THE HANGOVER REPORT – TFANA’s meticulous staging of María Irene Fornés’s FEFU AND HER FRIENDS does the audacious, scantly-seen modern classic proud

This past weekend at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn, I had the exciting opportunity to finally catch a live performance of the seminal, scantly-seen Fefu and Her Friends by Cuba American playwright María … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Three flawed but fascinating Off-Broadway musicals this fall and early winter: CYRANO, EINSTEIN’S DREAMS, and BROADBEND, ARKANSAS

This fall and early winter, I encountered a trio of fascinating if flawed Off-Broadway musicals, the product of three consistently intriguing theater companies – The New Group, Prospect Theater Company, and Transport … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Met’s revival of THE QUEEN OF SPADES is chock full of notable house debuts (one that’s particularly exciting)

A star is born in Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, who made a glorious Metropolitan Opera debut last night in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades. That Tchaikovsky’s operatic psychological thriller is rarely … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Signature Theatre Company continues to uphold the legacy of American playwriting via fine revivals of Anna Deavere Smith’s FIRES IN THE MIRROR and Horton Foote’s THE YOUNG MAN FROM ATLANTA

Off-Broadway’s Signature Theatre Company continues to serve an important function in New York’s crowded theater scene. That is, to serve as a space to celebrate and uphold the legacy of … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Two icons of music lend their considerable talent and star power to Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival

Two recent high points of the ongoing White Light Festival were the contributions of two icons of the music world – classical music’s superstar conductor Gustavo Dudamel and jazz legend … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jack Thorne’s genuinely heartfelt A CHRISTMAS CAROL on Broadway is necessary holiday entertainment

Over the weekend, I had the chance to pay a visit to Jack Thorne’s new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, which opened last week at the Lyceum Theatre. The … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Proof that classical music can be among the coolest things in town: Philip Glass’s AKHNATEN & the Currentzis-led Verdi REQUIEM

Last week, I attended two highly anticipated classical music events that were among the hottest tickets in town, proving that art form can be — contrary to the general thought … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – City Center’s gala production of EVITA is musically ravishing, led by Solea Pfeiffer’s star-making performance

This afternoon, I caught one of the final performances of New York City Center’s gala production of Evita, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Tony-winning 1979 musical about Eva Peron, Argentina’s … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Strange coincidence: The stage adaptations of Édouard Louis’s THE END OF EDDY & HISTORY OF VIOLENCE take up residence in Brooklyn

Matthew Lopez’s The Inheritance isn’t the only play in town theatricalizing the gay experience. In a strange coincidence and an unprecedented collaboration between two of Brooklyn’s top performing arts institutions – the Brooklyn Academy … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – THE INHERITANCE, Matthew Lopez’s profoundly moving two-part saga depicting post-AIDS crisis gay life, arrives on Broadway

This week, The Inheritance by Matthew Lopez opened on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The play is the latest in this season’s healthy string of new plays to open on the … Continue Reading →