VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Manual Cinema and Theater in Quarantine innovate, while Irish Rep firmly commits to nostalgia

Last week’s streamings saw two theater companies innovate, and one tightly embrace its theatrical heritage. Each of them shined. NO BLUE MEMORY: THE LIFE OF GWENDOLYN BROOKS Manual Cinema Over the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Irish Rep’s revival of THE WEIR transcends the Zoom treatment

Yesterday, I livestreamed Conor McPherson’s The Weir, courtesy of Off-Broadway’s Irish Repertory Theatre. Seeing the 1997 play for the first time was one of the eye-opening experiences of my formative theatergoing years, cementing my … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mandatory Viewing: Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen’s COVID-19 first responders docudrama THE LINE exposes systemic socio-economic inequities

I recently had a chance to stream the Public Theater’s production of The Line, which was originally webcast live earlier this month. In the past, the writing duo behind the play – Jessica … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Audio immersion that approaches theatrical alchemy: Free Shakespeare on the Radio’s RICHARD II and Playwrights Horizons’ SOUNDSTAGE series

Four months into lockdown, I’m still convinced that nothing can quite replicate the experience of live theater. For me, at least, theater as we knew it invoked a personal, life-enhancing communion … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Dairy: Theater via Zoom, Renée Fleming x2, and [Musicals] Live!

And so, the quarantining continues, and so does my at-home streaming of performing arts content. Here’s the latest crop of viewings and my associated thoughts. THEATER In terms of theater … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Caryll Churchill’s MAD FOREST, James Graham’s THIS HOUSE, and Lonnie Carter’s THE ROMANCE OF MAGNO RUBIO

This past week, I streamed three plays note. As always, here are my thoughts! First up was Theatre for a New Audience and Fisher Center at Bard’s recent made-for-streaming Zoom presentation … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: City Ballet unleashes a diverse set, the Met’s 2008 PETER GRIMES stops the heart, and a pair of short plays disarm

And so, Week Nine (!) of lockdown has come and gone in New York. As mentioned before, I’ve largely kept sane thanks to the performing arts content that I’ve been … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In Richard Nelson’s WHAT DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT?, zoom both magnifies and focuses the Apple Family experience

This past Wednesday, What Do We Need to Talk About?, the fourth installment of Richard Nelson’s acclaimed Apply Family plays was streamed live by the Public Theater. We last encountered the barely … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Richard Strauss’s ELEKTRA, Bryony Lavery’s TREASURE ISLAND, George Balanchine’s ALLEGRO BRILLANTE, and Robert O’Hara’s GATHER

Like many performing arts fans out there, I’ve been steadily streaming content to enjoy in lieu of attending live performances (which, pre-pandemic, I used to do pretty much on a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In PRIME, Heather Christian’s untethered imagination sets the act of prayer free

Lucky for us in our current fraught times, Playwrights Horizons was ahead of the curve when it started commissioning its audio-only Soundstage series. The aptly named Heather Christian’s Prime: A Practical Breviary – which I … Continue Reading →