New York

A WESTERN WORTH REVISITING The Onomatopoeia Theatre Company, in collaboration with the Gene Frankel Theatre, brings back The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance in a compelling and timely revival. Presented in two acts and running 110 minutes, the production benefits from the intimacy of a theater that seats fewer than 50. The result is a…

JOYFUL, JERKY, AND JUST WHAT OFF-BROADWAY NEEDS There are two powerful reasons to see Bear Grease. First: The deeply felt curtain speech by Henry Cloud Andrade, co-writer/co-creator—with Crystle Lightning—of Bear Grease. With warmth and candor, he begins by gently thanking the audience for not expecting a full Grease revival. More importantly, he shares the staggering context…

HOW LOW CAN YOU GO? Lowcountry, Abby Rosebrock’s new play premiering at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater, arrives with the promise of plunging into the “messy, tangled web of love and identity in the digital age,” but not even a ripple disturbs the surface. Though entrusted to the direction of Jo Bonney, the play…

ELLA STILLER’S DILARIA: A DEBUT IN EXTREMIS Three striking Off-Broadway debuts anchor Dilaria, a sharp, volatile new play by Julia Randall at the DR2—the Daryl Roth Theater’s 99-seat space just off Union Square. All three actors arrive with formal training in acting but have mostly appeared in TV and film since graduating. That cinematic background…

EVERY DOG HAS HIS DAY (AND A DREAM) If you have time off this month and are feeling wanderlust for foreign travel—but your summer budget doesn’t allow for an actual trip around the world—I would like to recommend taking your vacation vicariously by catching Mr. Puppy The Musical a stage production about a globe-trotting dog….

RADIO-ACTIVE SATIRE (WITH SONGS) And now for something completely different. Presented for your amusement is a skillful skewering of the approach to fundraising—or, to put it more plainly, begging for money—in campaigns by public radio stations. These include frequent breaks in programming for on-air speakers’ earnest, self-congratulatory reminders of the uniquely crucial, indispensable value of…

IN THIS BEAUTIFULLY MOODY MAZE, THE LINE BETWEEN ENCHANTMENT AND ENTRAPMENT BLURS I have yet to encounter an immersive theatrical experience that captivates me as deeply as a well-staged play, a beautifully choreographed dance, or a masterfully performed concert. Something always feels off; sometimes, these experiences remind me of poorly designed video games, visually ambitious…

DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE OF RAGE As the inaugural production at the new Studio Seaview (formerly Second Stage on 43rd and 8th), Penelope Skinner’s Angry Alan opened June 11 for a limited run. Starring John Krasinski in a surprisingly intense and layered performance, the 85-minute play initially unfolds as a one-man show—until it isn’t. Krasinski…

MIC DROP IN A MINEFIELD Last night, the Lucille Lortel Theatre unveiled Duke & Roya, a luminous new work by the compelling playwright Charles Randolph-Wright. Under the graceful direction of Warren Adams, this Off-Broadway premiere is rich with soul and poetic rhythm and unfolds like free verse on stage. It’s 2016 and we are in…

HOLY LAND, HOLY LAUGHS Comedy goes a lot of places, and some say a comedian can and should be able to joke about anything. But what if a comedian wants to go to Israel and the Palestinian territories? What if that comedian wants to tell jokes about it? Jon Schnitzer is not the first comedian…