New York

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,…

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),…