THE HANGOVER REPORT – HADESTOWN at NYTW features a stunning score by Anaïs Mitchell but lacks theatrical cohesion

Last night at New York Theatre Workshop, I attended a performance of Hadestown, the stage adaptation of Anaïs Mitchell’s critically acclaimed concept album, a free-flowing recasting of the Orpheus and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Stew’s THE TOTAL BENT at the Public is murky storytelling yet mightily entertaining

Looking back, Stew and Heidi Rodewald’s Passing Strange was perhaps one of the more exciting achievements in musical theater over the the last decade. That coming-of-age musical was a rowdy … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Gillian Anderson leads an uneven STREETCAR at St. Ann’s Warehouse

Last night, I caught yet another revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, where it is completing its run. Among the pack, Benedict … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Geoff Sobelle’s singular THE OBJECT LESSON dazzles at Studio Theatre

I recently had a chance to catch Geoff Sobelle’s dazzling and immersive The Object Lesson on a recent trip to Washington, DC. The show made a big splash two seasons ago at BAM’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Quiara Alegría Hudes’ DAPHNE’S DIVE at the Signature compels through its ensemble

Last night at the Signature Theater, I caught Daphne’s Dive, the latest play by Quiara Alegría Hudes (a 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner for Water by the Spoonful). Set in a … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – OTHELLO and DISGRACED: The moment illuminated through a dialogue between two Washington, DC productions

One of the great virtues of theater is its inextricable relationship with the here and now, as well as with theatrical tradition and legacy.  Unlike “recorded” genres, like film, the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Led by Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde, David Hare’s THE JUDAS KISS rises anew at BAM

When David Hare’s The Judas Kiss first premiered at the Almeida Theatre in 1998 – before transferring to the West End and then to Broadway – it was immediately dismissed … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – In this election year, the Keegan’s timely revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s AN AMERICAN DAUGHTER sadly remains relevant

This theater season has fascinatingly seen some uniquely “Washington”-themed productions play DC-area stages. Both Robert Schenkkan’s Tony-winning LBJ bio-play All the Way and Anthony Giardina’s excellent multi-generational Georgetown drama The City of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The national tour of THE WIZARD OF OZ is a shadow of what it once was

I recently caught Troika Entertainment’s national tour of The Wizard of Oz at the National Theatre in Washington, DC. The show is the expanded version which successfully played the famous … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Rodgers and Sondheim’s DO I HEAR A WALTZ? is reexamined, courtesy of Encores!

Until Encores! revival earlier this week at City Center, I had never seen (and had only heard juicy stories about) Do I Hear a Waltz?, the 1965 musical on which … Continue Reading →