It’s the holiday season, as the classic song goes, and acclaimed recording artist Liam Forde is marking the festive occasion with a snazzy jazzy arrangement of that very number, now available off the Ballyhoo Music label. An accomplished artist of ma …Read more

Should you talk to your plants? Science shows that the sound of a human voice helps them grow. It’s also therapeutic for the gardener. In “The Gardens of Anuncia” at Lincoln Center Theater, the gardener is the Older Anuncia (award-winning performer P …Read more

Who was Johannes Gutenberg? We all know him as the inventor of the printing press which enabled more people to learn how to read.In the musical “Gutenberg,” playwrights Doug (Andrew Rannells) and Bud (Josh Gad) have collaborated to write a musical ab …Read more

The spirited Birdland host and performer shares his fave food spot in the Theatre District ahead of his holly jolly holiday concert at the jazz venue.  Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and his clan o …Read more

When we become part of an audience, we bring more than our physical selves to the theater. We bring our experiences, our attitudes and even our prejudices. When I attended the matinee of “How to Dance in Ohio ” at the Belasco Theatre, I went as a cr …Read more

On the surface, Ali, the main character in the new show “Hell’s Kitchen” at The Public Theater directed by Michael Greif, is a typical 17 year old girl with an easily relatable problem. She’s interested in an attractive young man but her overly-prote …Read more

The theatrical jack-of-all-trades picks his fave food spots in the Theatre District ahead of a fun and festive evening of entertainment at Chelsea Table + Stage. Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and …Read more

At the “Mind Mangler: A Night of Tragic Illusion,” I hoped to be amused as well as amazed. After all, the show at New World Stages is a Mischief Production, the group that produced “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Magic Goes Wrong,” and “Peter Pan Goes W …Read more

The singing actress picks her fave food spots in the Theatre District ahead of her acclaimed evening of cabaret at the Green Room 42. Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and his clan of orphan boys, we’ …Read more

Even before we found our seats at the St James Theater, it was easy to gauge the emotions of the audience. Its mood was downright giddy. With so much tension and anger in the world today, everyone needed a good laugh to escape the news of the world. …Read more

It ‘s hard to enjoy a musical when you can’t root for the main character. Although he is attractive and good to his mother, Harry Bogen (well-played by Santino Fonana,) is an opportunist, a heel and an embezzler. The protagonist in the CSC revival of …Read more

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure and that adage has never proven as true as in Theresa Rebeck’s new play “I Need That” in Roundabout Theatre Company’s production at American Airlines Theatre. Sam (well-played by Danny DeVito) is a 70 year ol …Read more

“The Right to Cabaret” at The Green Room 42 on November 4th, 2023, was a delightful and captivating cabaret experience that left the audience thoroughly entertained and engaged. This unique show showcased a talented ensemble of performers, including …Read more

When I first saw “Here Lies Love” in 2013 at the Public Theater, I was one of several people who stood on the theater floor and moved around, viewing the show and walking around as the ushers directed us. At the revival at the Broadway Theatre, I cho …Read more

21st-Century Answer to It’s a Wonderful Life Boasts Two Real-World  “Angels:” Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Jai Rodriguez in Season 3 of  Around the Sun  Frank Capra, meet Jonathan Larson. You two have more in common than you might think.  In a surpris …Read more

photo by Liz Lauren The title of Rebeca Gilman’s latest play, “Swing State,” suggests that it deals with politics. Although it is set in Wisconsin, which is a swing state, the different ideologies held by the two older characters are less important t …Read more

So much has been written about Shakespeare over the years that it’s a challenge to find a novel approach to discuss his work. Yet actor Patrick Page (“Hadestown,” “Spider-man Turn Off the Dark”) has done just that by examining the bard’s work through …Read more

photo by Matthew Murphy Getting married and becoming an American citizen are two events in Jaja’s life. However, “Jaja’s African Hair Braiding” by Jocelyn Bion is more universal than that. It’s about sisterhood and a group of women connected by their …Read more

It’s been over 60 years since “Purlie Victorious” played on Broadway. Written by actor Ossie Davis and premiering in 1961, the play feels as relevant as when it first opened. Deftly directed by Kenny Leon, the play reminds us that despite advances, s …Read more

The name Dracula always evokes iconic images of the fang-baring scary creature dressed in black. Think Bela Lugosi. Or the Count. Or even the incredibly sensual heartthrob portrayal by Frank Langella. In the most recent take-off, “Dracula, a Comedy o …Read more

The Off-Broadway show Pay The Writer at The Pershing Square Signature Center asks what it costs a writer to pursue his art. It focuses on Cyrus Holt (Ron Canada,) a celebrated author coming to terms with the end of his life. Holt has sacrificed all h …Read more

Photo by Hugo Glendinning Broadway tickets can be expensive, especially for musicals. But you really get your money’s worth when you attend “Back to the Future:The Musical.” It’s got glitter, bubbles, dancing girls and even a flying car! Yet sometime …Read more

It’s been almost 50 years since the release of the movie Jaws. Directed by Steven Spielberg in 1975, it was based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley and starred Roy Scheider as a police chief who, with a marine biologist (played by Richard Dreyfuss) …Read more

In hindsight, a show about a group of friends in NYC slowly breaking up may not have been the best thing for me to watch just a couple weeks before moving away from the city. I left David Rosenberg’s funny, thoughtful play What Else Is True? with pow …Read more

photo by Joan Marcus If you don’t keep your eyes fixed on the stage at The Hayes Theater at all times during “The Cottage,” you are likely to miss some of the show’s most humorous moments. That was my problem as I glanced down to take some quick note …Read more

Once upon a time, children were raised on fairy tales where the beautiful princess waited to be rescued by the valiant handsome prince. Today those stories have been changed to reflect a different attitude about gender and relationships. No more the …Read more

I’m a sucker for a good ghost story. When that ghost story happens to include gorgeous folk harmonies, graceful black box intimacy, and an elusive yet inescapable meaning, consider me sold. Beth Golison’s here i fall up, directed by Annabel Heacock a …Read more

Ever heard of Alan Freed? If so, then you might enjoy Rock & Roll Man, the musical at New World Stages. Freed was the risk-taking disc jockey who coined the term “Rock and Roll” but his influence was far greater than that. He introduced Black music t …Read more

It’s no secret that many of the fairytales we know and love today are pretty sexist. Take Sleeping Beauty or Little Red Riding Hood: helpless heroines who need men to save them. In other stories, the women can only redeem the men through their own sa …Read more

photo by Ahron R. Foster Based upon the 1962 movie starring Jack Lemon and Lee Remick, Days of Wine and Roses is now a musical at Atlantic Theater Company, starring the divine Kelli O’Hara and talented Brian d’Arcy James. Generally, I would encourage …Read more