Theatre Row

Off-Broadway Review: “Peace, Love, and Cupcakes” at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row

“Peace, Love, and Cupcakes: The Musical,” currently running at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row, is a sweet bubble gum musical that, on the surface, addresses the issue of bullying at school and its deleterious effects. Based on the book by the same name (the first in the Cupcake Club series by Sheryl Berk),…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Temple of the Souls” at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row

Perhaps “Temple of the Souls,” the new musical being presented as part of NYMF, would be more powerful as an operetta, which would validate the melodrama afforded in this current production. It is yet another version of the ever-familiar love-struck youth from to different cultures, torn apart by their family and resulting in a tragic finale. Inspired by some truthful…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Cadaver Synod: A Pope Musical” at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row

Is it serious or a joke, a love story, a punk rock pseudo opera or possibly a retro piece paying homage to the irreverent, sensational pop musicals of the seventies, which were usually found playing in the then edgy East Village? The fact is it could be all the above, but the problem is, it executes none of them with…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Time Machine” at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row

The new musical “The Time Machine,” presented as part of New York Musical Festival, is an overwrought musical adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic, plagued with too many genres, resulting in a enfeebled main plot. Basically, to become more cohesive, the creative team needs to decide what the product wants to be. Is it a love story, a Sci-fi thriller,…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Dorian Gray” at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row

Oscar Wilde might be turning in his grave, or at least twitching – that is if he has seen a certain NYMF production appropriately titled “Dorian Gray” a musical loosely based on his notorious provocative novel. There is a slight chance he might be flattered that young thespian artists would be interested and intent on creating this version but certainly…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Matthew McConaughey Vs. The Devil” at the New York Musical Festival at the Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row

“Matthew McConaughey vs The Devil: An American Myth” is yet another version of the story based on the fictional character “Faust” here set in Hollywood and dealing with an unsuccessful actor who makes a deal with Satan’s agent to sell his soul in return for winning an Oscar. It is assumed that this musical was created as a parody, lampooning…

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Off-Broadway Review: Keen Company’s “Tick, Tick…BOOM!” Explodes with Joy at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row

“I want to write music. I want to sit down right now at my piano and write a song that people will listen to and remember, and do the same thing every morning for the rest of my life.” – Jon Before Jonathan Larson’s iconic “Rent” had its workshop production at the New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) in 1993 and…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Implications of Cohabitation” Flounders at the Clurman Theatre on Theatre Row

The Homeless Man (David Pendleton) sums up Nelson’s (Anthony Ruiz) dilemma in a simple phrase, “You should know there are implications to cohabitation.” Nelson is the husband and father of two families and he has not fulfilled either of those roles with any distinction from their beginnings. After the death of his wife Caitlin, Nelson wants to “make nice” with…

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Review: Keen Company’s Transformative “Boy” at the Clurman Theatre (Closed Saturday April 9, 2016)

“I wouldn’t want to be Frankenstein.” (Adam to Jenny in “Boy”) The Keen Company’s Mission is to create “theater that provokes identification, reflection, and emotional connection – enduring stories fearlessly told.” In order to fulfill that mission, there must be a master storyteller who knows how to create characters with conflicts (problems) that are not only engaging but connectable. The…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Straight” at the Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row

“And anyway–it is an excellent time to be gay. I sorta like gay people better!” (Emily to Ben) If Emily (Jenna Gavigan) has her bioinformatics grad student finger on the national pulse when it comes to discerning whether the LGBT community has reached mainstream status, then it is a mystery why her boyfriend Ben (Jake Epstein) of four years has…

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