THE HANGOVER REPORT – Zawe Ashton’s FOR ALL THE WOMEN WHO THOUGHT THEY WERE MAD is an observant, harrowing immigration play that’s also a bit overwrought

This past weekend, Zawe Ashton’s new play for all the women who thought they were Mad opened Off-Broadway at Soho Rep. Apart from her work here as a playwright, the multi-talented Ms. Ashton … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Richard Nelson’s THE MICHAELS quietly stuns, continuing the excellence established by his previous “family” plays

Yesterday, the latest of Richard Nelson’s intimate family portraits opened Off-Broadway at the Public Theater. Having quietly stunned audiences over the last decade with his stealthy “state of the nation … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – BAM’s Next Wave Festival is on an early roll with WHAT IF THEY WENT TO MOSCOW?, Christiane Jatahy’s ambitious multi-media triumph

Last night, I attended the opening performance of What if they went to Moscow?, Christiane Jatahy’s contemporary multi-media riff on Chekhov’s Three Sisters. Ms. Jatahy, an award-winning Brazilian auteur now making … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ntozake Shange’s seminal FOR COLORED GIRLS is joyously, stirringly revived at the Public

Also last night, the revival of Ntozake Shange’s seminal For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf opened at the Public Theater, the venue where it originally premiered back … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Harvey Fierstein is Bella Abzug in BELLA BELLA, a show that’s both vintage Bella and Harvey

Last night, the indelible Harvey Fierstein’s Bella Bella opened Off-Broadway at New York City Center, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. In the new solo show, Mr. Fierstein himself portrays feminist and political rabble-rouser (and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Tina Satter’s IS THIS A ROOM is a verbatim transcript reclaimed as a Pinter play

Last night, Is This A Room concocted by Tina Satter (she also directs) opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. Ms. Satter’s new play is in essence a word-for-word staging of the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Andy Bragen’s autobiographical NOTES ON MY MOTHER’S DECLINE takes objectivism to a punishing extreme

Last weekend at the Fourth Street Theatre in the East Village, I caught Andy Bragen’s autobiographical two-hander Notes on My Mother’s Decline, courtesy of the Play Company (or “PlayCo”) and New … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – BAM’s 2019 edition of its iconic NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL gets off to a smashing start, featuring exciting new blood

This past week, the Brooklyn Academy of Music unleashed the 2019 edition of its multi-disciplinary Next Wave Festival with two striking, adventurous shows. This season of the iconic fall festival is particularly … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The glorious, decidedly old-fashioned revival of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS hits all the right notes

This past week, the hugely anticipated Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors opened at the Westside Theatre. For those of you who don’t know, the 1982 musical was penned … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Chad Beckim’s domestic opioid tragedy NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY devastates slowly but surely

Last night at Off-Broadway’s A.R.T./New York Theatres, I attended a performance of Partial Comfort Productions’ staging of Nothing Gold Can Stay, a new play by Chad Beckim. Set in a depressed, … Continue Reading →