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 →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Adam Rapp’s slippery THE SOUND INSIDE stuns on Broadway, starring an equally stunning Mary-Louse Parker

Last week, Adam Rapp’s two-hander The Sound Inside opened at Studio 54. The production marks the tour-de-force return to Broadway of the wonderful, seemingly ageless Mary-Louise Parker, one of the … 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 →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang throw the kitchen sink in SOFT POWER, to head-spinning effect

Also last night, Soft Power – the totally interesting and highly anticipated collaboration between the Tony-winning pair of Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) and David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) – opened … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – An unhinged, tempestuous Marisa Tomei leads a maximalist revival of Tennessee Williams’ THE ROSE TATTOO on Broadway

Last night, Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ lesser known The Rose Tattoo opened at the American Airlines Theatre. Oscar-winner Marisa Tomei reprises her performance (from a few … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Catya McMullen’s rollicking GEORGIA MERTCHING IS DEAD is an ode to girl power and the families we choose for ourselves

This past weekend, I caught Ensemble Studio Theatre’s Off-Broadway production of Catya McMullen’s new play Georgia Mertching Is Dead. The play tells the story of three women – all former … Continue Reading →