VIEWPOINTS – Good musicals come in all sizes: The winning SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS and HUNDRED DAYS open

Last night, New Yorkers unwrapped a pair of early theatrical Christmas presents – one an unabashedly lavish Broadway spectacle, the other an affecting small-scale autobiographical musical. The good news is that … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT — Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s DOWNTOWN RACE RIOT, starring Chloë Sevigny, is languorous, aimless

Last night, Seth Zvi Rosenfeld’s languorous new play Downtown Race Riot opened Off-Broadway at the Pershing Square Signature Center, courtesy of the New Group. Set in 1976 in Greenwich Village, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT — Ahrens and Flaherty’s ONCE ON THIS ISLAND is gloriously revived on Broadway in Michael Arden’s revelatory production

Last night, Ahrens and Flaherty’s Once on this Island was gloriously revived on Broadway at the Circle in the Square Theatre, thanks largely to Michael Arden’s bold, deeply-felt direction. Although … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – THE FOUNTAINHEAD and SLEEP: Two smashing stage adaptations of literary works seduce at BAM

After a couple of disappointing offerings (notably Thaddeus Phillips’ uninspired A Billion Nights on Earth and the Wales Millennium Centre’s stylish staging of Manfred Karge’s otherwise tedious Man to Man), BAM’s Next Wave Festival has come … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT — The Public’s fast-moving Mobile Unit production of THE WINTER’S TALE is well-told, if a bit two-dimensional

Shakespeare’s late-career romance The Winter’s Tale has, in recent years, enjoyed an unprecedented number of stagings — many of them memorable (I particularly remember swooning over a production a couple … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Amy Schumer and Uma Thurman make solid Broadway debuts in two mediocre new plays, METEOR SHOWER and THE PARISIAN WOMAN

This week, two Hollywood A-listers made their Broadway debuts in two medeocre new plays. This past Wednesday marked the opening of Steve Martin’s underwhelming new comedy Meteor Shower (SOMEWHAT RECOMMENDED) at the Booth … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Alison S.M. Kobayashi’s obsessive SAY SOMETHING BUNNY! is pure genius

This weekend, I caught Alison S.M. Kobayashi’s ingenious, uniquely immersive solo show Say Something Bunny! at UNDO Project Space in Chelsea. Meticulously researched and lovingly performed by Ms. Kobayashi, the show attempts … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – WHAT WE’RE UP AGAINST and SCHOOL GIRLS: Setting shows in the past to shed light on the present

This weekend, I caught two new Off-Broadway plays that set shows in the past – and in one case in Africa – to shed light on the ongoing plight of women in the world. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Irish Rep’s immersive THE DEAD, 1904 gently and richly engages all the senses

Last night, I entered the world of James Joyce’s The Dead, quite literally. The Irish Repertory Theatre production, entitled The Dead, 1904, is adapted from the novella by Paul Muldoon and Jean Hanff Korelitz, and … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – DESPERATE MEASURES and THE MAD ONES: Two Off-Broadway musicals that just miss the mark

There really is no formula to guarantee the success of a musical, which is why I find it a fascinating exercise to analyze new works. The most significant new musicals are … Continue Reading →