Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway Review: “Mies Julie” at Classic Stage Company (Through Sunday March 10, 2019)

August Strindberg’s naturalism and themes transfer brilliantly from his “Miss Julie” to Yaël Farber’s adaptation of Strindberg’s classic. Farber’s “Mies Julie” is currently running at Classic Stage Company in repertory with the Conor McPherson’s adaptation of Strindberg’s “The Dance of Death.” Like the 1985 stage version of “Miss Julie” at Cape Town’s Baxter Theatre, Mr. Farber’s 2012 adaptation takes place…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Eddie and Dave” at Atlantic Stage 2

The present-day social climate in the theater world has fervently addressed non-traditional casting, gender identity, and diversity as part of an effort to be inclusive and accepting. When a production exhibits a little gender bending, there should be a valid explanation or reasoning behind the decision, whether it be historical, social, or dramatic persuasion. In the case of “Eddie and…

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Off-Broadway Review: “I’m Not A Comedian . . . I’m Lenny Bruce” at the Cutting Room

January 14, 2019 | Off-Broadway, the room, to kill > | “I’m Not A Comedian . . . I’m Lenny Bruce”, Cutting Room, Doren Sorell Photography, Hope Bello LaRoux, Joe Mantegna, Kathryn Loggins, Kitty Bruce, Lauren Winnenberg, Lenny Bruce, Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, Matt Richter, Ronnie Marmo, Tony Award, Tony Award Winner

“And there it was. My first laugh. It’s like that flash I’ve heard morphine addicts describe. A warm sensual blanket that comes after a cold, sick rejection. I was hooked.” – Lenny Bruce (from “I’m Not A Comedian . . . I’m Lenny Bruce”) The first image after the lights come up on stage is a slumped over, motionless, naked…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Blue Ridge” at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater

Abby Rosebrock introduces an interesting mélange of broken characters in her new play “Blue Ridge” currently running at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater. She drops these six disparate “recovering” personalities into the vortex of a Christian halfway house in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. Pastor Hern (a cagey but caring Chris Stack) and his partner Grace…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Hello Girls” at 59E59 Theaters

There is no doubt that the so called “Hello Girls,” the bilingual operators that were sent to the front line to operate secured switchboards, were invaluable to the Signal Corps units in World War I. It is unfortunate that they needed to fight for sixty years to be recognized as veterans of that war in order to receive appropriate benefits….

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Off-Broadway Review: “Lewsiton/Clarkston” at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

There is quite an intriguing theatrical event occurring at the Rattlestick Theater, where two ninety-minute plays separated by a thirty-minute communal dinner break takes the stage to engage an audience of fifty, in two compelling dramas. The playhouse is stripped down to its original walls discovering weathered multi paned windows and worn wainscoting, wearing years of neglect, with some sections…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Other Josh Cohen” at the Westside Theatre/Downstairs

“The Other Josh Cohen,” currently running at the Westside Theatre/Downstairs, has been bemoaning the hapless and lackluster life of Josh Cohen (Steve Rosen) through his Doppelganger narrator Josh (David Rossmer) since October 2012. That’s a long time to celebrate having one’s apartment robbed of everything, rehearsing one’s dysfunctional family, recounting a string of failed romantic relationships, and resolving the mystery…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Irene Diamond Stage

In this revival of “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Irene Diamond Stage, Will Eno steps over, under, and in between the resting places – and the writing desks – of the literary canon’s most prominent surrealist writers of the past and present. Eno seems to stop there to chat, listen, tremble (who wouldn’t), and…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Gloria: A Life” at the Daryl Roth Theatre on Union Square

It is not such a common occurrence that a playwright attempts to pay tribute to a living legend unless the work of that inspirational personality continues in the present as well as already being a pivotal part of history. That is why it is easy to understand the decision of Emily Mann to bring to the stage the life of…

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Off-Broadway Review: “India Pale Ale” at Manhattan Theatre Club’s New York City Center Stage I

Jaclyn Backhaus’s “India Pale Ale” currently running at Manhattan Theatre Club’s New York City Center Stage I has a collection of “teachable moments.” Some of the lessons are rather unimportant though interesting. The audience learns the history of IPA (India Pale Ale), the hops and alcohol content of the iconic enhanced pale ale, and how at least one white hipster…

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