A year ago, a new cabaret space opened at the Yotel on 42nd Street and 10th Avenue (entrance on 10th): The Green Room 42. My first foray there was on February 14th, its first anniversary, fo…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:43PMWhile watching the Gallery Players' highly entertaining production of William Finn's odd but engaging musical, A New Brain, I found my own old brain full of questions. First, about A New Bra…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:00PMWho assassinated Malcolm X? The answer remains a matter of debate in some quarters and may never be totally resolved until the New York Police Department releases the files on the case, whic…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:21PMMy latest piece is up at Art Times. It's about how we can help women in the arts get more power.Almost as far back as I can remember, people have been labeling various time periods as “The…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:03PMSex. It's a tricky thing, is sex.Throughout history, including now, cultures have sought to tame sex's complexity via rigid rules, assumptions, and limitations (particularly for women), with…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:00PMYou may have heard of director Gerald Freedman. You may not have. But you've certainly heard of his work: Freedman assistant-directed the original West Side Story and Gypsy. He dir…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:02PMRobert O'Hara's new comedy Mankind, which he also directs, doesn't officially open at Playwright's Horizon until January 8, so it's way too early to review it. But I do have a comment o…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:24PMIt's that time of the year again. I've limited myself to 10 best shows, since that's the number everyone likes, and I've included "honorable mentions" as well. Shows that I reviewed are link…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:33PMThe Public Theater's Mobile Unit is presenting a highly entertaining, streamlined version of The Winter's Tale through December 17. It's a lovely evening in the theater, if not quite Sh…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:33PMYou just never know how something is going to hit you. Last night I saw the National Theatre Broadcast of Follies with five friends. Among us, we have easily seen 80 live performances o…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:12PMMy latest essay is up at Art Times:Many years ago, I had the magical experience of being there when my nephew Charlie, who was around six years old at the time, saw his first musical. It was…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:12PMThere are still some seats left for Nellie McKay: The Big Molinsky--Considering Joan Rivers at Joe's Pub on November 17 at 11:30. They're only $15, with a $12 cover (the fries are delis…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:36PMThere's good news and there's bad news.Good news: Shame of Thrones: The Rock Musical: An Unauthorized Parody (what would be the point of an authorized parody?) largely succeeds in getti…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:18PMI am excited to introduce Maggie Sulc as our new Canadian reviewer. As you can see from her bio below, she has a great deal of experience in both theatre and writing. Even better, …
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:18PMThere are certain humans who seem to be their own species. In the case of circus performers, it would be homo sapiens amazingus. The Big Apple Circus is full of these wondrous folk, flying t…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:04PMIn Steven Dietz's two-character play Lonely Planet, Jody (the subtle and smart Arnie Burton) owns a map store. He loves and is comforted by the factual information contained by map…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:24AMI didn't stay for the second act of War Paint, and it's closing in early November, so I'll make this brief.My response to Patti LuPone's first solo: "I wish they had closed captioning."My si…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:12AMAnyone who regularly reads Show Showdown knows that I am a huge fan of the Flux Theatre Ensemble. The Lesser Seductions of History, Dog Act, Hearts Like Fists, Jane the Plain, and Sans Merci…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:48PMIn J.B. Priestley's 1937 play, Time and the Conways, it's 1919 and the Conways are giving a party for daughter Kay's 21st birthday. While the guests enjoy themselves elsewhere, various Conwa…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:33PMThere is a unique satisfaction that comes from watching a solid revival of a well-made play from the early or middle 20th century. This is why I have long been a fan of The Mint Theater Comp…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:12AMThere is a certain gravitas that automatically attaches to a play about dementia starring Deanna Dunagan and Peter Friedman and produced at Playwrights Horizons. Because of this gravitas, it…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:48PMI saw John Doyle's production of As You Like It at the CSC at an early preview, and this isn't a review per se. It's just some thoughts.Yes, some of the performers do play instruments.I…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 03:54PMI'm late to the A Doll's House, Part 2 bandwagon, and I nearly missed it entirely. But a friend saw the show and raved, so I decided to finally check it out.And, yes, it's as good as ev…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 03:42AMAt the very start of I Am Antigone, Antigone says to us,I know what you’re thinking. Not her again. We’ve heard enough out of her. The fact is you’ve heard nothing from me at all. It�…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:18PMThe New York Theater Workshop's Mary Jane doesn't open officially until September 25, but I suggest you get your tickets now, before they become unavailable or you have to pay way more …
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:48PMThe press info for Thomas Klingenstein's play, If Only, includes the following description:In 1860 Abraham Lincoln came to New York City where he befriended a well-educated ex-slave, and a y…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:33AMPlaywright Teresa Deevy lived from 1894 to 1963. The youngest of 13 children, she lost her hearing in her late teens, roughly at the same time that her family's financial situation became mu…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 05:04AMWaiting for Van Gogh's Ear to start is a pleasure, since it gives you time to really examine Vanessa Jame's open and elegant set. It's all black and white, with dramatic strips of …
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:12PMI was not a huge Barbara Cook fan. It would never occur to me to play a CD of hers. I certainly didn't consider her the premiere cabaret singer ever or the best interpreter ever.Yet every ti…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:48AMMy latest essay is up at Art Times:I walked out on a production of the brilliant comedy Cloud Nine the other night. The problem? The performers were trying too hard to be funny.I r…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:33PMIt is telling that the line from which this play's title comes is "No pity in history." It's the 17th Century, during a civil war in Britain, and of course the war is not remotely civil…
SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:32PM
