All stories by Ron Cohen on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, September 27, 2022

The Reader’s guide to World Music Festival Chicago 2022 by Philip Montoro, Leslie Allison, Leor Galil, Aaron Cohen, Jamie Ludwig, Sandra Treviño, Catalina Maria Johnson, Monica Kendrick, Joshua Minsoo Kim, James Porter, Hannah Edgar, Steve Krakow, Bill Meyer, Jacob Arnold, Noah Berlatsky, Kelley Tatro and Mark G

The term “world music” has never been adequate to the task we’ve set it—even in its most benign reading, it implies a division between the listener and the rest of […] The post The…

SOURCE: chicagoreader.com at 09:15PM
Monday, September 26, 2016

Kim Maresca: It’s My Party and I’ll Belt If I Want To! at Feinstein’s/54 Below by Ron Cohen

Should Maresca’s Broadway dreams come true, Broadway would only be richer for it.

SOURCE: theaterscene.com at 04:11PM
Monday, May 25, 2015

NY Review: 'Puss in Boots (El Gato Con Botas)' by Ron Cohen

The music is admirable, but a cadre of amazing puppets make this elaborate chamber opera production totally irresistible.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

The History of War by Ron Cohen

This anti-war musical doesn't score total victory, but it wins many skirmishes.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Friends by Ron Cohen

Senior citizens certainly have a right to romp around in romantic comedy, but they can use more verve and freshness than this middling script offers.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Futura by Ron Cohen

If you're interested in typefaces, you'll love the start of this show, but the rest of Jordan Harrison's dystopian tale could use some redesigning.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Pieces by Ron Cohen

The tension peters out fast in this story of two spooky little orphans and their hapless overseer, but the performances bring the two kids vividly to life.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

An Impending Rupture of the Belly by Ron Cohen

Matt Pelfrey's tightly written drama works as a metaphor for today's bellicose political climate, but Joe Tantalo's expressionistic staging undercuts its emotional effectiveness.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

With Aaron's Arms Around Me and The Mire by Ron Cohen

The groundbreaking Negro Ensemble Company hits a pothole with this vapid double bill dealing ineffectually with the theme of bigotry.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

H.G. Wells' The Time Machine by Ron Cohen

Vocal pyrotechnics and a deft script make for a lively retelling, framed in an old-time radio format, of this classic science-fiction tale.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Men Go Down: Part 3: Black Recollections by Ron Cohen

Writer-director John Jahnke's visually arresting but dramatically obscure accounting of the story of a minor figure in Greek mythology is mostly concerned with sex and spectacle.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

How I Fell in Love by Ron Cohen

Charm, smarts, and delightful performances make the familiar terrain traveled by this romantic comedy seem suddenly fresh.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

40 Weeks by Ron Cohen

Budding playwright Michael Henry Harris doesn't give birth to a championin this play about pregnancy and other marital pressures, but theproduct has promise.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM
Monday, August 13, 2012

NY Review: 'Right on Target' by Ron Cohen

There's a lot of plot but little hilarity in Gary Morgenstein's "Right on Target," a Fringe political comedy about a mixed-race couple in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE: Backstage at 04:58AM
Saturday, August 11, 2012

NY Review: '2 Households, 2 Assholes: Shakespeare's R+J' by Ron Cohen

Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" gets a crackling airing in this Fringe show as two terrific actors take on all the characters in a fast-moving hour.

SOURCE: Backstage at 11:12AM

NY Review: 'Canon in D Minor' by Ron Cohen

Jessica Liadsky's "Canon in D Minor," a Fringe entry, overflows with emotion, with three actors playing one grieving heroine, but is nevertheless affecting.

SOURCE: Backstage at 10:52AM

NY Review: 'An Evening With Kirk Douglas' by Ron Cohen

The title of this Fringe show is "An Evening With Kirk Douglas," but the character serves as little more than a plot point for some very uneven comedy.

SOURCE: Backstage at 10:46AM
Tuesday, July 31, 2012

NY Review: 'Le Cabaret Grimm' by Ron Cohen

his New York Musical Theatre Festival offering has beguiling elements, but the fairy tale "Le Cabaret Grimm" spins is distressingly inane.

SOURCE: Backstage at 01:09AM

NY Review: 'The Groove Factory' by Ron Cohen

"The Groove Factory," at NYMF, dredges up with little charm the last days of disco as the titular club celebrates the threatening Y2KNew Year's Eve in 1999.

SOURCE: Backstage at 01:06AM
Tuesday, July 24, 2012

NY Review: 'Uncle Vanya' by Ron Cohen

This rendering of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," from Australia's Sydney Theatre Company, starring Cate Blanchett, is a clear triumph for Lincoln Center Festival.

SOURCE: Backstage at 12:07PM

NY Review: 'Black Milk' by Ron Cohen

"Black Milk," from Palo de Agua and High Stakes Theatre, is the New York debut of acclaimed Russian playwright Vassily Sigarev, but the production falters.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:11AM
Saturday, July 14, 2012

NY Review: 'Arnie the Doughnut' by Ron Cohen

"Arnie the Doughnut" is a well-executed children's musical, but there's not enough magic in this NYMF show to keep its hero from straining credulity.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:55AM
Friday, July 13, 2012

NY Review: 'Flambé Dreams' by Ron Cohen

"Flambé Dreams" is a lighthearted NYMF entry, filled with gags, serviceable music, and a story about a young man's ambition to become a great maitre d'.

SOURCE: Backstage at 01:36AM
Friday, July 6, 2012

NY Review: 'Israel Horovitz One-Acts' by Ron Cohen

The Flea Theater presents new and youthful Ethikos Productions in three short works by veteran dramatist Israel Horovitz, with "Beirut Rocks" the highlight.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:00AM
Sunday, June 24, 2012

NY Review: 'Hamlet' by Ron Cohen

Despite the distractions of Central Park, Boomerang Theater's "Hamlet" is a solid affair, with Zack Calhoon bringing a contemporary freshness to the prince.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:26AM
Thursday, May 31, 2012

NY Review: 'I Am a Tree' by Ron Cohen

A solo show written and performed by Dulcy Rogers, “I Am a Tree,” at the Theatre at St. Clements, registers more forcefully in its acting than its story.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM
Wednesday, May 9, 2012

NY Review: 'Take What Is Yours' by Ron Cohen

“Take What Is Yours,” from Anecdota at 59E59 Theaters, looks at the formidable U.S. suffragette Alice Paul with imaginative daring and poetic storytelling.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:15AM
Wednesday, May 2, 2012

NY Review: 'The Electric Lighthouse' by Ron Cohen

Ed Hime’s “The Electric Lighthouse,” part of the New Play Festival at the Flea Theater, is a glowering comedy-drama about media-obsessed 20-something Brits.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:04AM
Wednesday, April 25, 2012

NY Review: 'Macbeth' by Ron Cohen

Aquila Theatre’s “Macbeth” is a respectable but unsurprising rendering of Shakespeare’s classic, lacking the outsized portraits that elevate the play to tragic stat…

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM
Sunday, April 15, 2012

NY Review: 'The Storm' by Ron Cohen

There's much to admire in Blessed Unrest's experimental production of Aleksandr Ostrovsky's classic drama, at Interart Theater, but also too much technique.

SOURCE: Backstage at 04:00AM
Monday, March 26, 2012

NY Review: 'The Soap Myth' by Ron Cohen

Greg Mullavey stars in National Jewish Theater’s “The Soap Myth,” Jeff Cohen’s Holocaust drama, which has intelligence but seems too much a lecture.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards