VIEWPOINTS – Encores for fringe hits: The Attic Collective’s AND HER CHILDREN, Katy Murphy’s (NO) REFUNDS, and Awkward Productions’ DIANA

This January and February, New York has been playing host — thanks primarily to SoHo Playhouse’s International Fringe Encore Series — to a number of return engagements of shows that … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Raging against the machine: Paranoia-drenched plays like Tracy Letts’ BUG and Matthew Libby’s DATA strike a timely chord

This past week, I came across two effective psychological thrillers that feature paranoid characters raging against the machine — particularly as it relates to the questionable interests and activities of … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Models of bad romances: Michelle Williams in ANNA CHRISTIE and the American premiere of BLACKOUT SONGS

Sometimes it takes being in a toxic relationship to feel fully alive. Like drugs, however, the habit can be dangerously addictive and even life-threatening when engaged in excessively. Currently on … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – GOING BACHARACH is a musically astute love letter to the legacy of the legendary pop songwriter Burt Bacharach

For those of you nostalgic for the less prismatic times we used to live in, I suggest you check out Amas Musical Theatre’s production of Going Bacharach: The Songs of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The tone poem-like musical adaptation of PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK casts a moody spell

One of the more fascinating Off-Broadway entries of this winter season is the new musical adaptation of Picnic at Hanging Rock. Based on Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel of the same … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – A look back at the holidays at The Met: Breathing new life into AMAHL & THE NIGHT VISITORS and the return of THE MAGIC FLUTE

This past holiday season, The Metropolitan Opera doubled down on the spirit of the season by presenting not one, but two family-friendly offerings — one a reliable staple at the … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – THE BEST OF 2025: Theater, Music, and Dance

With 2025 now merely a memory, I’ve taken the time to look back upon the year prior and pick out the performances that distinguished themselves from the pack. Read on … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s A CHRISTMAS CAROL relies on steadfast storytelling and visceral thrills

This past December during a trip to the Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky region, I had the opportunity to catch Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s staging of A Christmas Carol. Adapted … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – An overview of ALTERNATIVE HOLIDAY FARE: From mildly off the beaten path, to the thoughtfully tangental, to the wacky remixes

For those of you looking for some alternative fare for your holiday entertainment, there are certainly options beyond the big guns (e.g., New York City Ballet’s production of Balanchine’s The … Continue Reading →

Mark Strong and Lesley Manville in Robert Icke's "Oedipus" at Studio 54 (photo by Julieta Cervantes).

VIEWPOINTS – Reorienting classics to speak directly to the present: TARTUFFE at NYTW and the Broadway revisal of OEDIPUS

This fall, a pair of new, high profile productions of classics of Western drama have opened in fascinating new translations that shed new light on classics we thought we knew, … Continue Reading →