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Paulanne Simmons
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Cabaret Review: HARLEM HOLIDAYS (Renée Elise Goldsberry for The Classical Theatre of Harlem)
AN INTIMATE HOLIDAY CONCERT Renée Elise Goldsberry does everything joyfully right; And yes, it helps keep The Classical Theatre of Harlem thriving Founded in 1999, The Classical Theatre of Harlem produces two to three shows a year and also conducts extensive educational programs. Since Ty Jones took over as Producing Artistic Director in 2009, the…
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Concert Review: A PLACE CALLED HOME (NY Pops with Megan Hilty and Essential Voices USA)
THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE A PLACE CALLED HOME A late-season course correction that feels like a homecoming Christmastime is filled with traditions. And one of the best ones in New York City is the New York Pops Christmas Concert, when the stage is bathed in rosy light, a wreath hangs from overhead, and the hall…
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Concert Review: CHEYENNE JACKSON (Carnegie Hall Debut / National Tour Launch)
A BROADWAY BARITONE TAKES STOCK A career-spanning concert that blends ambition, gratitude, and sheer vocal muscle When Cheyenne Jackson stepped onto the stage of Carnegie Hall on December 8 and announced, “This is a dream come true in real time,” it didn’t feel like a rehearsed line. It landed as a genuine moment of arrival—one…
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Concert Review: LET’S GET AWAY FROM IT ALL (Michael Feinstein at Carnegie Hall)
NO PLACE LIKE HOME— UNLESS MICHAEL FEINSTEIN TAKES YOU THERE Let’s Get Away From It All proves the Great American Songbook is still first-class travel When Michael Feinstein opened his show Let’s Get Away From It All at Zankel Hall with the question, “Is there anybody that doesn’t want to get away?” the answer came…
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Theater / Restaurant Review: POP UP DINNER THEATER (Barlume Downstairs)
POP-UP, FLOP-DOWN: WHEN DINNER UPSTAGES THE THEATER The foundational idea of Suite 524’s Pop Up Dinner Theater at Barlume Downstairs is solid — four courses from Barlume’s excellent kitchen matched with four one-act plays created for this venue, directed by Michael Domitrovich. The first play is set in the bar, where hors d’oeuvres are served, and…
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Concert Review: SHOSHANA BEAN (Carnegie Hall)
SHOSHANA BEAN’S CARNEGIE DEBUT ROARS TO LIFE From the moment powerhouse singer Shoshana Bean sang her first song to her last goodbye, she commanded the stage and enthralled her audience at Carnegie Hall on November 3, proving that a performer with Broadway credits and recording crowns can also tilt the body of a song until…
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Off-Broadway Review: CIRQUE LE SWING (Immersive Supper Club Experience at Swing 46)
SWING ON IN! If you want to have the time of your life, you can’t do better than get a ticket for Cirque Le Swing, an immersive supper-club experience that combines a three-course dinner, jazz standards and acrobatics for an evening of sizzling entertainment. The audience arrives early for a Happy Hour at the bar….
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Concert Review: FROM STAGE TO SCREEN (The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall)
THE BRIDGE FROM THE GREAT WHITE WAY TO TINSELTOWN AND BACK AGAIN The New York Pops’ concert From Stage to Screen at Carnegie Hall promised a night of crossover magic last Friday—songs that leapt from Broadway to Hollywood and back again—and, under Steven Reineke’s spirited baton, it delivered in Technicolor. The evening’s guest artists, Hugh…
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Off-Broadway Review: HANNAH SENESH (National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene at Theater Row)
People, especially oppressed people, need martyrs. And Jews, although now considered part of the white establishment by some, have been oppressed for centuries. They have found their martyr in Hannah Senesh. She was a Hungarian poet and playwright, one of 37 Jewish volunteers from the Palestine Mandate who were trained by the British during World…
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Theater Review: CROOKED CROSS (Mint Theatre)
THIS GRIPPING PRODUCTION IS A GEM — AND A WARNING Sally Carson began writing Crooked Cross while on vacation in Bavaria. This was in the early 1930s when Hitler was just rising to power. It’s a pity more people didn’t read her book. The novel, and later the play which she adapted from it, are…
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Cabaret Review: WASTED GIRL (Artemisia LeFay at 54 Below)
You might have thought it was the 1920s, and you were in a cabaret in Berlin. But it was really 2025 and you were in 54 Below watching Artemisia LeFay perform her new show, Wasted Girl. A rising star in the cabaret world, thanks to her two past shows, Ghosts of Weimar Past and Phantoms of the…
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Concert Review: FLAMING SEPTEMBER (Justin Vivian Bond at St. Ann & The Holy Trinity Church)
MORE FAITHFULL THAN EVER According to Justin Vivian Bond, thirty-five years ago, upon hearing Marianne Faithfull’s album Blazing Away recorded at St. Ann’s Church in Brooklyn, Viv said, “Someday I’m going to play her.” Then Arts at St. Ann’s moved to DUMBO in 2001 and became St. Ann’s Warehouse. But now, at last, as St….
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Off-Broadway Review: AMAZE (Jamie Allan at New World Stages)
Years ago, all a magician needed was a top hat and a live rabbit. Magic has come a long way. Jamie Allan’s Amaze uses props, videos, projections and cell phones to do exactly what the title of his show predicts. But Allan does much more than simply overwhelm the audience with slights of hand and…
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Cabaret Review: HOT COMBINATION: THE CLIFF EDWARDS / RED NICHOLS PROJECT (Mike Davis, Bryce Edwards@Birdland)
The names Red Nichols and Cliff Edwards may not be recognized by any but a few aficionados of 1920s jazz these days, but after seeing Mike Davis and Bryce Edwards‘ Hot Combination at Birdland, most people will certainly remember their music. Ukulele-toting, mouth-trumpeting Cliff Edwards was one of the era’s most innovative pop vocalists and an early…
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Concert Review: ORRIN EVANS & THE CAPTAIN BLACK BIG BAND (Bryant Park Picnic Performances)
Big band music met experimental jazz when the Grammy Award-nominated Orrin Evans and the Captain Black Big Band took the stage at Bryant Park on Aug. 1. The event was part of Bryant Park Picnic Performances, which brings free music to New York City every summer. The band, which composer, pianist Evans named after his…
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Off-Broadway Review: THE GOSPEL AT COLONUS (Little Island)
BIG GOSPEL ON LITTLE ISLAND Greek religion and Christianity had very different views on the nature of God and salvation, but the current revival of The Gospel at Colonus still manages to turn Little Island into a Pentecostal revival meeting. The show is based on an adaptation of Robert Fitgerald’s version of Sophocles’ Oedipus at…
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Cabaret Review: GEORGE YOUNG: SINGIN’ AND SWINGIN’ (NYC’s 54 Below)
VELVET NOTES AND VINTAGE VIBES Remember when singers had velvety voices and a smooth style? Even those who don’t certainly enjoyed George Young: Singin’ and Swingin’ at 54 Below on June 19. Young has a deep, rich voice well suited to his repertoire, and an easy style that quickly draws you in. Falling on Juneteenth, much…
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Highly Recommended Concerts: PICNIC PERFORMANCES (Bryant Park)
Bryant Park: A Perfect Picnic Performance Playground Whether you live in New York City or you’re visiting, one of the best places to be this summer is Bryant Park. Among the park’s many activities, one of the most outstanding is Bryant Park Picnic Performances, a series of 25 free concerts featuring live music, theater and…
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Concert Review: NEW YORK POPS’ 42ND BIRTHDAY GALA: WORDS AND MUSIC — DIANE WARREN (New York Pops’ 42nd Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall)
Songwriter Diane Warren has won an Honorary Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Her songs have been recorded by the likes of Cher, Celine Dion and Aerosmith. It’s easy to see why she was a fitting honoree for New York Pops’ 42nd Birthday Gala, Words and Music at…
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Broadway Review: STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW (Marquis Theatre)
SPECTACULAR. COMPLICATED. FUN. OVERLONG. DESTINIED TO BE A CULT CLASSIC. STRANGER THINGS HAVE HAPPENED. Having never seen the enormously popular Netflix series Stranger Things, I no doubt missed many references to the source material in the new Broadway prequel, Stranger Things: The First Shadow. But even if I had been a Stranger Things aficionado, the…
Theater Review: EUREKA DAY (Dezart Performs)
by Jason Mannino | January 16, 2026
in Palm Springs
(Coachella Valley), TheaterOff-Broadway Review: THE DISAPPEAR (Minetta Lane Theatre)
by Rob Lester | January 15, 2026
in New York, TheaterTheater Review: YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL 2026 (Pegasus Theatre Chicago)
by Mitchell Oldham | January 14, 2026
in Chicago, TheaterTheater Review: LIBRARY LION (Adam Theater)
by Lynne Weiss | January 13, 2026
in Boston, TheaterTHE ROLE OF FAITH-INSPIRED LITERATURE IN CHILDREN’S STORYTELLING
by Susan Hall | January 13, 2026
in Books, ExtrasBroadway Review: BUG (Manhattan Theatre Club)
by Carol Rocamora | January 12, 2026
in New York, TheaterAudition Announcement: BEACHES, A NEW MUSICAL (Are You a Little Cee-Cee?)
by Connor McCormick | January 12, 2026
in New York, TheaterWILD JOKER CASINO: STRAIGHT TALK FOR AUSSIE PLAYERS
by Aveline MacQuoid | January 12, 2026
in ExtrasAlbum Review: IN HER HANDS (Neave Trio)
by Connor McCormick | January 11, 2026
in Albums
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