THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mark Sonnenblick’s sensational MIDNIGHT AT THE NEVER GET is just about perfect musical theater

I recently had a chance to catch Midnight at the Never Get, an absolutely smashing new musical by Mark Sonnenblick, courtesy of the York Theatre Company. Mr. Sonnenblick, who penned the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lonergan’s compassionate yet clear-eyed THE WAVERLY GALLERY breaks the heart, slowly but surely

Last night, the Main Stem revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s 1999 play The Waverly Gallery opened at the John Golden Theatre. Mr. Lonergan’s play about one woman’s descent into senility – and its very immediate … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – SAMSON ET DALILA & MARNIE: A look at this fall’s new productions at the Metropolitan Opera

This fall, the mighty Metropolitan Opera unveiled two new productions. The first was its 2018-2019 season opener, Darko Tresnjak’s new staging of Camille Saint-Saëns’s Samson et Dalila; the second was Nico Muhly’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – For William Jackson Harper’s maiden outing as a playwright, the strong-boned TRAVISVILLE is exceedingly well-written and solidly structured

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to catch William Jackson Harper’s new play Travisville at Ensemble Studio Theatre. Over the years, EST has evolved into one of the city’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A.R. Gurney’s FINAL FOLLIES is simply the sum of its parts

This weekend at the cozy Cherry Lane Theatre, I caught a late run performance (the limited run ends this afternoon) of Primary Stages’ Off-Broadway production of Final Follies, a collection of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Filmmaker Todd Solondz’s EMMA AND MAX is flawed but provocative, as expected

This afternoon, I caught a matinee performance of filmmaker Todd Solondz’s world premiere play Emma and Max at the Flea Theater. I was eagerly looking forward to the experience given that … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The explosive FIREFLIES continues Donja R. Love’s impassioned trilogy chronicling the African American experience

This week, Donja R. Love’s two-hander Fireflies opened Off-Broaday at the Atlantic Theater Company. The play, which takes place in the Deep South during the Civil Rights Movement, is the second of a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Radcliffe, Cannavale, and Jones crackle in the topical THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT

Last night, Jeremy Kareken, David Murrell, and Gordon Farrell’s starry new comedy The Lifespan of a Fact opened on Broadway at Studio 54. In essence, the play, which is based on … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – BAM’s Next Wave Festival, Week 3: Declan Donnellan’s timely MEASURE FOR MEASURE turns the play’s problematic ambivalence into a defiant strength

The highlight of week three of BAM’s Next Wave Festival is sure to be Declan Donnellan’s staging of Measure for Measure at the BAM Harvey Theater, a co-production between Cheek by … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Tastefully (literally) beckoning Halloween: AT THE ILLUSIONIST’S TABLE & KILLING AN EVENING WITH EDGAR ALLAN POE

Selecting a tasteful live entertainment to usher in Halloween can be a tricky proposition. Where does one start? On the surface, you’ll simply be faced with a barrage of generic, shock-oriented haunted … Continue Reading →