The latest production to open at MCC Theatre is the world premiere of the new play “Table 17” penned by Douglas Lyons and under the direction of Zhailon Levingston. The title refers to a table that sits under a glimmering disco ball at Bianca’s, an upscale restaurant where the two main characters Jada and Dallas meet to review their past…
Jakob Karr’s “Ain’t Done Bad,” currently running at the Irene Diamond Stage, portrays the familiar story of a young LGBTQ man (Jakob Karr) attempting to grapple with his sexual identity in an abusive home atmosphere. His mother (Megumi Iwama) is supportive but his father (Adrian Lee), who is verbally and psychologically abusive to the son’s brother (Ian Spring), mostly keeps…
The latest revival to open on Broadway is the classic “Once Upon a Mattress” with music by Mary Rogers, her first Broadway show, and an adapted book by Amy Sherman-Palladino, from the original by Jay Thompson, Marshall Barer and Dean Fuller. As soon as the on-stage orchestra begins the overture, the audience is reminded of, or in many cases introduced…
The newest offering at Second Stage’s Kiser Theatre is a production of a new play penned by Alexis Scheer titled “Breaking the Story” which centers around a war correspondent who is actively reporting from the front line. The production directed by Jo Bonney was a bit confusing for this audience member, finding the elements of magical realism not clearly defined….
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…
Dave Malloy’s “Three Houses currently running at Signature Theatre’s Linney Theater is a retelling/interpretation of the classic fairy tales “The Three Little Pigs” and “Red Riding Hood” (among other cautionary folklore narratives) in which The Big Bad Wolf appears. Stand-ins for Little Red Riding Hood and those Three Little Pigs are Susan (a manic and hedonistic Margo Seibert), Sadie (a…
There are very few words not sung but spoken in the rock musical “Tommy,” but three that might be relevant are “Brilliant, wasn’t it?” spoken by a local lad that happens to be part of a larger audience, amazed, while watching Tommy play his first game of pinball in a pool hall. Unfortunately, they are not the three words that…
When does “life” begin? Depending upon one’s religious beliefs, or scientific beliefs, or social media threads, the answer to the question is different. Does “life” begin at conception; in utero; at birth; in childhood; in adolescence; in old age; in death; or after death? Seen through the eyes of his older self in “Water for Elephants” (currently on at the…
Adapted by Eddie Izzard’s sibling Mark Izzard, this “Hamlet” is among the best “Hamlets” on stage, screen, or stream. From the first scene of the iconic tragedy on the battlements of the royal castle at Elsinore when Marcellus relieves Francisco from his watch and where he, Horatio, and Bernardo encounter the Ghost of Hamlet’s father, to the closing scene where…
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 with a book penned by Itamar Moses with…