Note: This album review is a guest post by Nicole McCray. Reinventing musical theater in a new and exciting genre: Eleri Ward released her second album, Keep a Tender Distance, of folk versions of the late Stephen Sondheim’s songs on September 16. It …Read more

Gertrude Stein’s Four Saints in Three Acts is, to put it bluntly, nonsensical. An avant-garde opera with a libretto by Stein and a score by Virgil Thomson, it’s more word-driven than plot-driven: the libretto repeats the same lines endlessly, strings …Read more

photo by Matt Murphy / @murphymade When a show moves from a big Broadway stage to an off-Broadway venue, something’s gotta give. Whether it’s the staging, the size of the cast, or the number of musicians. Will the Off-Broadway audience enjoy the same …Read more

Note: This album review is a guest post by Nicole McCray. Musicals may not always last long on Broadway, but many sometimes become popular with the community and high school theaters. This is also the case for 13: The Musical: a comedy that celebrate …Read more

A CIA newbie with orders to remove the Chilean President walks into a bombed out palace. What could go wrong? In Mark Wilding’s delightful comedy Our Man in Santiago, loosely inspired by the Nixon Administration’s failed attempt to remove the Chilean …Read more

Gertrude Stein once said of her own writing: “if you enjoy it, you understand it.” If that’s true, then I suppose I understood My Onliness: a world premiere musical about a mad king and his rebellious subjects. While I’m still parsing its intended me …Read more

The idea of rewriting history to include a much clearer account of what happened and who people were than the one that fits our current preconceptions about the past. The version of history shown in Lavender Men (written by Roger Q. Mason and directe …Read more

Stories have a special power, and they fill an irreplaceable role in human life. Once Upon a (korean) Time, a new play written by Daniel K. Isaac and developed by the Ma-Ti theatre company, focuses on the power of stories to provide both an escape an …Read more

What’s it like to work at a job that’s slowly sucking the life and soul out of you–and is it worth it? That seems to be one of the questions asked by Alexander Perez in his dark comedy Randy’s Dandy Coaster Castle, directed by Rebecca Martinez and p …Read more

There is an element of sincerity which brings an irreplaceable strength to any show–when it’s missing, it is unmistakable. The Inconvenient Miracle, an original musical staged by the Skeleton Rep playing at the Episcopal Actors Guild through August …Read more

Photo by Aaron Cobb Do you believe that a person can be hypnotized? How about 20 people at the same time on a stage in front of an audience? As long as you believe or, at least, accept the premise for the evening, then you are in for an entertaining …Read more

“There’s no reality in which I don’t fall in love with you.” So says a nervous but excited bride on her wedding day, as she and her husband-to-be wait for their civil ceremony. A 10-minute one act, Iphis and Ianthe at the Courthouse is inspired by Ov …Read more

From time to time, a play can take you by surprise. That was the case with Chain Theater’s macbitches, written by Sophie McIntosh and directed by Ella Jane New. While intrigued by the premise—when a freshman lands the coveted role of Lady Macbeth, fo …Read more

Eartha Kitt was described by Orson Welles as “the most exciting woman in the world.” Yet for 10 years, she was blacklisted from work in the United States. Why? Because she spoke her mind in front of Lady Bird Johnson. At a White House women’s luncheo …Read more

  The world premiere of the new musical, “The Butcher Boy”—book, music and lyrics by Asher Muldoon under the direction of Ciarán O’Rerilly—currently runs at the Irish Repertory Theatre down in the Flatiron District. Based on the 1992 novel by Pa …Read more

Often a visit to the theater can be an opportunity for discovery. That’s what happened when I attended a performance of The Butcher Boy at the Irish Repertory Theatre. The musical, based upon the novel by Patrick McCabe features two exciting young ta …Read more

What makes a play queer? Is it simply a queer cast? A queer aesthetic? Or something more? Billed as a queer and gender-blind, abridged and I quote “hilarious version of this beloved classic,” Sister Shakes Productions’ Romeo & Juliet (presented b …Read more

A year ago, I had the opportunity to review Alexander Perez’s dark comedy Randy’s Dandy Coaster Castle, which follows a team of overworked, underpaid employees at a rundown amusement park already in its death throes. Then playing at IRT, the producti …Read more

Despite its charms, and there are many, the new musical “BetweenThe Lines” at the Tony Kiser Theater is a show in search of a target audience. Based upon a young adult novel by best-selling author Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer, the …Read more

Scene: the Sakha Republic, Siberia. Some time in the future, a genetically engineered mammelephant (half mammoth, half elephant) has an existential crisis in a man-made park created to solve climate change. That’s more or less the entire plot of Lanx …Read more

Kathy Ng’s Happy Life, directed by Kat Yen at Walkerspace, is not a show for everyone. Nor is it a show for the faint of heart. But if kinky, morbid humor is your thing, well guess what, it’s your lucky day, because this is a kinky, violent, tentacle …Read more

photo by Joan Marcus Adapting a beloved bestselling book into a Broadway show is not without its challenges. While the show has name recognition and is sure to attract loyal readers, it also creates expectations-sometimes unreasonable. The novel, The …Read more

Priyanka Shetty’s play The Elephant in the Room (TEITR), playing at 59E59 until July 24, explores the challenges of diversity while rooting them in the shared identity of human experience. Elephant comes highly recommended, having won Broadway World …Read more

photo by Matt Murphy Sometimes those of us not easily impressed can be impressed. So it is with Into The Woods, now at the St. James Theater. The revival marks a return to the original, following a previous sanitized revival and a fluffy film. This i …Read more

Photo by Joan Marcus Free Shakespeare in the Park is quintessential New York. If you are lucky enough to score the free tickets and it’s a gorgeous evening, theater doesn’t get any better. This summer the Public Theater is offering two productions, o …Read more

What? Another show about a moody, overweight, young Black man with family issues? Like “A Strange Loop,” “Fat Ham” hasan endearing young main character. But “Fat Ham” delivers much more. Preparing for a family barbecue celebrating the marriage of his …Read more

Classics remain classics because they speak to us-no matter when they were written or where they are set. In a newly-imagined version of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” a family remains stuck in the past. Soon their beloved home and cherry orchard wi …Read more

10-year-old Sarah Silverman has one big, big problem. Well, to be honest, she has more than one problem. Her parents are newly divorced, her mother hasn’t left her bed in weeks, and her older sister won’t even acknowledge her at school. But Sarah, a …Read more

by Joan Marcus There’s something to be said for star power filling theater seats. Despite some tepid reviews for the latest version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Longacre Theatre was filled. And why not? It stars Daniel Craig (the most recent James B …Read more

I’ve seen some weird stuff lately, but I’m very glad I took a chance on French playwright/director David Lescot’s Dough. A Compagnie du Kairos production presented by Villa Albertine and the New Ohio Theatre (which is where it’s staged), it’s a smart …Read more