Politics of Passion<br> Reviewed by RON COHEN

The characters come to life in Anthony Minghella's evocative writing and a gallery of sharp performances. The Potomac Theatre Project is a welcome addition to the New York theatre scene.

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

Gone Missing<br> Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

A muddled but painless lark about loss that marks the official Off-Broadway debut of the talented company the Civilians.

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

Romeo and Juliet<br> Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

The production is so saturated with love, so brimming with impulsiveness, that its enchantment is absolute.

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

The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero<br> Reviewed by GWEN OREL

The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero is not to be missed by anyone who's ever been -- or known -- a teenage girl.

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

Saint Joan of the Stockyards<br> Reviewed by GWEN OREL

Director Lear deBessonet employs galley staging, along with commentary by Mississippi blues artist Kelly McRae and combo, to make Brecht's mixture of political evangelism and grotesque fable…

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

I Google Myself<br> Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

The plot reeks of tabloid fodder, but Tim Cusack plays it with such hunger and sensitivity -- he yearns for a bond in an isolated world -- that we're willing to ride the roller coaster of si…

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

Beyond Glory<br> Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Though Beyond Glory never exactly celebrates warfare, it certainly pays tribute to valor in combat.

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

The Toad Poems<br> Reviewed by RON COHEN

Gerald Locklin and George Carroll's play is a rare animal - a romantic comedy inhabited by literate and witty people. It's not much of a story, but the characters and the way they speak are …

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

Sarah Partridge: I've Gotta Roam<br> Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

On songs with which she connects personally, Partridge lets loose her rhythmic and sonic abilities, which are copious. But when she gives the impression she's delivering a song just because …

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

Short Stuff 4: The War at Home<br> Reviewed by NANCY ELLEN SHORE

The Barrow Group's provocative, highly charged new collection of one-acts exploring the Iraq war's effects on the American psyche is a welcome addition to early-summer theatrical fare.

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

Off Stage: The East Village Fragments<br> Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

Riding the critical success of last fall's Off Stage: The West Village Fragments, Peculiar Works Project hopes that lightning can strike twice. And, for the most part, it has.

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

Dark of the Moon<br> Reviewed by RON COHEN

A youthful 17-person cast, under Ian Crawford's direction, tears into this supernatural tale concerning a witch boy's doomed love for a mortal mountain girl with enthusiasm and conviction.

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

The Argument & Dinner Party<br> Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

Target Margin Theater has been dusting off the Greeks this season, and rather than finishing off with something easy, it has saved the most difficult for last.

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

No Exit Plus Paris Café<br> Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Director Richmond Shepard takes a cautious approach in his staging and ungainly translation of No Exit, while Paris Café, though it fails to satisfy in its current incarnation, is a p…

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

Marathon 2007: Series B<br> Reviewed by SAM THIELMAN

Curt Dempster's death appears to have shortened Ensemble Studio Theatre's Marathon series by an entire show (there are usually three), but the quality of the programming is entirely undimini…

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

Falsettoland<br> Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

The raison d'être for this production is the unconventional casting of Asian-American actors in all roles. Yet a less-heralded feature of this uneven mounting nevertheless makes it alm…

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

Badge<br> Reviewed by TOM PENKETH

If you have a fetish for Boy Scout stories, Matthew Schneck's Badge may be the show for you. All others take heed: This play is rough going.

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

Radio<br> Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

While admiring playwright Al Smith's ambition, his play doesn't ring true. Radio is so awash in symbols and clichés of American life that the tale becomes a manipulative social histor…

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

Eurydice<br> Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Eurydice is meant to be emotionally shattering. Instead, Sarah Ruhl's play simultaneously intrigues and annoys.

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

It's Queer, It's Here, It's for Everyone by GERARD RAYMOND

In celebration of Pride Month, Back Stage takes a look at the current state of LGBT theatre companies nationwide.

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

The Devil on All Sides<br> Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

Fabrice Melquiot's extraordinary play, a study in how, within a war-torn nation, family can become just another battlefront, has mesmeric power.

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

The Second Tosca<br> Reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

Wow. Tom Rowan has written a full-length, well-made, touching, and funny play with credible, sympathetic, yet ambivalent characters. The Second Tosca single-handedly restores my faith in sma…

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

Life Is a Dream<br> Reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

Flux Theatre Ensemble seems to understand that Calderón's play has a peculiar, often thrilling alchemy, and director Kelly O'Donnell's production is wise not to muck with it. This is …

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

The File on Ryan Carter<br> Reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

This passionately polemical piece offers plenty of opinions without any real resolution -- and an ending that is completely unearned. Playwright David Gaard has taken on too much for just tw…

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

Intimate Exchanges<br> Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Ayckbourn's craftsmanship astounds, and the bittersweet writing sparkles with humor even as it stings with melancholy.

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