All articles from Theater Pizzazz
By Alix Cohen Once more unto the breach!* This is the 14th Blue Wave concert raising money for Democratic candidates since 2018. Stephen Hanks, at various times editor, writer, publisher, re…
A chat with Megan Hilty about her new Café Carlyle show and what inspires her about playing at the legendary supper club.
By Alix Cohen Two slight plays- the first more than the second- show Frank Cossa has an ear for naturalistic dialogue. The first features Tom (Riyadh Rollins) waiting impatiently at a café …
A compassionate look at being institutionalized by Alix Cohen
By Alix Cohen Irish Repertory Theatre founders, Charlotte Moore & Ciarán O’Reilly, throw a grand party. At 37, the theater is not only as vibrant and energetic as ever, it still has a…
By Alix Cohen There’s much to recommend The Public Theater’s first production of this Shakespeare classic in 40 years. Firstly, its cast contains stand-outs: Star-crossed lovers, Romeo (…
By Carol Rocamora... History feels alarmingly current in this riveting portrait of political persecution.
By Alix Cohen In October 1989, Donald Smith’s four year-old Mabel Mercer Foundation held its first annual New York Cabaret Convention. The New York Times headline read: Cabaret Convention …
By Carol Rocamora... Kip Williams transforms Genet's dark tale of obsession and revenge into a visually astonishing theatrical experience that blurs the line between stage and screen.
By Walter Murphy... Murder, mistaken motives, and absurd twists fuel this fast-moving improvised homage to Alfred Hitchcock.
By Alix Cohen Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman left one of the most enduring legacies in American songwriting, crafting elegant, emotionally rich lyrics that became part of the cultural fabr…
By Alix Cohen This is hands down the most thrilling dance production to which I’ve ever been treated. In words I’ve rarely written, there’s nothing I would change. Be prepared for hype…
TheaterPizzazz has named author and theater historian Ron Fassler its first Chief Theatre Critic, effective immediately.
By Alix Cohen People become jockeys not because it’s easy, but because they can’t imagine life without horses, competition, and the thrill of the ride. Robert Montano was the short kid p…
Review by Ron Fassler . . . There’s a relatively new theatre space off-Broadway (well, maybe off-off-Broadway, but who defines these things anyway?) and it goes by the moniker East Villa…
Basketball’s loss was musical theatre’s gain when Adrienne Warren switched her professional interest.
By Alix Cohen Imagine, dear reader, a young boy set adrift upon the bustling and often unkind tide of the world, furnished with little more than a hopeful heart and a talent for observing it…
By Alix Cohen Josh (Harrison Bryan) is successively suspended from NYU and kicked out of rehab. He goes on a bender, apparently flies to Miami, then finds himself literally on the ground in …
By Alix Cohen Lucille Carr-Kaffashan is a psychologist. This is a smart show with excellent, often little known song choices that relate to one another. Wise points are well made. The vocali…
By Alix Cohen It takes artistic audacity for a female artist to offer a show of Barbra Streisand material.Though Melissa Errico tells us the evening is an homage– trying to chart the ways …
By Alix Cohen This is a terrific presentation, terrific. Rarely do components come together with such finesse, feeling and craftsmanship. History and tradition provide whole cloth through wh…
Heather Christian's 'Animal Wisdom,' is her profound musical requiem of mourning and expiation in a rich ceremonial tribute to spiritual familial influences.
By Alix Cohen The night before her wedding, Maggie (Quincy Tyler Berstine) almost opted out.Twenty-five years later when her husband dies, she wonders not only whether she loved him, but als…
Brazilian guitarist and composer Yamandu Costa is a seven-string guitar virtuoso. He first studied guitar at age 7 with his father, Algacir Costa, band leader of “Os Fronteiriços,” his …
by Melissa Griegel Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography The 2026 Chita Rivera Awards took place on May18th at NYU Skirball (566 LaGuardia Place off Washington Square Park) recognizing dance…
by Melissa Griegel Photos by Melissa Griegel Photography Prior to the 70th Annual 2026 Drama Desk Awards ceremony at Town Hall on May 17th, 2026,, the nominees walked the red carpet at the A…
By Barbara & Scott Siegel... Some thoughts, this award season, on Masquerade, Schmigadoon!, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, The Lost Boys, Becky Shaw and Titanique.
By Alix Cohen Outside Mullingar is the tale of two lonely souls livin’ side by side on neighboring farms. Anthony Reilly’s a soft, odd sort of man, tangled up in thinkin’ somerthin’s…
By Alix Cohen “If Con Ed could wire KT Sullivan, Manhattan would light up like Christmas. Vibrating even when perched, she might be a humming bird with wing speed too fast to observe. Her …
Review by Ron Fassler . . . In the mid-70s, pop composer Rupert Holmes was doing well writing and performing hits like “Him” and “The Pina Colada Song”, though their success did ha…
By Alix Cohen In the last five years the U.S. has seen a record rise in censorship laws and enforcement mechanisms—particularly targeting education. The number of bills, the proportion ena…
1936. The Spanish Civil War began. American Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics, undermining Hitler’s claims of Aryan superiority. In England, King Edward VIII abdicate…
On the stairs of a 1911 Pittsburgh boarding house, a young tenant plays the song “Joe Turner’s Blues:” They tell me Joe Turner’s come and gone/They tell me Joe Turner’s come and go…
By Andrew Poretz . . . Gabrielle Cavassa is an intriguing young singer with a unique style and repertoire. Though formally trained, she is largely self-taught, and her blend of traditional j…
By Alix Cohen I think I’ve seen all thirteen of Stephen Hanks -produced Blue Wave/Blue Tsunami shows. What became clear again last night, the first of four new evenings, is though donation…
By Alix Cohen Established 1974 in New York City, Talking Band was founded by Paul Zimet, Ellen Maddow, and Tina Shepard—all former members of Joseph Chaikin’s Open Theater. Tonight, both…
By Alix Cohen Former musical-theater actress Donna Rubin and former artistic director of Guild Hall Josh Gladstone have embarked on a third sparkling season bringing popular cabaret artists …
A peculiar show, it should still leave one grateful to see it after so many years and happy to support J2 Spotlight’s commitment to producing seldom-seen musicals
By Barbara & Scott Siegel... The Revivals of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesmanand August Wilson’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.
By Alix Cohen The United States government has censored – in part- the following from official documents: vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based, science-ba…
By Eyal Solomon, Theater Pizzazz Publisher and Editor... A magical peformance honoring one of the greatest composers of our time
Thought provoking and unsettling, "Kenrex" is a drama with a central performance by Jack Holden that should not be missed.
By Samuel L. Leiter As I watched the revival of August Wilson’s emotionally explosive but dramatically stiff Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, I was struck by …
By Adam Cohen... A journey into buried family secrets and legacy
Review by Ron Fassler . . . Famously, New York City’s Joe Allen restaurant on West 46th Street features a wall of shame; its brick walls decorated with the original posters of flop shows f…
By Andrew Poretz . . . Nicolas King, at long last, made his solo cabaret debut at 54 Below on April 28: Behind the Mike: Celebrating the Memory and Iconic Arrangements of Mike Renzi. This ma…
By Alix Cohen Like the 1975 film, The Rocky Horror Show is a gleefully outrageous, high-energy musical romp. On their way to visit former high school teacher, Dr. Scott- now a government ope…
Reporting by Ron Fassler and Melissa Griegel. Last night at a cocktail party at the Algonquin, on the site where Al Hirschfeld once hung out with the esteemed members of the hotel’s illust…
By Barbara & Scott Siegel... Let’s take a look at The Queen of Versailles, Proof, Beaches, Fallen Angels, The Fear of 13, and Giant
By Alix Cohen Leni Riefenstahl (1902-2003) was a German actress, photographer and filmmaker best known for the last, making propaganda movies in service of Adolph Hitler. One of the few wome…
