VIEWPOINTS – PHANTOM & CHICAGO: Broadway’s two longest-running shows are currently in prime condition

This summer, I had the opportunity to revisit Broadway’s two longest-running shows, The Phantom of the Opera and Chicago. Both are currently in prime condition, living up to their storied … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The kid’s aren’t alright: Bess Wohl’s haunting, haunted MAKE BELIEVE fearlessly dramatizes childhood trauma

This week at Off-Broadway’s Tony Kiser Theater, I caught Make Believe, Bess Wohl’s latest – and perhaps finest – play to date, courtesy of Second Stage Theater. The play tells the story … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – 59E59 Theater’s SUMMER SHORTS 2019 series varies in quality but has some potent hits

Over the past week, I was able to take in Summer Shorts, 59E59 Theater’s annual mini-festival of six brief new plays, a couple of which have been penned by well-regarded, highly visible … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – #DATEME’s hybrid exploration of online dating is amiable and harmless

Last night, I caught up with #DateMe downstairs at the Westside Theatre. The Off-Broadway show is enticingly subtitled “An OkCupid Experiment”. This alludes to the show’s premise, which theatricalizes the true … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – A Couple of Off-Broadway Closings: LOVE, NOËL & RINSE, REPEAT

Upon the completion of my satisfying trip to the Stratford Festival in Ontario, I jumped right back into play-going mode in New York, where I was able to catch a … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Stratford Festival, Day 5: BILLY ELLIOT

And just like that, my 2019 Stratford Festival immersion has come to an end. As with previous years, it’s been both enlightening and invigorating to see the festival’s repertory operation – a … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Stratford Festival, Day 4: PRIVATE LIVES & LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS

If the previous day at the festival was a day of extremities, my fourth day of theatergoing at Stratford was notable for its levity, despite some unorthodox subject matters (i.e., … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Stratford Festival, Day 3: THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR & THE CRUCIBLE

Day Three of the Stratford Festival was a day of extremes – from the giddy comedic heights of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor to the depressing tragedy of Arthur … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Stratford Festival, Day 2: NATHAN THE WISE & THE FRONT PAGE

Day Two of my Stratford Festival immersion started to more distinctly flesh out certain curated themes of this year’s offerings, notably the notions of the oppression of the “other” and … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Stratford Festival, Day 1: THE NEVERENDING STORY & OTHELLO

This week, I embarked on my (mostly) annual trip to Stratford, Ontario, where the play’s almost always squarely the thing. The lovely town is the home to the the world renowned Stratford … Continue Reading →