New York

EL MAGO POP CUTS THROUGH THE CHEESE WITH AN ASTOUNDING BROADWAY DEBUT At 37, the celebrity illusionist Antonio Diaz, AKA “El Mago Pop,” may or may not be the youngest illusionist to appear on Broadway (the press says he is, but I saw 27-year-old Doug Henning when The Magic Show opened in 1974, and Paul…

GREAT (F.) SCOTT! If you love literature, have fond memories of being read to or of reading to others, and feel, as so many do, that F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby — the story of Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire who dreams of turning back time to regain his first love, Daisy Buchanan —…

A composite play by four playwrights, Mecca Is Burning — which closes Sunday at the Harlem School of the Arts — confronts social and racial themes through the use of protest poetry, dialogue and monologues examining our current social climate from the perspective of four fictional Harlem families. The work was collaboratively written by Cris…

WHILE IT’S BACK TO THE MOVIE MUSICAL, FUTURE IS A PRESENT Ever go on the original Star Tours ride at Disneyland? You’re seated in some kind of space ship/tour bus that is piloted by a loveable but incompetent (of course) robot, who almost crashes the ship at lift-off. Once in space, the ride whisks you…

A DOCTORED PLAY NURSED BY JULIET STEVENSON Robert Icke’s adaptation of Viennese dramatist Arthur Schnitzler’s 1912 play, Professor Bernhardi might have been an interesting, if somewhat confusing, play about a hodgepodge of ideas if not for Juliet Stevenson, who emerges as a majestic and moving presence that presides over the stage like the Colossus of…

Danny DeVito  returns to Roundabout Theatre Company following his Tony Award nominated turn in Arthur Miller’s  The Price, alongside his daughter,  Lucy DeVito, and  Ray Anthony Thomas  in this deeply human new comedy from  Theresa Rebeck. The world premiere of I Need That —  directed by  Moritz von Stuelpnagel — previews on October 3, 2023. The design team includes Alexander Dodge  (Sets),  Tilly Grimes  (Costumes),  Yi Zhao  (Lights),…

Theatre Now New York in association with Team HAB will present a concert of songs from the new musical  Pompeii Rising  August 30th at 7:00 PM at Judson Memorial Church on Washington Square Park, Thompson Street entrance. The evening will also be live streamed. The concert will feature the talents of Heath Saunders (Company), Kristyn Michele (The  Civility  of  Albert  Cashier),…

THE DOCTOR IS IN First and foremost, get your tickets now before this limited run closes on August 19  at the Park Avenue Armory, the preeminent black box theater of NYC. [If you’re not a season ticket holder already, you should be.] Robert Icke writes and directs one of the most relevant plays currently in performance….

I HAVE A HUNCH YOU’LL LOVE THIS Victor Hugo published The Hunchback of Notre Dame, or Notre Dame de Paris in French, in 1831. Since that time the novel about Quasimodo, the hunchback and the much-loved Romani dancer, Esmeralda, has been adapted into silent films, talkies, animated films, television miniseries, plays and operas. In 1998,…

COME UP TO SIGNATURE Arnulfo Maldonado’s scenic design speaks volumes before the play begins. The small front porch of a house is pushed as closed to the audience as possible. Will there even be enough room for a cast of five? The claustrophobia and tension are already mounting. The front walls of the house are…

REDNECKS IN MANHATTAN Manhattan Theatre Club has announced complete casting for the New York premiere of  Poor Yella Rednecks,  written by Qui Nguyen (Revenge Song) and directed by May Adrales (who also directed Nguyen’s  Vietgone  at MTC in 2016). Previews will begin October 10, 2023 ahead of a November 1 opening at New York City Center – Stage I….

TO BE FOR FREE IS A BEAUTY There may be something rotten in the state of Denmark, but there’s something enthralling on the stage at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. In The Public Theater’s latest Free Shakespeare In the Park offering of Hamlet, director Kenny Leon and his superb cast have delivered a riveting…