THE HANGOVER REPORT – Manhattan Concert Productions’ glorious 25th anniversary staged concert of THE SECRET GARDEN was a night for the ages

In the spring of 1991, a beauty of a musical opened at the St. James Theater, Marsha Norman and Lucy Simon’s lush adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel The Secret … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Maly Drama Theatre’s vaudevillian THE CHERRY ORCHARD entertains and terrifies at BAM

Last night, I trudged through the wind and rain to attend a performance of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, courtesy of St. Petersburg’s Maly Drama Theatre, at the Brooklyn Academy … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – A pair of Off-Broadway plays explore human nature through crises of faith

In about a week, the highly anticipated Broadway revival of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible starts previews at the Walter Kerr Theatre. However, you don’t have to wait for that upcoming … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – As an opera, Kurt Weill’s flawed and dated LOST IN THE STARS was ahead of its time

What is opera vis-à-vis musical theater? Which form is more on the cutting edge of serious music theater? Is there even a difference between them? Famed German American composer Kurt … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Stephen Karam’s astonishing THE HUMANS opens on Broadway, and it’s easily the best play of the season

Earlier tonight, Stephen Karam’s extraordinary family drama The Humans opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre. When I saw an early preview performance of the play last fall at the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Anthony Giardina’s timely THE CITY OF CONVERSATION plays Washington, where it belongs

Last night, I caught a performance of Anthony Giardina’s The City of Conversation at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Few plays in recent memory are better suited to playing our … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Lydia R. Diamond’s SMART PEOPLE lacks focus and, sad to say, smarts

Yesterday evening, I had a chance to catch Lydia R. Diamond’s Smart People, which opened last week at Second Stage. Ms. Diamond’s play, a meditation on love, race, and identity … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Encores! revival of CABIN IN THE SKY is a joyous, if curious, affair

I just got back from Encores! revival of Vernon Duke and John Latouche’s forgotten 1940 musical Cabin in the Sky at City Center, and boy, is it joyous stuff. The … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – MTC’s winter season gives us two personal, beautifully-acted portraits of unmoored, headstrong lives

This winter, Manhattan Theatre Club is offering audiences a pair of compelling, albeit flawed, plays from two of our most respected playwrights. What these plays have in common is that … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Economic hardships drive hard-hitting dramas, then and now

This week in our nation’s capital, I had the opportunity of catching two serious dramas – one a new work, the other an established classic. They were Lynn Nottage’s latest, … Continue Reading →