For most writers, there is much catharsis in storytelling. In the case of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s novella The Gambler, the real-life roulette addict wrote with considerable knowledge about a fictional roulette addict. The novel’s true purpose however, i …Read more
Recently, I had the pleasure of talking about the new play I and You by Lauren Gunderson, having its New York premiere Off Broadway at 59E59, and the process of developing new work with theater director Sean Daniels. A few days later, I had the good …Read more
There are two major psychological forces at play in Chris Thorpe and Rachel Chavkin’s theater cum performance art piece Confirmation, which took place at the Invisible Dog Art Center in Boerum Hill as a part of New York City’s annual Coil Festival, a …Read more
The classic operatic double feature, Cavalleria Rusticana (Rustic chivalry) and Pagliacci (the clowns) is almost as sure as La Bohème to please Italian opera fans and newcomers alike. In fact, each of these short operas is almost never performed with …Read more
An exuberant play written and performed by Frank Boyd, The Holler Sessions, part of Performance Space 122’s Coil festival, brings jazz and Village charm to the forefront. From his cramped studio in Kansas City, the wiry, frenetic Boyd shares a loving …Read more
Invigorating fun best describes an early Sunday afternoon conversation with theater director Sean Daniels in the empty 59E59 theater, where Friday night I’d just seen the first preview of Lauren Gunderson’s stunning two hander I and You, a tour de fo …Read more
As much as we may love them, the julep-drenched eccentricities of Tennessee Williams’ plays have always cried out to be burlesqued. I have fond memories of a hilarious parody called Swan, presented decades ago on the campus of San Francisco State Uni …Read more
Four friends become entangled in a game of deception and seduction in Brendan Gall’s Wide Awake Hearts, an erotically charged work making its New York City debut at 59E59. Two actors, a director, and an editor working together on a movie, fail to see …Read more
A writer, activist and co-founder of Open Clasp Theatre Company, Catrina McHugh has been working for decades to bring the voices of women who need to be heard the most to audiences and communities throughout the United Kingdom. After winning the 2015 …Read more
“Alive and Kicking!” could be a theme of the APAP (Association of Performing Arts Presenters) conference and its closing speaker: Rita Moreno, 84-year-old multi-award winning performer (including the Oscar for the role of Anita in the film West Side …Read more
