THE HANGOVER REPORT – Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s VORTEX TEMPORUM manifests the relationship between dancers and musicians at BAM

This past weekend, I returned to the Brooklyn Academy of Music to catch Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s Vortex Temporum, a dance set to spectral composer Gérard Grisey’s shimmering, tension-filled score … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Puppetry and Madness: Jessica Scott’s SHIP OF FOOLS and Kevin Augustine’s THE GOD PROJEKT use phantasmagorical imagery to evoke internal discord

Puppetry, as with the visual arts in general, has the uncanny ability to draw visceral, many times unexplainable, reactions from its viewers. As such, the art form is an ideal … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Kaija Saariaho’s CIRCLE MAP dares us to encounter music in a new way, and succeeds

I’ve long been fascinated by the intersection between space/perspective and performance. What better venue in New York, really, than the cavernous Park Avenue Armory, particularly its 55,000 square foot drill … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – David Rabe’s VISITING EDNA at Chicago’s Steppenwolf is flawed but deeply unsettling

If there’s a poster child for Chicago theater, I would argue it’s the Steppenwolf Theatre Company. The company’s brand of theater is ensemble-based and embraces bold, in-your-face acting style and storytelling. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Goodman’s visually arresting WONDERFUL TOWN is tremendous fun

Leave it to Mary Zimmerman to come up with a visual equivalent to Leonard Bernstein’s infectious and irresistibly fast-and-loose score. Her production of the classic musical Wonderful Town is a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The Lyric Opera of Chicago presents a magisterial new production of DAS RHEINGOLD

The Lyric Opera of Chicago opened its 2016-2017 season in sensational fashion with a magisterial new production of Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold helmed by respected British director David Pountney. The … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – BAM’s Next Wave Festival admirably focuses on both emerging and established artists with Yoann Bourgeois’s MINUIT and Shen Wei’s NEITHER

The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s expansive Next Wave Festival marches on, and what’s becoming evident is the festival’s dedication to giving exposure to both emerging (the use of the relatively … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Zeffirelli’s LA BOHÈME trudges on, effectively, at the Met

Franco Zeffirelli’s production of La Bohème for the Metropolitan Opera has been, for 35 years, one of the iconic productions at the mighty opera company, if not all of New … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Riffing on the classics, for better or worse: Brian Friel’s AFTERPLAY and José Rivera’s adaptation of THE MAIDS

Artists have long been riffing on what’s come before them. I recently wrote a piece about two productions I saw at BAM in which contemporary theater makers have distilled The … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Roundabout’s HOLIDAY INN and Paper Mill’s THE PRODUCERS make for solid, old fashioned musical entertainment

With the recent closing of Christopher Wheeldon’s gorgeous musical adaptation of An American in Paris last weekend, New York was bereft of a soaring piece of musical storytelling in the … Continue Reading →