purpose
Only in America, where greed, fame, crime and capitalism reign and members of a civilized society aspire to become part of the materialistic regime, can you discover the story of Elmer J. McCurdy, a futile outlaw who was gunned down in 1911. The new musical, which opened at the Minetta Lane Theatre off-Broadway last season, is now playing at the…
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…
Currently running at the Hayes Theatre, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s “Purpose” joins the important pantheon of plays about families, dysfunctional families in particular. These plays, including Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s recent “Appropriate,” focus on the behavior patterns and the social practices that undermine and often destroy the integrity of family systems. Sometimes there is confession, forgiveness, and redemption in these narratives. Far too often…
A star-studded production has found its way to Broadway from Sydney Australia, with an adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray” by Oscar Wilde. This transformation of the classic is written and directed by Kip Williams, and features one actor, Sarah Snook, playing all the roles, including the narrator. In this modern age of theater, it has become extremely common…
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…
The new play by Matthew Lombardo titled “Conversations with Mother” now playing Off-Broadway at Theatre 555, is a lighthearted and comical evening of entertainment, mostly due to the extremely talented cast. This eighty-five minute two-hander stars Caroline Aaron and Matt Doyle, who make use of their perfect timing and comedic skills to bring as many laughs as possible to the…
The full title of “The Antiquities” currently running at Playwrights Horizons is “A Tour of the Permanent Collection in the Museum of the Late Human Antiquities.” The title contains two important pairs of words: “Permanent Collection” and “Late Human.” The play begins at some point in the far distant future with two museum docents W1 (Aria Shahghasemi) and W2 (Amelia…
Something old becomes new again with the current production of “Yellow Face” by Roundabout Theatre, which has been produced nationally, and internationally since it opened off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in 2007. That premiere production was directed by Leigh Silverman, who takes the helm in this current incarnation on Broadway. Penned by David Henry Hwang, it is difficult to decide…
PS CLASSICS, the label dedicated to the heritage of Broadway and American Popular Song, will release the original cast recording of Ricky Ian Gordon’s acclaimed autobiographical musical Sycamore Trees at all digital and streaming sites on Friday, August 30. A special limited edition of 250 CDs will follow on Friday, September 20. Released on the heels of Gordon’s acclaimed memoirs,…
The most recent offering at MCC Theater is a new musical entitled “The Lonely Few” with music and lyrics by Zoe Sarnak and a book penned by Rachel Bonds. Basically, it can be considered a rom com musical with a simple plot that takes a bit too long to develop especially since the predictability level is very high. The length…