Friday, April 26, 2024

Scarlett Dreams by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

A good deal of fun is had by Brian Pacelli’s projection design which is shown on the modern and chic living room/dining room set by Christopher and Justin Swader. It takes us to the virtua…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:25PM
Thursday, April 25, 2024

Stargazers by Scotty Bennett

The scenes establishing the outlines of the mystery tend to be episodic rather than tightly integrated narrative, building tension to a dramatic resolution. Colette Robert's direction of the…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:19PM

Still by Tony Marinelli

The performances are quite stellar. Jayne Atkinson’s Helen is simply gorgeous. We do see that woman who 30 years ago wore a red dress to a party…and that was enough for Mark and Lorraine…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 01:34PM
Monday, April 22, 2024

Macbeth (an undoing) by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

In attempting to make a feminist statement out of Shakespeare’s "Macbeth", Harris has made Lady Macbeth into the same murderous monster that her husband became in the original. This does n…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:29PM

The Outsiders: A New Musical by Joseph Pisano

The cast of "The Outsiders: A New Musica"l bring their own substantial charisma to the stage, but it's been dramaturgically constrained by Adam Rapp and Justin Levine's book, which sacrifice…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 02:42PM
Sunday, April 21, 2024

Lempicka by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

In telling the life story of Tamara de Lempicka, the show begins with a fascinating premise. Unfortunately, neither the score nor the book lives up to her high standards. Unlike "Sunday in t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:48PM
Saturday, April 20, 2024

Agreement by Scotty Bennett

What makes this play such an extraordinary experience is how McCafferty’s words are presented in a way that captures the intensity and stress of the three days of point and counterpoint. W…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:38PM
Friday, April 19, 2024

House of Telescopes by Tony Marinelli

Playwright Kairos Looney has given us a gift in these painfully beautiful moments. We explore a family’s various ways of approaching love for and duty to each other with the result that we…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:02PM

How Theater Can Help You Avoid Academic Stress by Jack Quinn

Use every opportunity to explore and enjoy the world of theater. As you can see, you can benefit from doing so in many ways by making your life journey less stressful. The post How Theater C…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:27AM
Monday, April 15, 2024

Las Borinqueñas by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Nelson Diaz-Marcano’s "Las Borinqueñas," the latest play in the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Science and Technology Project, has a fascinating, little known stor…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:59PM
Sunday, April 14, 2024

Sperm Donor Wanted (or, The Unnamed Baby Play) by Scotty Bennett

In a funny recounting of what happened when they placed an ad on Craig's List, they finally found a couple they thought would work. Charles and Aaron are a biracial gay couple. Charles is wh…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:00PM
Saturday, April 13, 2024

Teeth by Tony Marinelli

Sarah Benson’s direction is spot-on, but we find ourselves wishing the closing scene was more than just a plethora of bloody penises. This is where the creatives needed to say, “Okay, th…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:54PM

The Reef (opera workshop) by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

On April 10, 2024, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center presented a tantalizing teaser of a musical evening with the world premiere workshop of only the first act of 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winni…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:09PM

Dali’s Dream by Joel Benjamin

The four patients’ stories occupy the bulk of "Dali’s Dream" in an uneven stream of oddball activities which divert the plot from the more important consideration of the Freud/Dali inter…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:03PM
Friday, April 12, 2024

Fish by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Aside from its attempt to cover too much at one time (drug addiction, pregnancy, incarceration, high school dropouts, gun violence, lack of health care, underfunded ghetto schools), "Fish" d…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:17AM
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Witchland by Scotty Bennett

David Silberger, Mars Holscher and Geoffrey Grady in a scene from Tim Mulligan’s “Witchland” at Chain Theatre (Photo credit: Jordan Schreiber) Scotty Bennett, Critic If you think livin…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:32PM
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Oh, Mary! by Joel Benjamin

No one should be sacrosanct or above satirical treatment, not even our heroes.  Everyone has feet of clay.  Cole Escola in their huge hit "Oh, Mary!" at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Green…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:28PM
Monday, April 8, 2024

Water for Elephants by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Playwright/bookwriter Rick Elice has written the greatest jukebox musical (so far) in his 2005 Jersey Boys. In his adaptation of Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel Water for Elephants, he may …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:36PM

The Who’s Tommy by Joseph Pisano

But, as the book's co-writer with Townshend, McAnuff is self-aware enough to recognize that "The Who's Tommy" needs to blow one's mind through sensory overload. That way, thoughts can't inte…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:42PM
Saturday, April 6, 2024

Eugene Onegin by Tony Marinelli

Enter young baritone Edwin Joseph. He has that dark curly hair and handsome face, yes, and the crucial understanding of the necessary swagger and selfishness that carries this character thro…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:28PM
Friday, April 5, 2024

Herself by Scotty Bennett

The cast of Tim McGillicuddy’s “Herself” at Gural Theatre at A.R.T/New York Theatres (Photo credit: Lee Wexler/Images for Innovation) Scotty Bennett, Critic Consider, if you will, bein…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:50PM

Travels by Joel Benjamin

"Travels" at Ars Nova isn’t just a story of the many places James Harrison Monaco has been.  That’s part of it, the most superficial part. "Travels" is far more:  a deep look at the pe…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:28PM
Thursday, April 4, 2024

The Notebook: The Musical by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

While the characters age, the use of diversity here has them switch races, so that while one couple has a Black Allie and a white Noah, another has a white Allie and a Black Noah, as well as…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:06PM
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA … CATCHING THE HIGH SOCIETY NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BAND by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

This is, essentially, Woody Allen’s band, without Woody. It’s the only seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band with a steady gig in New York. And if you like traditional jazz, this ban…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:50PM
Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Stalker by Joel Benjamin

Peter Brynolf and Jonas Ljung, two coolly elegant Swedes—who wrote the show with Edward Af Sillén (also the show’s director)—perform one mind-boggling feat after another, fed by infor…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:08PM
Monday, April 1, 2024

Dead Outlaw by Joseph Pisano

Conceived by Yazbek, the show is structured as a folksy retelling of the haplessly heinous Elmer McCurdy's life and post-life story, with the unbelievably true and undeniably dead portion re…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:15PM
Sunday, March 31, 2024

An Enemy of the People by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

The concept of alternate facts was not created under the Trump Administration. In 1882 Henrik Ibsen wrote "An Enemy of the People" in which a medical report that a town’s new spa is pollut…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:58PM
Saturday, March 30, 2024

Eddie Izzard: Hamlet by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

In this tour de force, Izzard has come up with a different voice and stance for each character: King Claudius is a baritone, Lord Polonius has a limp, Lady Ophelia has a somewhat breathy spe…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:33AM
Friday, March 29, 2024

Orson’s Shadow by Joel Benjamin

For those interested in both theatrical history and the lives of our former artistic heroes, Pendleton doesn’t disappoint, even if he exaggerates and manipulates the facts a bit.  He does…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:44PM
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Corruption by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Playwright J.T. Rogers ("Oslo", 2017 Tony Award for Best Play) specializes in dramatizing the backstories to true scandals of which the real details behind the facts never made the news. His…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:57AM
Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Look of Love (Mark Morris Dance Group) by Joel Benjamin

"The Look of Love" was filled with Morris’ least complex choreography, relying on repetition, walking, running and soft leg extensions along with simple arm gestures.  Considering the sop…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:56AM

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