What does it mean to be a Jew today? That’s the main question asked in Michael Takiff’s clever if convoluted solo show Jews, God, and History (Not Necessarily in That Order), currently playing The Siggy Theater at The Flea. In a series of dizzyingly …Read more
“Poetry is what gets lost in translation,” said Robert Frost. And after watching Anchuli Felicia King’s engrossing and poetic Golden Shield, I’m inclined to add “as is love.” Directed by May Adrales at New York City Center, the Manhattan Theatre Club …Read more
Once upon a time there was a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan called The Five Points. For over 70 years, it was a crowded slum, populated mostly by newly -freed slaves and ethnic Irish. Although there was much tension, historically the area is conside …Read more
A female press secretary, a female chief of staff, a first lady and several female assistants but even all of them together can’t keep the hapless president from occasionally opening his mouth and putting his foot in it or insulting foreign dignitari …Read more
“I want to write something so Black that God can’t ignore me.” Playwright and performer Kareem M. Lucas speaks these words while standing on a huge wooden cross enshrined in a massive gold frame. The play is iNegro, a rhapsody, directed by Zoey Marti …Read more
From time to time, to quote my favorite song from Dear Evan Hansen, “words fail.” At the moment, words fail as I search for a way to describe (and adequately praise) a show whose gentle beauty and emotional force defy description, and which, ironical …Read more
Black comedy, or gallows humor, is a style of story telling that makes light of subject matter usually considered somewhat taboo, like death, suicide and disease. Either term applies to Martin McDonagh’s latest play, “Hangmen.” Harry, the main charac …Read more
“Whether on stage in front of an audience, or over the phone to a friend – we need to tell our stories. When we tell our stories, we give others permission to do the same. This is how we break the stigma.” So says Adina Taubman in the program note fo …Read more
Mary Todd Lincoln: misunderstood First Lady, bereft mother, obsessive widow–and now, the unlikely subject of a trippy piece of experimental theatre. In american vicarious’ new work Shooting Celebrities, written by John Ransom Phillips and directed b …Read more
Playwright Adam Kraar is interested in cross-cultural, cross-generational stories. His latest work, The Karpovsky Variations, follows one young woman’s search for her scattered, elusive family. Set in airport lounges over two decades, it’s a play abo …Read more
“The Minutes” Playwright Tracy Letts possesses the extraordinary ability to lull an audience into expecting something dry and ordinary but then making it explosive. Teaming up again with Anna D. Shapiro, his director for “August: Osage County,” Letts …Read more
Food is often the centerpiece of family holidays and celebrations. In “Birthday Candles”, the new play presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre, the special food is a traditional birthday cake. It’s recipe has been …Read more
Photo by Julieta Cervantes When TV’s Murphy Brown was mocking singer Barry Manilow, I was buying his albums and attending his concerts. I was unabashedly a Fanilow. So I looked forward to “Harmony,” the musical that Manilow wrote with Barry Sussman, …Read more
I was hooked from the title. As someone who loves folk music and was largely raised on “songs about trains,” I was pretty sure I was going to love it before I even stepped into the theatre: a darkened auditorium with hanging lights, antique-looking c …Read more
As the late, great Gypsy Rose Lee once said, “If you beg for more, I’ll give it to you!” Well, we begged… and they obliged: Broadway’s Masked Singer is back to entertain us for another night! Following last week’s untimely unmasking of the boozy bunn …Read more
What a quandary! There was a new show to review, but it was opening night for my favorite baseball team. Which one should I choose? The theater won this time. A timely revival of Richard Geenberg’s insightful play, Take Me Out deals with all the curr …Read more
When we see married actor couples working together on stage, we feel a special connection. It’s as if we are in on the joke. We expect chemistry and smile when they kiss and caress because we believe the gestures are honest. It’s even more satisfying …Read more
Much has been written (and, especially lately, staged) about marginalized people’s troubled relationships with the non-marginalized. But what about the relationships of different marginalized groups with each other? When a young Chinese immigrant fal …Read more
Take Shape, Broken Box Mime Theater’s newest devised show, explores ten stories about emergence and transformation. It’s the company’s first Mainstage show in three years, and to celebrate this momentous occasion, we spoke with Artistic Director Beck …Read more
Women have really been getting screwed over from the beginning. That was one of my takeaways from #SoSadSoSexy, presented by Tapestry Collective at The Tank. Written and created by Emily Cordes, Alison Leaf, and Kendra Augustin, and directed by Simha …Read more
Looks like the whale was good on his word! Just as the melodious mammal indicated in his crown-clinching showstopper, the smash-hit Broadway guessing game that constantly kept us on our toes last Spring is finally back in all its glitzy glory for ano …Read more
If you’re a Shakespeare aficionado who wants to laugh out loud for two hours straight and doesn’t mind a touch of bawdy humor, then Jane Anger is for you. The Jennifer Campos Production, currently playing at the New Ohio Theatre, reimagines what migh …Read more
In my experience, any production that includes Steve Earle on its creative team is sure to have at least a few good things going for it. In the case of Coal Country, Audible Theater’s new limited engagement of The Public Theater production at Cherry …Read more
When was the last time you smiled for two hours? Were you wearing a mask? Under their masks, audiences at the Winter Garden Theater are grinning broadly eight times a week. Despite any criticism you’ve heard about the lack of innovation or creativity …Read more
In Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley at A.R.T./New York South Oxford Space, the american vicarious recreates the famous event word for word, with Teagle F. Bougere as Baldwin and Eric T. Miller as Buckley. (Christopher McElroen directs.) The debate may be …Read more
For many audiences, Phylicia Rashad will always be the elegant unflappable TV wife/mother/lawyer in The Cosby Show. She came into their homes every Thursday like a welcome friend. After the conclusion of her television stint, Rashad went on to appear …Read more
Highly recommended by the editors at StageBuddy! – Don’t miss an exciting show this coming Sunday, February 28th at 930pm. StageBuddy says “Go out and see” Kim David Smith’s return to Joe’s Pub as he performs live and records a new live-album record …Read more
Lynn Nottage must be the hardest-working playwright in New York, having written three shows for the Fall 2022 season. First was Clyde, a terrific show about ex-convicts and second chances. Due to covid and despite great reviews, the play closed early …Read more
Living in Harlem definitely has its benefits. Recently, it meant that I could walk a few blocks from my apartment to the small but significant cultural treasure that is the Harlem Stage Gatehouse, spend a couple hours jiving with Pedrito Martinez and …Read more
A viewer should be prepared for intense theater when attending a Eugene O’Neill play. If the show is “Long Day’s Journey into Night,” she should be ready for a lengthy assault on her emotions. The original show ran close to four hours and had three i …Read more
