THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ren Dara Santiago’s THE SIBLINGS PLAY ambitiously, powerfully references “Electra” and “Hamlet”

Last night, I caught the sold-out penultimate performance of Ren Dara Santiago’s The Siblings Play at Off-Broadway’s Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. The production, whose last near-term showing is tonight, is yet another casualty of the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Ethan Lipton’s western romp TUMACHO was a winning diversion for our troubled times

One of the unfortunate casualties of the mass theatrical suspensions in New York was Ethan Lipton’s Tumacho, which closed prematurely two nights ago as part of the theater community’s proactive precautionary measure to … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – SCOTTISH BALLET conveys the extremes of the human experience in its double bill at the Joyce

Earlier this week, I caught the opening performance of Scottish Ballet’s residency at the Joyce Theater in Chelsea. It was my first exposure to the Glasgow-based company, who performed an intriguing, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Paul Muldoon’s INCANTATA is ferociously adapted for the stage by Sam Yates and Stanley Townsend

I recently had the opportunity to take in the stage adaptation of Incantata, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon’s elegy to his former partner Mary Farl Powers – herself an artist – who … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The late Michael Friedman’s lovely, mature score is the highlight of UNKNOWN SOLDIER

Last night, Michael Friedman and Daniel Goldstein’s new musical Unknown Soldier opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. For those of you who don’t know, Michael Friedman – a musical theater composer and lyricist … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS: “Mommy Dearest” in Hell’s Kitchen: Ma-Yi remounts Haruna Lee’s SUICIDE FOREST and MCC presents C.A. Johnson’s ALL THE NATALIE PORTMANS

Currently in Hell’s Kitchen, two Off-Broadway theater companies are putting on plays that respectively depict strained mother-daughter relationships, fiendishly calling to mind the infamous 1981 film Mommie Dearest. First up is Ma-Yi Theater Company’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jillian Walker’s unruly SKINFOLK excavates blackness, amorphously but with soul

This past weekend, I caught Jillian Walker’s SKiNFoLK at the Bushwick Starr in Brooklyn. The new, loosely autobiographical concept musical (for a lack of a better term) is being presented in collaboration with the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The incomparable NEDERLANDS DANS THEATER unveils three intriguing and eclectic U.S. premieres

This weekend, the internationally-revered Nederlands Dans Theater 1 concluded its weeklong run at New York City Center. Founded in 1959, the visionary and adventurous dance company has become iconic for … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – DANIIL TRIFONOV dazzles in a masterful all-Bach recital

This week, I had the great privilege of catching Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov perform an all-Bach program at Alice Tully Hall. The sold-out, one-night-only concert (presented in association with the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Conor McPherson and Bob Dylan’s GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY ravishes despite its unsparing bleakness

Last night, Conor McPherson and Bob Dylan’s musical Girl From the North Country landed on the Great White Way at the Belasco Theatre. The new musical arrives on Broadway after having … Continue Reading →