On April 1st, 2024, 7pm – for one night only – singer/actress Linda Purl and Music Director Tedd Firth will join forces at Birdland with internationally acclaimed DIVA Jazz Orchestra (A 15 piece orchestra), for a celebration of some of the extraordin …Read more
“I believe I’m ultimately telling a story of hope…That’s what the Beat Generation was about.” Such is the way playwright Justin Elizabeth Sayre describes their solo show, My Beatnik Youth, now running at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club through Ma …Read more
The latest musical by Jason Robert Brown about working and fact-checking is set at a famous New York magazine in the late 1990’s before the term “fake news” became so popular. Those of us who have worked in newspapers and magazines will feel an immed …Read more
The cabaret regular picks his fave food spots in the city ahead of his anticipated return to Chelsea Table + Stage. Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and his clan of orphan boys, we’ve all fallen into …Read more
There’s a scene in a dark version of Cinderella where the stepsisters, anxious to make the glass slipper fit, cut off their own toes. They will do anything they can to cram their feet in – whether the shoe fits or not. That’s a problem with many juke …Read more
Who is Jonah? Is he the awkward, bumbling sweet young man infatuated with Ana (Gabby Beans) or is he symbolic of something more? During the first part of the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of “Jonah,” I was charmed by him (newcomer Hagan Oli …Read more
Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and his clan of orphan boys, we’ve all fallen into a daze dreaming of “food, glorious food” at one point or another. After all, it’s been said that food is the great …Read more
Towards the end of “A Prayer for The French Republic,” the latest play by Josh Harmon, Grandpa Pierre (played by Richard Masur) asks his family “Why do they hate us?” Then follows a lengthy series of one-liners as each of the family enumerates reason …Read more
Every family has its baggage but the Layayette family seems to have more than most. Secrets, resentment, and anger all surface with the death of the patriarch of the family as the three siblings, Toni, Beau and Frank, converge over a long weekend in …Read more
It’s the 1950’s, and the Cuban revolution is heating up outside, but the music inside the Buena Vista Social Club is even hotter. While the social club is defunct, the Cuban music remains. The performance of Buena Vista Social Club at the Linda Gross …Read more
I saw three shows during my busman’s holiday in London over Martin Luther King weekend. Of the three, the most ‘English’ was Operation Mincemeat, an uproarious musical satire based upon an actual event from World War II. In an attempt to divert a Naz …Read more
How does a musical that is quintessentially New York distinguish itself in London? Especially when it is a classic show that premiered in 1950. How can it be mounted to make it unique and appealing? The answer is simple: Immersion theater. Allow hund …Read more
On the recent three day MLK weekend, I took a busman’s holiday, flew to London and attended several shows. The first one I saw was The Motive and the Cue, presented by the National Theatre. The plot is based upon an actual event, the production of Ha …Read more
Ernie’s Secret Life, playing downtown at the wonderful Dixon Place Theater, features actor Carlo Adinolfi as Ernie, a man fraught with the fear that his son might be missing. He is a character very reminiscent of Don Quixote, seeing the world throug …Read more
The rising composer/lyricist picks his fave food spots in the Theatre District ahead of his showcase of self-penned work at Chelsea Table + Stage. Though we understand their circumstances may have been a bit different, like Oliver and his clan of orp …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
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