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 →

VIEWPOINTS – Definite shades of Shakespeare in GAME OF THRONES

Last night, I finished viewing the final season of the lurid but engrossing Game of Thrones. As I rapidly consumed the eight seasons of the blockbuster television show (created by David … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In lieu of the real thing, Stratford Festival streams from its library, starting with a magnificent 2014 KING LEAR

One of the biggest disappointments of the upcoming months is the postponement and likely cancellation of this year’s Stratford Festival season, which I was planning to attend in August. 2020 … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo heat up the computer screen in ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA via NT at Home

After my mild disappointment over the streaming of the National Theatre’s merely proficient production of Twelfth Night a few weeks ago, I’m pleased to report that this week’s NT at Home offering – … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Exuberant dancing from City Ballet, a set of captivating opera productions, the invaluable “Stars in the House”, and a little-known Andrew Lloyd Webber musical

Eight weeks of quarantine have come and gone, and I think I would have already gone mad had it not been for the performances I’ve been able to stream at … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Dear’s stage adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN is jolted by a visceral staging and ample star-power

One of the National Theatre’s biggest successes in its recent history was Nick Dear’s 2011 stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Although it’s been nearly a decade since the show wowed London audiences, … 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 – The Met and Sondheim, two pillars of the arts, held up amidst the lockdown and celebrated with considerable style

In light of the bleak uncertainty facing the performing arts during the ongoing lockdown, I’ve been inspired by the valiant and nimble efforts of artists (and administrators) to band together and … 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 →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – This coronavirus Easter, the rebroadcast of NBC’s starry JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR hits the mark by striking the right tone

One of the highlights of this muted Easter weekend was the rebroadcast of NBC’s starry, filmed-live-for-TV rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar (the televised … Continue Reading →