New York

A VICTORY LAUGH Purlie Victorious, written by the late Ossie Davis, is a brilliant, funny, moving play that premiered on Broadway in 1961, with Mr. Davis in the title role. The initial production was a hit that ran for 261 performances before touring nationally (the 1970 musicalized version, Purlie, largely utilizing Davis’s play, ran for…

UNIQUE, DELICIOUS, ENTERTAINING, MAGICAL No matter how many times illusionists deceive our eyes and mentalists read our minds, we are always amazed by their feats. This is certainly true of Scott Silven, whose performances are especially stylish and smart. This fall for a limited run, Silven’s At the Illusionist’s Table returns for the fifth time…

A VICTORIOUS ROMP In Ossie Davis’s 1961 play Purlie Victorious: A Non-Confederate Romp Through the Cotton Patch–which opened last night at The Music Box Theatre–all the black residents of contemporary Cotchipee county, Georgia, work on Ol’ Cap’n Cotchipee’s (Jay O. Sanders) cotton plantation. They live on his land, in shacks that he owns, and owe…

THE CUBAN THEATRICAL PHENOMENON OF THE LAST DECADE ARRIVES IN NYC One of my favorite places to see plays in NYC is also NYC’s most prominent Latino theatre companies: Repertorio Espaí±ol. Performed in Spanish with easy-to-read supertitles in English, the plays are always original and thrilling. Now comes Farándula, which will premiere September 28–October 1,…

Rip Tide Axis Theatre Company Axis Theatre, 1 Sheridan Square runs October 4–28, 2023; Wed-Sat at 8 for tickets (free-$40), visit Axis Directed by Axis Theatre Company founder Randall Sharp, Rip Tide, a new play written and performed by Edgar Oliver, takes audiences back to where it all began for the New York City icon….

INFINITE PLAYWRITING Co-produced by Atlantic Theater Company and National Theatre, the one-hour and 45-minute production (no intermission) is Annie Baker’s best play to date. At least from my past three experiences of the admired Circle Mirror Transformation, The Flick, and John. The play is set two hours north of San Francisco. The set design by…

GREAT STUFF IS COOKING IN THIS KITCHEN The world premiere of new coming-of-age musical, HELL’S KITCHEN, with music and lyrics by New York’s own 15-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys and playwright Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety), now in previews at The Public Theater with the official opening on November 19, 2023….

A FRANK PORTRAYAL Perhaps the most famous quote from Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl is “Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart.” However, these words were written before the Frank family was discovered in the secret annex and sent to concentration camps. Would Anne have had the same sentiments…

AN INTRUSIVE NEW MUSICAL Presented by Howard Alter and Tom Giachetti of Gotta Believe Theater Group, Relapse: A New Musical by J. Giachetti (Book and Lyrics) and Louis Josephson (Music and Additional Lyrics) opened last night at Theatre Row for a limited three week run. Sheryl Liu‘s set has six blue chairs in a semi-circle,…

“LET YOUR INDULGENCE SET ME FREE” At the curtain speech on the curtain-less stage of the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, just before the start of the Public Works’  rousing new adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, Program Director Laurie Woolery tells the audience that one reason for doing the show is, “…we’ve all been living in…

A SHARK HAS TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD, OR ELSE IT DIES — WHAT WE HAVE ON OUR HANDS HERE IS A LIVING SHARK Stories abound about the problem-plagued production of Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster Jaws, a thriller about a 25-foot-long great white shark that eats unsuspecting swimmers around the (fictional) island of Amity, New York,…