VIEWPOINTS – No one puts baby in the corner: Feminism writ large in BLOOD OF THE LAMB and MEDEA RE-VERSED

Over the past week, I had the chance to catch a pair of impassioned if flawed Off-Broadway productions that depicted strong women dealing with having their rights aggressively stripped from … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Go big or go home: The musical parodies THE BIG GAY JAMBOREE and GHOST OF JOHN MCCAIN swing big to varying success

This fall, a pair of Off-Broadway musical parodies are swinging big to lure in audiences. Read on for my thoughts on these larger-than-life productions. THE BIG GAY JAMBOREEOrpheum TheatreOpen run … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Processing life through song: Todd Almond’s I’M ALMOST THERE and Gabriel Kahane’s MAGNIFICENT BIRD / BOOK OF TRAVELERS

This fall, a pair of sensitive singer-songwriters — Todd Almond and Gabriel Kahane — have taken to the Off-Broadway stage, each armed with their own beguiling song cycle(s). Read on … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Performance as literal acts of survival: Molissa Fenley’s STATE OF DARKNESS and Miet Warlop’s ONE SONG

Over the past week or so, I came across a pair of performances that were literal acts of survival, both requiring Olympic-level endurance to simply get through them. As per … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The freewheeling new musical adaptation of SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED meanders, but it’s a quirky delight

Last night, the new musical adaptation of Derek Connolly’s 2012 indie film Safety Not Guaranteed opened at the BAM Harvey Theater, officially kicking off the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s storied Next Wave … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – James Ijames contemplates the merits of gentrification in the one-sided new play GOOD BONES

Playwright James Ijames scored big with his previous effort at the Public. That would be Fat Ham, which won him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2022 (although the work … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Return engagements Off-Broadway: OUR CLASS at Classic Stage Company and TWELFTH NIGHT at Axis Theatre

Currently Off-Broadway, theatergoers have the opportunity to catch a pair of productions that they may have missed during their respective limited engagements earlier this year. OUR CLASSClassic Stage CompanyThrough December … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Matthew Freeman’s debate-driven new play THE ASK is an insightful look into the slippery world of fundraising

One of the chief pleasures of casting a wide net when theater-going is getting the opportunity to catch important new theatrical voices on their ascent to public conscience. That was … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Belarus Free Theatre returns with KS6: SMALL FORWARD, Katya Snytsina’s clear-eyed personal and political memoir

Last night, La MaMa’s fall season officially commenced with the opening of Belarus Free Theatre’s production of KS6: Small Forward. For those unfamiliar with Belarus Free Theatre, the company is … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Forbidden Broadway giddily strikes back with MERRILY WE STOLE A SONG, skewering the latest crop of musicals

Gerard Alessandrini’s Forbidden Broadway series has a tendency to strike back every few years or so to skewer the latest crop of Broadway musicals. I’m happy to report that the … Continue Reading →