The characters in Conor McPherson’s “The Weir,” currently running at the Irish Repertory Theatre, tell ghost stories and stories of the supernatural to newcomer Valerie (Sarah Street) at the local bar in Northern Ireland owned by Brendan (Johnny Hopkins). Before Valerie’s arrival with Finbar, Jack (Dan Butler), Jim (John Keating), and Brendan chat about the weather, selling Brendan’s bar, and…
Abby Rosebrock’s “Lowcountry” at the Atlantic Theater Company follows two TikTok-matched strangers on their first date in David’s studio apartment in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. David (Babak Tafti) is a registered sex offender attending Sexaholics Anonymous, trying to regain custody of his son. Tally (Jodi Balfour) arrives early as he prepares dinner. Their casual conversation tailspins into unexpected tragedy. Both…
Flowing in the same vein as the triumphant off-Broadway show “Dead Outlaw,” which made a move to Broadway last season, is the wonderful “Beau the Musical,” now playing at Theatre 154. Produced by Out of the Box Theatrics, the musical follows somewhat the same structure where an onstage band provides the musical force but also serve double duty by taking…
The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town, national, and digital news publications, has announced the winners for the 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2024-2025 Broadway and Off-Broadway season. The complete list of winners is below. The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at Lincoln…
The “Match” in Kimberly Belflower’s thoughtful new play “John Proctor is the Villain,” currently playing at the Booth Theatre, is between the heavyweight team “Toxic Masculinity” and the underdogs “The Feminist Club.” The match takes place in Mr. Carter Smith’s (a far-too-transparent Gabriel Ebert) classroom “during spring semester, junior year, 2018 at Helen County High, the only high school in…
The Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town, national, and digital news publications, has announced the nominees for the 2025 Outer Critics Circle Awards, honoring the 2024-2025 Broadway and Off-Broadway season. Leading the pack with the most honors of the season is the Broadway musical Death Becomes Her, with twelve nominations, followed…
The themes explored in Alice Childress’s “Wine in the Wilderness” currently running at Classic Stage Company include classism and economic struggles; the resilience and strength of communities and individuals navigating challenges in the economic, social and personal environments; identity; and the role of the arts in interpreting and influencing societal norms. And although these themes resonate in every community, Childress…
There are skeletons in Helena Alving’s (a tortured yet stalwart Lily Rabe) closet whose secrets she would rather not be revealed. More devastating to Helena than these skeletons is the bevy of ghosts that will not allow her to rest until their messages and warnings from her past are heard and fully processed in the present. Helena’s reawakened trauma is…
In Simon Stephens’s brilliant “Vanya,” the adaptation of Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya, Andrew Scott portrays the eight main characters from the 1897 play. He depicts these familiar characters with a degree of believability and authenticity that is beyond remarkable. That would be impressive enough if he portrayed one character at a time, but there is often more than one character…
Two half-brothers half a world apart face the decline of their mother in Samuel D. Hunter’s “Grangeville” currently on at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffen Jewel Box Theatre. The mood of the conversations between forty-something Arnold (Brian J. Smith) who lives in Rotterdam and his older half-brother Jerry (Paul Sparks) who still lives in Grangeville, Idaho range from…