New York

A FORGOTTEN CHAMPION RECLAIMED Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival, an annual showcase of contemporary European theater, is unfolding under the banner of Perseverance at Bohemian National Hall—a charming all-purpose venue on the Upper East Side with a pull-out proscenium stage at one end. While the space lends itself well to intimate storytelling, be advised:…

CHEKHOV WITH TEETH For those who’ve never bought the notion that Chekhov’s The Seagull is simply about broken hearts, director Alexander Molochnikov’s take on the play offers a thrilling, subversive vindication. His Seagull: True Story, now showing at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, is no conventional revival. Brilliantly written by Eli Rarey, it is part…

A WELL-INTENTIONED LOOK AT MENTAL ILLNESS Dream Big World Theatre, Inc. opened Gail Kriegel’s Cracked Open tonight at Off-Broadway’s Theatre Row, tackling the complex and often stigmatized subject of mental illness—especially in young adults. The play approaches this sensitive topic with sincerity and directness, portraying the heartbreak and helplessness that can ripple through a family…

GODDESS ISN’T JUST A SHOW, IT’S A CALLING. ANSWER IT. Goddess, which opened at The Public Theater tonight, doesn’t just arrive onstage like any musical—but like a warm and joyful jazz riff. Loosely inspired by the legend of Marimba, the African goddess who turned heartbreak into healing music, it succeeds in blending folklore with funk,…

A SURREAL, SKATER-RAP FEVER DREAM I’m not going to lie—I am not the intended audience for Bowl EP. But make no mistake: this is a well-mounted, undeniably audacious performance that resonated strongly with the younger, hipper crowd around me on opening night. Here’s what I know—and here’s what I saw. Oghenero Gbaje and Essence Lotus…

THE BACCHAE WEAR BRIDAL You remember the Bacchae – don’t you ? –  those wild women of Thebes in Euripides’s ancient drama who, transformed by Dionysus, terrorized Pentheus’s kingdom with their orgiastic violence? Well, they’re back, raging again, in Caitlin Saylor Sterling’s strange and exotic new play at Lincoln Center, Five Models in Ruins, 1981….

GOES FROM A Y2K POP TO GEN ZZZZZZZZ There was a buzz of anticipation in the air as the house lights blacked out at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater—an audible fandom of excitement. Had clips already surfaced on TikTok? Had a cast recording dropped early? Or was it a lure of past performances: America’s…

JOHN PROCTOR GETS CANCELLED In an honors English classroom at a county high school in northeast Georgia, seven juniors are cracking open Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. Mr. Smith (Gabriel Ebert), a charismatic and respected teacher, leads the discussion. He poses a deceptively simple question: “Why are the girls dancing in the woods in the first…

The “J2” in the name J2 Spotlight Theater Company of Manhattan doesn’t refer to descriptions that start with the letter “J,” like “joyful” and “joke-filled,” but it might as well, because their current offering is all that and more. The double dose of J is actually a nod to its co-founder/executive producer, Jim Jimirro, partnered…

MATH APPEAL The Monday Night Musicals series at the intimate Magnet Theater offers a vibrant platform for new work that blends comedic storytelling with musical innovation. Stripped down to the essentials — music, lyrics, and performance — the series feels like both a showcase and a springboard, providing a glimpse of shows that could thrive…

FLESHING IT OUT OF THE PARK The Monday Night Musicals series at the intimate Magnet Theater is serving up a theatrical amusement for those who like their bluegrass pickin’ with a side of post-apocalyptic patriarchy. Produced by Theater of Apes, this one-act musical runs through June on Mondays. The series spotlights new works that blend…

BEYOND THE SEA AND STRAIGHT INTO YOUR HEART Well, ring-a-ding-ding, folks — Broadway’s got itself a bona fide, velvet-voiced heartthrob lighting up Circle in the Square, and his name’s Jonathan Groff. In Just in Time, Groff doesn’t just croon — he glides, he grins, and he’s got more razzle-dazzle than a sock hop under a…

THIS IS HOW GLORY FEELS Here’s an especially poignant and powerful musical about a real episode from the past that finally gains the word “Broadway” to its history exactly 100 years after the actual incidents took place. Its triumphant current incarnation is prominent in the lists of nominees for various theatre awards (including six Tony…