VIEWPOINTS – It’s lonely up at the top: The price of success in America

An Olympic hopeful swimmer, a country music superstar, and couple of high-powered private equity deal-makers. Currently on the boards of three celebrated Off-Broadway theater companies are a trio of compelling … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – More of the same from Mark Rylance in NICE FISH, and that’s fine by me

Over at St. Ann’s Warehouse, the odd and surreal new play Nice Fish by Mark Rylance – who also stars in the show – and Louis Jenkins is concluding its … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – BRIGHT STAR sparkles magnificently on Broadway

A refreshing breeze just blew through Broadway, and I’m not talking about spring. That’s because the enchanting, open-hearted original new musical Bright Star opened last night at the Cort Theatre. … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Two highly-anticipated shows fail to shed sufficient light on the transgender experience

Currently in New York theater, two highly-anticipated shows are valiantly attempting to articulate the transgender experience. Unfortunately, both fall short of painting wholly convincing, nuanced portraits of or sufficiently exploring … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – DISASTER! strikes Broadway against all odds

Disaster! by all accounts shouldn’t work – but it does. Against considerable odds, Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick’s 1970s disaster movie mash-up cum jukebox musical spoof made the huge leap … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Harrower’s BLACKBIRD finally lands on Broadway, and it’s devastating

Tonight marks the opening night of David Harrower’s devastating two-hander Blackbird on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre. Like many other plays, the Strindberg-esque Blackbird – a play that harrowingly depicts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Mint resuscitates Hazel Ellis’s juicy period drama WOMEN WITHOUT MEN

Last night, I caught Mint Theater Company’s resuscitation of Hazel Ellis’s 1938 boarding school drama (but really, a comedy of manners), Women Without Men. No, it’s not told from the … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Playwriting in the first person: Dan O’Brien’s THE BODY OF AN AMERICAN and Clare Barron’s I’LL NEVER LOVE AGAIN

One of the prevailing tips given to writers of fiction is to “write what you know”. This winter, I came across two new plays that took this piece of advice … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Richard Nelson’s rich and stealth-like HUNGRY introduces us to the Gabriels just in time for the elections

After the success of “The Apple Family Plays”, I’m so happy to report that playwright Richard Nelson has committed to embarking on a new series about another fictitious family – … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Youthful energy rules “pop-up” revival of WEST SIDE STORY

Last Saturday, I was lucky enough to snag a ticket to the immersive “pop-up” revival of West Side Story, courtesy of Carnegie Hall and the Weill Music Institute, at the … Continue Reading →