of the return engagement of Liza Jessie Peterson’s The Peculiar Patriot at the National Black Theatre, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – PTP/NYC’s summer season (its 32nd!) is in full swing with an eclectic collection of works

This year, Potomac Theatre Project is celebrating its 32nd impressive year performing in New York City. The company fills an interesting niche in the city’s Off-Broadway landscape. PTP/NYC’s focus on presenting difficult European … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Encores! Off-Center revival of DON’T BOTHER ME, I CAN’T COPE, energetically directed and choreographed by Savion Glover, is breezy summer fare

Last night marked the opening of the five-performance run of the revival of Micki Grant’s 1972 revue Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope at New York City Center. The production … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE DAMNED: Ivo van Hove’s shattering, unfiltered depiction of the rise of the Nazi regime

Last night, I was shocked and awed by in-demand Belgian auteur director Ivo van Hove’s stage adaptation of Luchino Visconti’s 1969 film The Damned. Set in Germany, the piece depicts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz’s anticipated new musical THIS AIN’T NO DISCO is a tone deaf, unintentional parody

Last night, Stephen Trask and Peter Yanowitz’s anticipated new musical This Ain’t No Disco opened at the Linda Gross Theater, courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company. Set in 1979 New York City, it … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – I’m eating my hat: DESPERATE MEASURES has struck musical comedy gold

I had a different impression of the new musical Desperate Measures when I saw it last fall within the intimate confines of the York Theatre Company’s subterranean home underneath the Citicorp building. Then … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Andrus Nichols shines in a rare revival of THE SAINTLINESS OF MARGERY KEMPE by John Wulp

Over the weekend, I caught a performance of Austin Pendleton’s revival of John Wulp’s rarely-performed 1959 play The Saintliness of Margery Kempe Off-Broadway at The Duke on 42nd Street. The … Continue Reading →