VIEWPOINTS – Scoping out the Fringes: Gems at LA MAMA PUPPET FESTIVAL and Heartbeat Opera’s lively drag riff on THE GOLDEN COCK(erel)

This past weekend – in the midst of some high profile fall theater openings – I had the urge to scope out the fringes of New York’s vibrant performing arts … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Geoff Sobelle’s immersive FOOD is an absurdist, hallucinatory meditation on why we eat how we eat

This weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s flexible BAM Fisher space, I caught the final installment of Geoff Sobelle’s astonishing trilogy of works exploring seemingly mainstay notions in our … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Qui Nguyen’s POOR YELLA REDNECKS buoyantly translates the immigrant experience via graphic novels and “Hamilton”

This week at New York City Center’s subterranean Stage I, I was also able to take in Manhattan Theatre Club’s Off-Broadway production of Poor Yella Rednecks by Qui Nguyen. A companion piece … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Danny DeVito leads I NEED THAT, the prolific Theresa Rebeck’s perfectly pleasant Main Stem comedy for Roundabout

Theresa Rebeck continues to be one of the most prolific working playwrights in theater business. This fall alone, she’s unveiled two new plays – the fantastic Dig for Primary Stages … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Adjmi’s gorgeously nuanced new play STEREOPHONIC bristles with music, authenticity

Last night, I caught David Adjmi’s new play Stereophonic at Playwrights Horizons. Set in California recording studios during the mid 1970s, the play depicts the painful creation of a rock … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Displaying their gift of the gab: Fellow Irishmen ED BYRNE and MIKEL MURFI bewitch in their respective solo shows

Over the past few days, I encountered a pair of solo shows by hugely talented Irishmen who bewitched me with their immense charisma and undeniable gift of the gab. Read … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – The variety afforded by Off-Broadway theater: The stage adaptation of Philip Roth’s SABBATH’S THEATER and Brittany K. Allen’s REDWOOD

This past weekend, I was struck by how different approaches to playwriting can yield to drastically vascillating experiences. To me, this illustrated both theater’s chameleonic ability to shape-shift from production … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Rare revivals to relish: City Center’s heavily revised PAL JOEY by Rodgers & Hart and MasterVoices’ top notch THE FROGS by Sondheim

Despite their extremely limited runs, I had the great opportunity this weekend to relish a pair of rarely staged musicals. Read on below for my thoughts on these uncommonly well-produced … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In the compellingly eccentric HOW TO BE A DANCER IN 72,000 EASY LESSONS, Michael Keegan-Dolan meditates on a life in dance

Last night, I attended Teac Damsa and Gate Theatre’s production of Michael Keegan-Dolan’s compellingly eccentric How to Be a Dancer in 72,000 Easy Lessons, which is currently playing for a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nathan Alan Davis’s THE REFUGE PLAYS: A turbulent family saga kept afloat by love and ghosts

Last night at the Laura Pels Theatre, I attended Roundabout Theatre Company’s Off-Broadway production of The Refuge Plays by Nathan Alan Davis. Set in the backwaters of Southern Illinois, the sprawling work … Continue Reading →