New York

A WIND BLOWS THROUGH IT In 1949, after the Moscow State Jewish Theater was closed, members of Stalin’s secret police were busy burning down stage sets, props, costumes and books. The head of the theater, Solomon Mikhoels, did not live to see that day. His life was extinguished a year earlier. He didn’t witness the…

QUE SERí,  SERí Those of us of a certain age may remember the now classic opening credits of the popular, seventies, television sitcom The Odd Couple.   Right before the catchy theme music would commence, a deep voiced announcer would state the show’s simple premise, “Can two divorced men share an apartment – without driving each other…

SARA BAREILLES, BRIAN D’ARCY JAMES, PATINA MILLER, PHILLIPA SOO, GAVIN CREEL, JOSHUA HENRY TO STAR The critically acclaimed New York City Center Encores! production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s  Into the Woods will transfer to Broadway this summer, for a strictly limited eight-week engagement at the St. James Theatre beginning Tuesday, June 28. Tickets now…

WHAT A PIECE OF WORK IS FAT HAM The Father/Son relationship can often be difficult. It can be hard even when the father and son like, let alone love, each other. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the young prince is so enamored of his recently deceased father, King Hamlet, he refers to him as a “Hyperion.” In…

DOES GOD MAKE A CASE? I liked Samuel D. Hunter‘s A Case for the Existence of God. I didn’t love it, just liked it. Admittedly, I’m in the minority opinion on this one, as many people unabashedly love this well-executed production, currently performing at Signature Theater. Of course, what I like or love is immaterial…

SHOW-SCORE & TODAYTIX TO PARTNER WITH THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND ON ‘PREDICT THE TONYS’ The Entertainment Community Fund  (formerly  The Actors Fund), alongside  Show-Score  and  TodayTix, announced today that they have partnered to celebrate theater’s biggest night and benefit the programs and services of the Fund. TodayTix and Show-Score’s newly launched  “Predict the Tonys”  experience invites theater lovers to cast votes for…

Follow the Drama Desk Awards at Drama Desk and @DramaDeskAwards on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for updates 2022 DRAMA DESK NOMINATIONS: (click links for Stage and Cinema reviews) Outstanding Play Cullud Wattah, by Erika Dickerson-Despenza, The Public Theater English, by Sanaz Toossi, Atlantic Theater Company Prayer for the French Republic, by Joshua Harmon, Manhattan Theatre…

LIKE A ROLLING STONE I imagine that some time back, the Theater Gods were sitting around talking. They had the idea to collaborate on a stupendous theatrical event. They thought to combine the best of film, stage and television production techniques with flawless acting, inspired direction, artful lighting and brilliant sound — all in support…

ANY WAY IS THE BEST WAY: JUST FIND YOUR WAY TO WHICH WAY TO THE STAGE Lick this play, lick its playwright Ana Nogueira, its director Mike Donahue, its cast and designers, and while you’re at it, lick MCC for this first-rate production. Ignore the Idina Menzel pre-show showtunes blasted so loudly that conversations were…

PLENTY OF RAINBOW BUT LITTLE COLOR In feminist Ntozake Shange‘s 1976 “choreopoem” (a term coined by the late playwright), the experiences of Black women in America are transformed into poetry, music, and choreography. Seven ladies in rainbow colors (Lady in Blue, Lady in Green, etc.) tell stories about joyful sexual awakening, but also about rape;…

NOT ONLY SHOULD THESE ACTORS BE ON BROADWAY, THEY CAN BE HEARD ON BROADWAY The faces of the actors featured in J.M. Synge’s two one-act plays at the reputable Irish Repertory Theatre are a delight to watch. With Artistic Director Charlotte Moore at the helm, her cast brings to life the rarely seen The Tinker’s…

AS  ¡AMERICANO! AS APPLE PIE The Merriam-Webster dictionary (remember dictionaries?) lists two definitions for the word dreamer. The first is simply “one that dreams.” The second definition is “a person living in the United States without legal status who arrived as the child of someone who did not have the documentation required for legal entry…

FINALLY IN THE LOOP A Strange Loop, the new Broadway musical that currently towers above the rest, is a Brilliant show. With book, music and lyrics by Michael R. Jackson, this Brilliant show is also a Personal show. And a Troubling show. And a Pulitzer Prize-winning show. And a Thoughtful show. And a Silly show….

WALTZING AROUND AUNT SUSAN Aunt Susan & Her Tennessee Waltz by Toby Armour is one play in two acts that feels more like two, one-act plays on the same bill. The acts have little in common, other than being dramatizations of two early champions of Women’s Suffrage – Susan B. Anthony and Carrie Chapman Catt….