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Kevin Vavasseur
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Broadway Review: SCHOOL GIRLS; OR, THE AFRICAN MEAN GIRLS PLAY (Manhattan Theatre Club / Samuel J. Friedman Theatre)
BEAUTY IS ONLY SKIN DEEP Jocelyn Bioh gives the familiar mean-girl story a funny, painful twist in a terrific Broadway production The “mean girls” trope, that group of popular girls usually led by a demanding, beautiful, powerful yet damaged girl, is at the center of many a successful entertainment. From Heathers to Carrie to Hairspray…
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Off-Broadway Review: ARIAS WITH A TWIST (HERE Arts Center / NYC)
WHEN DREAMS GET A SECOND ACT Nearly two decades later, Joey Arias and Basil Twist’s downtown fantasia returns with its imagination, naughtiness, and joyful strangeness intact Back in 2008, when iPhones were a year old and Instagram might’ve been a cookie mix, Arias With A Twist burst onto the downtown New York theater scene. Part…
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Dance Review: DON QUIXOTE (American Ballet Theatre / Metropolitan Opera House / New York)
VIVA DON QUIXOTE! A joyful production welcomes seasoned ballet lovers and newcomers alike For many people today, going to see a ballet is a fun idea that no longer has the air of distancing class systems and forbidding hierarchy. Gone are the days when prevailing wisdom said classical dance can only truly be appreciated by…
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Theater Review: HENRY VI: A TRILOGY IN TWO PARTS (NAATCO at The Public Theater / New York)
WAR OF THE ROSES, BLOOMING AGAIN Five hours fly by in this gripping, emotionally rich adaptation. William Shakespeare is generally considered one of the greatest playwrights the world has ever known. His plays demonstrate a depth of insight into human psychology, political maneuvering, affairs of the heart, ruthless violence, and the humanity of various social…
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Off-Broadway Review: BLOOMING IN DRY SEASON (Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre & North Carolina Black Repertory Company / WP Theater)
A CALYPSO OF CLASHING DREAMS A richly acted Caribbean family drama flourishes despite a few overgrown passages There’s much that can happen within the confines of a thirty-year marriage. Struggles, triumphs and everything in between that a man and woman can weather, based on their vows before God and their love for each other. It’s…
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Comedy Review: THE ARABISH IMPROV SHOW (The Arabic Theater Company / Balance Arts Center)
LOST IN TRANSLATION? NOT TONIGHT The Arabic Theater Company blends improv chaos, bilingual comedy, and cultural specificity into a fun night of laughs First, take eight appealing actors, all with roots in the Arab world. Add fluency in both English and Arabic. Throw in considerable comedic talent and a desire to “amplify Arab voices” in…
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Off-Broadway Review: RICHARD II (Red Bull Theater at Astor Place Theater)
GLAMOUR BEFORE THE FALL A pansexual Richard II struts through power, pleasure, and ruin in the 1980s In its current staging at the Astor Place Theatre, Red Bull Theater serves up a Richard II for 2025 with lots of flash and style (some over substance). Director Craig Baldwin, who also adapted Shakespeare’s history play, leans…
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Off-Broadway Review: BAT BOY: THE MUSICAL (Encores! at New York City Center)
THIS BAT COMES OUT SWINGING Back in the nineties when tabloids ruled the world, there was one especially erroneous publication: Weekly World News. Presenting stories so outrageously false yet purported to be true, this particular rag was always good for a laugh. One such story that flew from their front page into a bemused pop…
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Film Review: I WAS BORN THIS WAY (directed by Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard)
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CARL BEAN Directors Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard have given the world a much needed uplift in the guise of their fascinating new documentary on the life of Archbishop Carl Bean named, I Was Born This Way. But why is the title reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s mega-hit, “Born This Way?” Because…
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Off-Broadway Review: THE OTHER AMERICANS (Public Theater)
JOHN LEGUIZAMO’S THE OTHER AMERICANS IS RIFE WITH POTENTIAL THAT’S NOT ALWAYS REALIZED — MUCH LIKE THE AMERICAN DREAM ITSELF There are many kinds of Americans. Some were born here. Some emigrated here. Some were forcibly brought here. But whatever the mode of initial arrival, in time, we all eventually become Americans — enamored of…
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Broadway Review: CALL ME IZZY (Studio 54)
SMART SELLS IT Jean Smart is a phenomenal stage actress of great depth and specificity. Not exactly news but since she’s possibly best known as the warm-hearted and slightly naïve “Charlene Stillfield” on the iconic television sitcom Designing Women, it might bear repeating. Currently starring at Studio 54 in the riveting new play Call Me…
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Film Review: I WAS BORN THIS WAY (directed by Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard; World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival)
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO CARL BEAN Directors Daniel Junge and Sam Pollard have given the world a much needed uplift in the guise of their fascinating new documentary on the life of Archbishop Carl Bean named, I Was Born This Way. But why is the title reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s mega-hit, “Born This Way?” Because…
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Off-Broadway Review: CHIAROSCURO: A LIGHT AND DARK SKIN COMEDY (National Black Theatre at The Flea Theater)
COLORISM, CRUISE SHIPS, AND COSMIC RECKONING Black myth meets modern identity in Aishah Rahman’s last work. The glossary page of Britain’s National Gallery website describes the concept chiaroscuro as, “…an Italian term which literally means ‘light-dark’. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling…
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Off-Broadway Review: MINOR•ITY (WP Theater)
GRACE, GRIOTS AND GOODIE BAGS The Baobab tree is an imposing, if unconventional, tree that grows in Africa along the Zambesi River. Also known as The Tree of Life, it seems to rise from the ground upside down, with root-like branches facing the sky. Legend has it that the once magnificent tree grew arrogant and…
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Off-Broadway Review: THE ANTIQUITIES (Playwrights Horizon)
YOU MAY NEVER LOOK AT YOUR LAPTOP THE SAME WAY AGAIN Is Artificial Intelligence, more commonly known as AI, our friend? Does this ubiquitous development make our lives easier, cleaner, more efficient? Or, like Frankenstein’s monster, will this carefully crafted design eventually turn on its creators, causing havoc and terror for human society? This is…
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Broadway Review: ENGLISH (Todd Haimes Theater)
Learning another language is like becoming another person. — Haruki Murakami In 2008 Iran, four very different people struggle to learn a new language—a language that promises new opportunities, both personal and professional. It may not flow as naturally or sound as pleasing as their native Farsi, but that hardly matters. English holds a global…
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Film Review: ROOM TAKEN (directed by TJ O’Grady-Peyton)
MAKE ROOM FOR ROOM TAKEN New to Ireland, a young Nigerian man named Isaac (endearing Gabriel Adewusi) is down on his luck in present day Dublin. Unable to find steady housing, he ends up at a shelter that cannot help him. After another uncomfortable night on the streets, he has a chance encounter at a…
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Off-Broadway Review: BAD KREYÒL (Signature Theatre + Manhattan Theatre Club at at Pershing Square Signature Center)
EVERYTHING KREYÒL IS NEW AGAIN Seemingly caught between differing identities and life paths, Simone is at a crossroads. Half African American and half Haitian, this early thirties, native New Yorker recently left a potentially successful career in finance because it didn’t suit her more humanistic values. Looking to help heal the world and herself, Simone…
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Off-Broadway Review: DRAG: THE MUSICAL (New World Stages)
GET TO THIS MUSICAL ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE TO DRAG YOURSELF It’s campy. It’s trashy. It’s WAAAAY over-the-top. It’s ridiculous. It’s stunning. I’s funny. It’s moving. It’s touching. It’s corny. It’s absurd. It’s heart-warming. It’s loaded with talent. And it’s got original voice-overs from Liza Minnelli (also a producer). In a word, it’s Drag: The…
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Recommended Jazz Concert: IMPROMPTU (Teodora Brody and Stanley Jordan at Carnegie Hall)
On Friday, November 8, 2024 at 7:30pm, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall will host Impromptu, a captivating evening of spontaneous performance featuring the acclaimed Teodora Brody and the renowned American guitarist and pianist Stanley Jordan. For the first time at Carnegie Hall, they will perform an entirely unrehearsed concert, without a setlist or score. This is…
Theater Review: ANY REBELLION OF WILL (Trap Door Theatre in Chicago)
by Croydon Fernandes | October 14, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterOff-Broadway Review: A GHOST IN YOUR EAR (Audible Theater at Minetta Lane Theatre)
by Gregory Bernard | October 14, 2026
in New York, TheaterOpera Review: DON GIOVANNI (Lyric Opera)
by Barnaby Hughes | October 12, 2026
in Chicago, Music, TheaterTheater Review: DRACULA: A COMEDY OF TERRORS (Actors’ Shakespeare Project, Watertown)
by Lynne Weiss | October 11, 2026
in Boston, TheaterOff-Broadway Review: GOOD TIME CHARLIE (The Public Theater)
by Gregory Bernard | October 9, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: VLADIMIR (Shattered Globe Theatre, Chicago)
by Emma S. Rund | October 9, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: AMERICAN RHYTHM (Lamb’s Players Theatre / Coronado)
by Milo Shapiro | October 8, 2026
in San Diego, Theater
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