THE HANGOVER REPORT – Glenn Close is majestic in MOTHER OF THE MAID, Jane Anderson’s effective, sturdy new play

Last night at the Public Theater, I caught Jane Anderson’s highly anticipated new play Mother of the Maid, headlined by legendary stage and screen icon Glenn Close. Ms. Anderson’s play tells the familiar … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ngozi Anyanwu’s GOOD GRIEF explores the depths of young loss, richly and soulfully

This past weekend, I caught Ngozi Anyanwu’s rich, soulful new play Good Grief at the Vineyard Theatre. The play recounts a potent, budding romance between two childhood friends, Nkechi and MJ. When … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – WAITING FOR GODOT & THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING): Kindred spirits Beckett and Eno reflect an anxiety-ridden world

This weekend, it was fascinating to be able to take in Samuel Beckett’s seminal Waiting for Godot in back-to-back viewings with Will Eno’s Thom Pain (based on nothing) – both in superb productions. That’s because … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lloyd Suh’s mesmerizing THE CHINESE LADY sheds much needed light on the Chinese-American experience

Last night, Lloyd Suh’s new play The Chinese Lady opened Off-Broadway at Theatre Row, courtesy of Ma-Yi Theater Company. The staging is a co-production with Pittsfield, MA’s Barrington Stage Company, where it had previously … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – KING KONG is an awkward spectacle, but the puppet is a total triumph

Last night, the musical version of King Kong opened on the Great White Way at the Broadway Theatre. What did I think? It’s certainly a spectacle, but an awkward one at that. There’s just … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – 20 years on, Aasif Mandvi revisits his bittersweet SAKINA’S RESTAURANT, and it’s sadly as relevant as ever

Last night – fittingly, election night – I caught Sakina’s Restaurant at the Minetta Lane Theatre. The solo show is written by and stars the charismatic Aasif Mandvi, who returns … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Larissa FastHorse’s hardworking satire THE THANKSGIVING PLAY earns its plentiful laughs

Last night, Playwrights Horizons’ production of Larissa FastHorse’s new play, the aptly-named The Thanksgiving Play, opened Off-Broadway at the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre. The play depicts the creation of a devised, politically-correct elementary … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Steven Levenson’s pedestrian new play DAYS OF RAGE portrays revolution as teenage soap opera

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to take in Days of Rage, a new play by Steven Levenson (of Dear Evan Hansen fame), which is currently playing Off-Broadway at the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Kate Tarker’s word-drunk satire THUNDERBODIES gets its point across by flailing and rampaging, unstintingly

This weekend, I caught Kate Tarker’s hallucinatory new play Thunderbodies at Soho Rep. The play is set in some sort of vague alternate reality – the U.S. has just ended a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mobile Unit’s fun-loving A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is as light as air, and it’s a blast

Sometimes the Mobile Unit treatment can result in productions of Shakespeare that arguably compromise the scope and complexity of some of the Bard’s plays by streamlining, cutting, and speeding through … Continue Reading →