Yes, you read that correctly. The title of the show that I’m reviewed this past weekend is “Gay. Porn. Mafia.” It’s the first of a number of one-night only theatrical events over the next two weeks (in addition to a few short films) that I’ve been invited to review at the Downtown Urban Arts Festival. Immediately after receiving my review invite, I wondered what I would be in for at this show, and exactly what connection the plot itself would have to its amusing and provocative title.

As soon as I walked into the Medicine Show Theatre on Friday night at 7:30pm, I was greeted by a variety of characters from early 20th century Soviet Russia, all of whom were trying to sell me various goods, and please me and the rest of the audience during an interactive portion. I admit, this was quite a pleasant surprise to be welcomed to, and it left me feeling encouraged about the rest of the evening. Indeed, I normally wouldn’t jump right in by offering a performance overview that early on in the review, without a bit of a lead-in, but I think it’s fitting here, considering that this was basically the pace at which the performance of this company’s latest show – The Bedbug – got started, and it set the energetic pace for the rest of the evening.

Late last month, playwright Steve Silver – a 35 year veteran of the stages at the American Theatre of Actors – passed away suddenly at the relatively young age of 56. The mood was decidedly somber on the opening night of Waiting for the Don, Mr. Silver’s final play which premiered on schedule, just one week after his untimely death. Nonetheless, that did not stop the cast from doing all they could to honor the playwright’s legacy by putting on the strongest performance of this work that they could, as I saw with my own eyes earlier this week.

Last summer, during the 20th and final summer season of the Midtown International Theatre Festival, was when I first heard of the Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble, aka “IRTE”. I had heard many good things from other audience members about the variety shows they put on, but unfortunately, their production that year was not among the ones I was able to go see, due to scheduling related to my own production that was in that year’s festival. However, their new season of shows for 2018 recently kicked off with the mystery spoof What’s New, Groovy Gang, and thankfully, I had the chance to catch it during one of its final performances.

I’ve reviewed a wide and diverse range of shows for OnStage Blog, including on a few rare occasions, staged readings. However, I’m quite positive that I have never reviewed a reader’s theatre podcast, prior to being invited to review the latest live recorded show of Fireside Mystery Theatre, one of the most popular theatre podcasts out there today. Their latest production – a variety show entitled The Secret Files of Nellie Bly about the late-19th-century writer – proved to be quite an introduction to what I found to be a very intriguing project.

So…I saw a cabaret show this past weekend. The interesting thing about this one, though, is that I was invited to (and allowed to go to) a cabaret show that wasn’t necessarily musical theatre oriented. (At least, not beyond the pre-show music, anyway.) Rather, this was a show that felt like much more of a straight-up, old-school blues jam, as theatrical as it may have still been. I’m talking, of course, about Rev. Mary’s Blues Jam, Mary Micari’s acclaimed, constantly running blues-cabaret show here in NYC.

About two years ago, during my last semester of college, I had the chance to serve as the dramaturge of a one-act drama called Medusa’s Tale. The play was a fascinating mixture of both Greek mythology, as well as the exploration of contemporary issues of gender and sexual assault. During that time, I came to respect and appreciate this play, as well as its author, Carol Lashof. It’s a big reason why this past weekend, I was intrigued and eager to see Ms. Lashof’s latest work, The Melting Pot, during its premiere at the Access Theatre.

Depression and mental health. HIV and AIDS, and the impact it particularly has had on gay couples. Bigotry toward the LGBTQ community. The economic struggles of those who can’t keep up with the cost of rent and health insurance. These are all themes which have been tackled before in theatre, and I’ve seen many plays that do a fine job at doing so. Yet all of them play a part in the story of Rob Cardazone’s new play One More Time with Malice, which recently premiered at the Robert Moss Theater.