THE HANGOVER REPORT – Johanna Day triumphs as JOAN, Stephen Belber’s comprehensive portrait of a woman’s life

Luckily, this weekend, I had a chance to catch the penultimate performance of the Colt Coeur production of Stephen Belber’s ambitious new drama Joan at HERE Arts Center. The play recounts the … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – ADAM & CITY OF NO ILLUSIONS: Tales of queer refugees, told differently

In the theater, stories of queer (e.g., recent high profile Broadway revivals of Angels in America, The Boys in the Band, and Torch Song) and refugee experiences (e.g., the astonishing The Jungle at … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MCC Theater unveils its new Hell’s Kitchen home with Loy A. Webb’s agenda-driven THE LIGHT

For many years now, MCC Theater – one of the major contributors to the Off-Broadway theater scene – has been synonymous with Greenwich Village’s historic and storied Lucille Lortel Theatre. The Lortel is … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME is a fast-and-loose evening of improvised hip-hop euphoria

For a pure rush of adrenaline and indisputable bravado, you can’t go wrong with the Freestyle Love Supreme – a fast-and-loose evening of improvised hip-hop euphoria conceived by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Transport Group’s stunningly reimagined THE TRIAL OF THE CATONSVILLE NINE is innovative, powerful

This week at the Abrons Arts Center, I caught Transport Group’s revelatory revival of The Trial of the Catonsville Nine by Daniel Berrigan. The production has been given an immersive, boldly heightened staging by Transport Group artistic … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In SEA WALL / A LIFE, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge excel in two slight but quietly menacing monologues

Last night, Sea Wall / A Life, a pair of monologues about modern day masculinity through the lens of intense grief by Simon Stephens (who penned the Tony-winning stage adaptation of The Curious … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The honey-voiced Carmen Cusack leads the perfectly pleasant Encores! revival of Irving Berlin’s CALL ME MADAM

This past weekend at New York City Center, I attended the closing performance of the weeklong run of the Encores! revival of Call Me Madam. Before becoming the indispensable theatrical … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – MIES JULIE & THE DANCE OF DEATH: CSC’s Strindberg pairing explores the treachery and mystery of love

Today, Classic Stage Company’s repertory productions of August Strindberg’s Mies Julie and The Dance of Death via Conor McPherson and Yaël Farber, respectively, opened. It’s a fascinating pairing. Seen individually, each makes for explosive domestic … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – LCT’s MY FAIR LADY is now the revival it was meant to be, thanks to a new set of principals led by the exquisite Laura Benanti

Last night, I revisited Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of the Lerner and Loewe classic My Fair Lady. I’m happy to report that the production at the Vivian Beaumont Theater has blossomed … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The improbably-plotted ON BLUEBERRY HILL brilliantly scores with its quietly thrilling storytelling

Before closing last weekend at 59E59 Theaters, I had the opportunity to catch Sebastian Barry’s two-hander On Blueberry Hill, courtesy of Dublin’s Fishamble company. Set in Ireland, the play – … Continue Reading →