THE HANGOVER REPORT – Steppenwolf unveils its new Ensemble Theater with SEAGULL, Yasen Peyankov’s subtly updated adaptation of Chekhov’s play

I closed out my Chicago theater-going binge by attending a performance of Steppenwolf Theatre Company’s highly anticipated production of Seagull at the company’s new Ensemble Theater. Although the recently-completed in-the-round … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Court Theatre’s perfectly-acted revival of August Wilson’s TWO TRAINS RUNNING is theater at its most life-giving

My theater-going winning streak in Chicago continued with the sensational revival of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running by the Court Theatre. Located on the South Side of the city on … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – LOOKINGGLASS ALICE remains an intoxicating hybrid of stylish storytelling and high-flying physical feats

This week, I flew to Chicago to re-acquaint myself with the city’s rich performing arts scene. Having spent not an insignificant portion of my adult life in the Windy City, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Somi Kakoma astonishes as South African singer and activist Miram Makeba in the new bio-musical DREAMING ZENZILE

Last night, the new musical Dreaming Zenzile opened Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop. The work is essentially a jukebox bio-musical, along the same vein as Jersey Boys and Beautiful, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In Dave Harris’s EXCEPTION TO THE RULE, naturalistic high school drama uncomfortably meets Beckettian existentialism

Last night at Roundabout Theatre Company’s intimate Black Box Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, I attended a performance of Dave Harris’s Exception to the Rule. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Target Margin Theater’s ONE NIGHT is a nine-hour act of heroic theatrical storytelling and wonderment

Over the years, I’ve participated in a number of durational theatrical experiences. Having experienced Taylor Mac’s A 24-Decade History of Popular Music at St. Ann’s Warehouse (24 hours), Nat Randall and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In WHO KILLED MY FATHER, Édouard Louis’ further excavates societal homophobia, only to uncover unexpected empathy

I recently had a chance to take in the solo stage adaptation of Édouard Louis’ Who Killed My Father at St. Ann’s Warehouse. The production – which comes by way … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – James Ijames’s smart, uproarious FAT HAM inverts the tragedy of Shakespeare’s iconic play to empower Black Queerness

Last night, James Ijames’s uproarious yet profoundly defiant Fat Ham opened at the Public Theater in a co-production with National Black Theatre. As many of you know, the play a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Trish Harnetiaux’s playfully abstract CALIFORNIA launches the 25th edition of Clubbed Thumb’s essential Summerworks series

This week at the cozy wild project in the East Village, I caught California by Trish Harnetiaux (the playwright’s theatrical podcast series The MS Phoenix Rising tickled me during lockdown). … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mary Wiseman turns in a star-making performance in AT THE WEDDING, Bryna Turner’s slight but emotionally bruised new comedy

This past week, I attended a performance of Lincoln Center Theater’s Off-Broadway production of Bryna Turner’s new play At the Wedding. The comedy (which I thankfully caught before it concluded … Continue Reading →