THE HANGOVER REPORT – On Broadway, Rob Rokicki and Joe Tracz’s THE LIGHTNING THIEF remains the scrappy cartoon it’s always been

Last night, I caught Rob Rokicki and Joe Tracz’s The Lightning Thief, which finds itself on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre after having played Off-Broadway five years ago and subsequently … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Harvey Fierstein is Bella Abzug in BELLA BELLA, a show that’s both vintage Bella and Harvey

Last night, the indelible Harvey Fierstein’s Bella Bella opened Off-Broadway at New York City Center, courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club. In the new solo show, Mr. Fierstein himself portrays feminist and political rabble-rouser (and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Tina Satter’s IS THIS A ROOM is a verbatim transcript reclaimed as a Pinter play

Last night, Is This A Room concocted by Tina Satter (she also directs) opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. Ms. Satter’s new play is in essence a word-for-word staging of the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Andy Bragen’s autobiographical NOTES ON MY MOTHER’S DECLINE takes objectivism to a punishing extreme

Last weekend at the Fourth Street Theatre in the East Village, I caught Andy Bragen’s autobiographical two-hander Notes on My Mother’s Decline, courtesy of the Play Company (or “PlayCo”) and New … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Adam Rapp’s slippery THE SOUND INSIDE stuns on Broadway, starring an equally stunning Mary-Louse Parker

Last week, Adam Rapp’s two-hander The Sound Inside opened at Studio 54. The production marks the tour-de-force return to Broadway of the wonderful, seemingly ageless Mary-Louise Parker, one of the … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – BAM’s 2019 edition of its iconic NEXT WAVE FESTIVAL gets off to a smashing start, featuring exciting new blood

This past week, the Brooklyn Academy of Music unleashed the 2019 edition of its multi-disciplinary Next Wave Festival with two striking, adventurous shows. This season of the iconic fall festival is particularly … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Introspective new works by William Forsythe and Kyle Abraham embrace dance heritage

This weekend, I caught the latest from two notable contemporary dance choreographers, Kyle Abraham and William Forsythe. First up a The Joyce Theater in Chelsea was an eclectic evening of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The glorious, decidedly old-fashioned revival of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS hits all the right notes

This past week, the hugely anticipated Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors opened at the Westside Theatre. For those of you who don’t know, the 1982 musical was penned … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Chad Beckim’s domestic opioid tragedy NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY devastates slowly but surely

Last night at Off-Broadway’s A.R.T./New York Theatres, I attended a performance of Partial Comfort Productions’ staging of Nothing Gold Can Stay, a new play by Chad Beckim. Set in a depressed, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jeanine Tesori and David Henry Hwang throw the kitchen sink in SOFT POWER, to head-spinning effect

Also last night, Soft Power – the totally interesting and highly anticipated collaboration between the Tony-winning pair of Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home) and David Henry Hwang (M. Butterfly) – opened … Continue Reading →