Good quality ice cream doesn’t need a lot of stuff – whipped cream, sprinkles, syrup and a cherry on top. Just enjoy the pure flavor of chocolate or vanilla. The same can be said of Broadway musicals. If the music is great do you really need strobe l …Read more
Any budding young artistic directors dreaming of starting a theatre that nurtures and produces new work should be required to meet and hang out with Joe Brancato, founding artistic director of Penguin Rep Theatre to see how it’s done. Penguin Rep, a …Read more
Creators Kate Wetherhead and Andrew Keenan-Bolger dish on the development of their popular web series, what makes their partnership thrive, finding daily inspiration, and more. “It’s pretty exciting being a struggling actor in New York City. T …Read more
CHAOS THEORY is an immersive, game-theater experience that transforms the complex science of chaos theory into a series of playful games and stories exploring the underlying chaos of workplace romance, Jurassic Park, and the ultimate chaos: middle sc …Read more
Despite being married, I am familiar with online dating sites. I’ve helped one single friend scroll through her options, another create profiles (she fibbed about her age,) and a third alphabetize her responses. I’m happy to report two of the three s …Read more
Certainly Passageways: Songs of Connection, Abnormal & Sublime, a theater piece of original songs, mixed media art, dance and storytelling created, written and performed by Amy Oestreicher echoes 20th century French painter Georges Braque’s state …Read more
Usually it takes a lot of money, time and practice to present a new full-length musical, yet between July 8 and August 30, New York Musical Festival will offer 30 new full-length musicals. Some will be wonderful-others probably not so much. They all …Read more
After seeing “Not Even the Good Things,” we left Theatre Row’s Studio Theatre filled with questions. Who was the little girl? Why was Bill the only one who could see her? Why did Bill tolerate his toxic girlfriend Grace? However, the biggest question …Read more
Times have changed. Or have they? Yesterday was a day filled with special events featuring female sports figures. On TV Wimbledon featured the women’s semi-finals from London. In New York, the city honored the US women’s soccer team with a parade and …Read more
Playwright -actress Kate Hamill did such a creative job with her campy adaptation of “Pride and Prejudice” using men to play women’s roles that I eagerly anticipated her version of “Little Women.” Unfortunately, she goes beyond author Louisa May Alco …Read more
My friend recently posted on Facebook, “I love/hate being addicted to my phone.” Dave Malloy’s beautiful new musical “Octet,” at The Pershing Square Signature Center might provide a solution to her problem. In the exciting show, the composer, writer, …Read more
Singer Susanne Mack’s new show WHERE I BELONG, playing at Pangea, the best cabaret room in town, is a diverse mix of song and story that continually emphasizes our basic human need for authentic connection to both place and people. Ms. Mack knows som …Read more
“I hate politicians!” Miriam emphatically announces as she struggles to negotiate government bureaucracy. All around me in Theatre Row’s Clurman Theatre, audience members quietly nodded their heads in agreement. So, why would anyone want to be a poli …Read more
After last year’s revelatory Lear, the Shakespeare Forum mounts another bold, insightful production for El Barrio’s Shakespeare Festival 2019. This time, it’s Othello(s)–a work that reimagines Othello from the perspectives of different characters: R …Read more
Theatre production company Parity Productions has released its monthly list of Qualifying Productions for June —their po …Read more
Stagebuddy’s Sue Bell interviews Drama Desk Winner & Two-Time-Tony Nominee Laura Osnes about her new show “Things are Looking Up” at 54 Below. They also talk about how Laura finds time for a social life with her busy schedule! See the interview …Read more
Oh. Magic… Am I being too dismissive? I mean, really though. What hasn’t already been done? And yet, I really enjoyed Gary Ferrar’s “Nothing Here is Real” show. Yeah – now you don’t necessarily need to read any further. But wait, there’s more! Beca …Read more
Stagebuddy’s Sue Bell interviews Emmy Award Winner and Tony Nominee Liz Callaway about her new show “Sets on the City” at 54 Below. They also talk about how Liz got her start in doing Disney animated voices! See the interview plus a performance in t …Read more
Although not a particularly good actress, Lorraine is always playing a part. Fortunately for the audience, Lorraine is portrayed by a particularly good actress, Susan Sarandon. In his new play “Happy Talk,” named after the song from “South Pacific”, …Read more
The New Dramatists hosts their 70th annual luncheon and this year honors Three-Time Tony Award winner, Nathan Lane. We were there and talked with a ton of interesting people, many multiple Tony winners themselves, including Taylor Mac (Gary: A Sequel …Read more
If you missed the Tony nominated and Olivier Award winning Caroline, or Change when it was in New York several years ago, I have good news: there’s a fantastic production currently running in Astoria. In the capable hands of the Astoria Performing Ar …Read more
Classic plays have universal themes and meaningful dialogue. Often the challenge for modern directors is how to mount the plays creatively and who to cast in iconic roles. William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and Arthur Miller’s “All My Sons” both deal …Read more
Before there were the gory massacres and rapes of GOT, there was “Titus Andronicus,” one of Shakespeare’s first tragedies. A revenge play, it was one of his most violent works ,and in it, all the central characters were killed, some in very unusual a …Read more
I had to think about it for a moment, had I ever seen this play before? It’s Agatha Christie, I must have – no? And it turns out, I haven’t. But the name on the writers credit says it all – You know what to expect: A boardroom drama with various trou …Read more
Who would have ever thought the words ‘dark’ and ‘sexual’ would ever apply to the 1943 classic musical Oklahoma? Without considerable changes to the script or the music, director Daniel Fish has totally reimagined the musical, infusing a whole new v …Read more
The Barricade boys are a four-man vocal group from the U.K. where all the members are from various high-profile productions of shows including London’s production of Les Misérables. Along with the vocalists is a very talented band assisting in these …Read more
The original production of the 1937 play with music, “The Cradle Will Rock” by Marc Blitzstein was almost as significant as the show itself. The play, which was funded under the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project, was directed by Orson Welles and produced …Read more
“We don’t need another hero,” sang Tina Turner. Well, maybe we don’t really need another musical about superheroes either. The short-lived Off-Broadway musical “Superhero,” with book by John Logan, and music and lyrics by Tom Kitt, begins well, but u …Read more
Four women gather to drink wine and share confidences. Meeting periodically, they share share films, personal triumphs and heartbreak. Although women are independent and strong, they will always support one another. This clichéd premise epitomizes …Read more
The Importance of Being Earnest is widely regarded as Oscar Wilde’s masterpiece, and watching NY Classical’s new production at A.R.T./New York Theatres, it’s easy to see why. No word is out of place, no line is not sharply pointed. The comedy rolls a …Read more
