VIEWPOINTS – STATE OF SIEGE and GRAND FINALE give us timely, if tiresome, glimpses of the apocalypse at BAM

Things have been looking grim at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where two Next Wave Festival offerings are giving audiences timely glimpses of the apocalypse. Unfortunately, I found both, despite … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE BAND’S VISIT quietly opens on Broadway, triumphantly

Tonight, a significant new musical triumphantly opened at Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre – David Yazbek and Itamar Moses’ gorgeous, unconventional The Band’s Visit. I had seen this spare, deeply-felt musical … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Matthew Bourne’s THE RED SHOES: Thriving at the intersection of dance and theater

One of my “aha” moments in dance was when I first encountered Matthew Bourne’s bold interpretation of Swan Lake nearly two decades ago in London. Using a corps of all-male … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – John Patrick Shanley’s THE PORTUGUESE KID at once fizzes and fizzles

Last night at City Center, I got a chance to catch up with John Patrick Shanley’s latest play The Portuguese Kid, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. The handsomely-mounted Off-Broadway production, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The newly-commissioned noh drama RIKYU-ENOURA at Japan Society is transporting

Last year, I immersed myself in the tradition of Japanese noh when the highly-regarded Kanze Noh Theatre graced New York to partake in the 2016 Lincoln Center Festival. It was … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Charles Ludlam’s brash CONQUEST OF THE UNIVERSE OR WHEN QUEENS COLLIDE is giddily revived at La Mama

Earlier this week, I attended the opening of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company’s rare revival of Conquest of the Universe or When Queens Collide, Charles Ludlam’s madcap absurdist if lightweight 1967 comedy, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Tectonic’s touching, sensory-driven UNCOMMON SENSE places the audience in the shoes of its autistic characters

Down at the Sheen Center, I recently had the opportunity to catch Tectonic Theatre Project’s Uncommon Sense, a touching, multi-thread play about autism. In structure, the Anushka Paris-Carter and Andy Paris’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Heather Christian’s ANIMAL WISDOM rousingly reflects on death, through song

Last night, I ventured out to Bushwick to catch a performance of Heather Christian’s rousing Animal Wisdom, a self-proclaimed “requiem mass”, or Catholic mass for the dead. But the show … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ayad Akhtar’s ambitious, sprawling JUNK opens on Broadway

Last night, Ayad Akhtar’s eagerly anticipated Junk opened on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater. With his new play, Mr. Akhtar, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – The current productions of THE B-SIDE and ILLYRIA intimately bridge past and present, in ways only theater can

History is in vogue again. The hit musical Hamilton has made it a sexy pursuit to critically engage with history by taking a hard look at past events and bringing … Continue Reading →