<cite>Dogugaeshi</cite>, reviewed by Jerry Portwood

Basil Twist's puzzle piece of shifting shapes and colors could cause many an unsuspecting theatregoer to run screaming for the exit. It requires a great deal of patience, almost meditative d…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Two Rooms in Davis</cite>, reviewed by Ron Cohen

A night of wife swapping turns out to be not much fun in this dour drama by Brad Saville.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Till the Break of Dawn</cite>, reviewed by Christopher Murray

Best known for his high-octane solo shows, Danny Hoch is the undisputed master of the urban male rant. Till the Break of Dawn is Hoch's first attempt at a full-length play, and there are plenty of arias of angst delivered by a variety of characters that still sound suspiciously like him.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Melodrama and Mayhem on Main Street? - Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

Women Seeking... is a 10-year-old theatre company dedicated to presenting works that showcase women artists. Its current production harkens back to the work of three early-20th-century femal…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Macbeth - Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

When stoking his intent to kill a king, Macbeth reflects that he has "only vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself." Much the same might be said of ShakespeareNYC's production of the Scott…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Shape of Metal - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy's "The Shape of Metal" is an articulate but familiar exploration of an angst-ridden mother-daughter relationship.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Purple Hearts - Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Burgess Clark's play is promising stuff but never succeeds in delivering heart-racing drama or a ripping emotional punch.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A New Television Arrives, Finally - Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco's ghost hovers over Kevin Mandel's new play, a drearily one-dimensional comedy about the detrimental impact that television has on our lives.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

You May Go Now - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

"You May Go Now" recalls the work of "House of Yes"-era Wendy MacLeod, with Bekah Brunstetter's dialogue thriving on comic awkwardness. Under the direction of Geordie Broadwater, the show ke…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Peace - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

Mettawee River Theatre Company and director-designer Ralph Lee do a fine job of dusting off Aristophanes' play to appeal to a contemporary audience.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

...And We All Wore Leather Pants - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

Author Robert Attenweiler and director John Patrick Hayden offer up a confused comedy that strives for absurdism but ends up simply absurd.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Alfred Kinsey: A Love Story - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

With a series of swift theatrical strokes, playwright Mike Folie develops a character study that is surprisingly intelligent and continually engrossing.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Private Lives of Eskimos - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

A play like this shouldn't give up all its mysteries, but there is still something to be said for basic coherence. Frustratingly, playwright Ken Urban doesn't meet us halfway.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Edge - Reviewed by RON COHEN

Angelica Torn has been performing this one-woman show about Sylvia Plath, written and directed by Plath expert Paul Alexander, in various venues since 2003, and it's a rich, deeply felt tour…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Atonement - Reviewed by DAVID SHEWARD

Playwright Joel Shatzky has given us little reason to care about Ludwig Zelman, a world-famous conductor, impossible husband and father, and the focus of "Atonement," his melodramatic play b…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

America LoveSexDeath - Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

No pun intended here: Billy the Mime excels at bringing the unspeakable to the stage in his new one-man show America LoveSexDeath at the Flea Theater.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Steve Ross: Good Thing Going - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

Employing his febrile vibrato and strong fingering like the master he is, Ross romps intelligently through some of the most popular Sondheim ditties and some barely known. This is a breathta…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Song for New York: What Women Do While Men Sit Knitting - Reviewed by TOM PENKETH

Mabou Mines has created an ambitious and at times soaring love letter to New York City's complex history.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Removable Parts - Reviewed by MARC MILLER

The premise can't be called unoriginal: a song cycle about people who believe that people who self-mutilate are the luckiest people in the world. Those expecting an actual exploration of a m…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Walmartopia - Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

In its new Off-Broadway incarnation, last year's Fringe Festival hit "Walmartopia" hopes to achieve a "Urinetown"-like success, but this convoluted musical will have a difficult time attract…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Neva Small: Not Quite an Ingenue - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

Tossing back her trademark golden ringlets, Small exudes an eagerness to please; her program of chosen songs, however, does this only some of the time.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Gregory Porter - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

Though Porter is cheerful enough in this show devoted to the songs of his idol, Nat King Cole, his patter is desultory, and his juggling what seem to be frayed lyric sheets isn't reassuring …

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Ben: The Fuck'd Up Tale of My Bro Ro & His Cunt Jules - Reviewed by TOM PENKETH

In director Jason Denuszek's punk interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare's tragic lovers -- clad in leather, Doc Martens, and fishnets -- spout his famous lines in between thrash gu…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Johannes Dokchtor Faust - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

If it weren't for the enthusiasm of the ensemble, this Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre production would be a tired interpretation of the Faust story -- even with the beautifully ren…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Rites of Privacy - Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

In this one-man show, it's a shame that author-performer David Rhodes is so earnestly playing tragedy while a tragic clown is imprisoned inside him.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑