Review: 'Sons of the Prophet' at Normal Ave
In Normal Ave’s final installation in their 2019 season, “Sons of the Prophet” explores the tenacity of the human spirit in the face of senseless tragedy. This production has made its home at the Medicine Show Theatre and will play through May 5th. At the beginning of the matinee I saw, the show’s director Shannon Molly Flynn announced Normal Ave’s residency at the Medicine Show theatre. So first and foremost a huge congratulations to them for finding a home for what continues to be a talented and up and coming theatre company.
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Broadway Review: “Tootsie”
“Tootsie” has arrived and the lights on Broadway, especially those the Marquis theater where the musical is in residence, are shining much brighter because of the energy generated by the incredible cast that delights the audience and sparks uproarious laughter and spontaneous applause at every turn.
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Review: “Spanker Machine” at BAAD and the Bernie Wohl Center
“Spanker Machine” is performed through the In Scena Italian Theater Festival and tells the story of a young woman, Anita, as she tries to make sense of the most traumatic moments of her life through dressing up as her favorite characters (Sailor Moon, Anne of Green Gables, Oren Ishi). Tormented by a mother who never accepted her controversial sexuality and a lover, Marco, who left without explanation, she finds refuge in her characters. We as the audience are given details of her life outside of the characters through, phone calls and Anita’s stories.
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Review: 'The Bigot' at the Theatre at St. Clement’s
Taking us back to those uncomfortable holiday dinners, this new play by Gabi and Eva Mor, tells the story of homophobic, racist, and all around bigoted, Jim. Jim’s narrow views and downright offensive language make him a very hard person to be around. Even his own son, Seth (played by Dana Watkins) is exhausted with trying to get his father to understand just what is wrong with some of the things he says. Yet, with his father’s health waning and Seth the only one to take care of him, he hopes that he can use his time with his father to try and open his mind a little. Seth, along with the help of Jim’s next door neighbors, Paula and Aysha,(Played by Jaimi Paige and Faiven Feshazion) whose romantic relationship Jim has expressed extreme distaste for, attempt to open up Jim’s eyes to a world beyond his narrow understanding.
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Broadway Review: “Be More Chill”
It is difficult to separate “Be More Chill,” currently running at the Lyceum Theatre, from the hype surrounding what has become a teenage cult musical since its 2015 run at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey and its recent off-Broadway run at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center in 2018. This hype has been heightened by a cast recording and an extensive marketing campaign. What is this musical about and how successful is its current Broadway incarnation?
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Review: 'The Battles of Richmond Hill' at HERE
Written by Penny Jackson and taking place in the Dublin Rose Irish Bar in Richmond Hills, Queens, “The Battles of Richmond Hills” tells the story of Sheila O’Connor, the O’Conner family and the “battles” they face every day, such as loss, substance abuse, addiction, and the inability to let go. It’s a story about family and what keeps it together as well as what tears it apart and how long one can keep grasping at the past before it slips between their fingers.
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Review: “Washed in the Blood” at the NuBox Theatre
On October 1st, 2015, the students at Umpqua Community College in Oregon became among the many to have experienced the firsthand horror of gun violence in their school, as an armed shooter opened fire on them, immediately after asking each of them the question: “Do you believe in God?” To this day, questions remain over the shooter’s exact motives, and why he would ask his victims that question. However, in Washed in the Blood – Joshua Crone’s fictionalized depiction of these horrific events – we are offered an idea of what might have happened that led to such a tragic incident.
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“Jilted to Perfection” at The Triad Theatre
With a book, music, and lyrics written by Debra Cook, “Jilted to Perfection” tells the story of a divorced Mormon mom and her growing relationship with a scientologist actor/director. Through this relationship she takes many risks, makes many sacrifices, and watches her life change before her eyes. Told mostly in a monologue with songs throughout, Cook takes us through her life in this new musical.
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Review: Hedgepig Ensemble presents “Mary Stuart”
In a world enraptured equally by Game of Thrones and Fox News politics, female leaders vying for a place in the history books being pitted against each other is nothing new. In this fresh take on perhaps the world’s most iconic sister rivalry of Mary, Queen of Scots vs. Elizabeth I of England, Mary Stuart examines female leadership under the eyes of family, politics, and religion in a production fit for a Queen.
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Broadway Review: 'Oklahoma!' Fails to Measure Up
Buried somewhere beneath the myriad sheets of plywood neatly lining the walls and covering the floors of Circle in the Square is the original sheer splendor, strength, and – yes – the overwhelming darkness of the original production of Rogers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” Alas, that poor “Oklahoma!” is dead and is unceremoniously buried in Daniel Fish’s pretentious and overwrought “Oklahoma!” – never to be resurrected from the detritus of hanging guns galore, rows of bright red crock pots, and more yodeling than might be found anywhere in the Matterhorn.
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Review: “The Ship Be Sinkin’” at the Producer’s Club
For as long as can remember, Titanic has always been one of the cheesiest romance films – if not THE cheesiest – to have been released in my 26 years of life. So naturally, it has also consistently ranked up there as one of the easiest targets for parody by comedy writers, ever since its 1997 premiere. The fact that that’s still the case is proven yet again by the Improvisational Repertory Theatre Ensemble’s latest outing at the Producer’s Club.
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Review: “The Art of Protest” at Articulate Theatre Company
If there’s any one word that describes the political climate that has defined this past decade, it has to be “protest”. From economic injustice and climate change to gun violence and racial discrimination, to name just a few, there have been countless social and political issues that have created a great of unrest among the people, in large part thanks to the inability – or in many cases, unwillingness – of our so-called leaders to do anything about it. That’s exactly the type of narrative that is captured in the fundraising performance presented this past week by Articulate Theatre Company.
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Review: 'Twelfth Night' at Alchemical Studios
When it comes to adaptations of Shakespeare, of which there have been plenty over the years, there’s both the good and the bad. In some cases, however, as it is with most art, the way in which you judge the production might simply depend on your taste in theatre. Namely, it might depend on how much you love the playwright’s works already, prior to seeing the show. That is arguably the case with the latest indie theatre production of Twelfth Night, now running at Alchemical Studios.
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Review: “He’s Your Daddy” at Manhattan Repertory Theatre
When it comes to writing material that is bound to appeal to large audiences, it’s hard to go wrong with writing a family comedy. Throw in enough awkward situations and raunchy humor, and the result is usually bound to be an experience that will leave you laughing out loud from beginning to end. Such is the case with He’s Your Daddy, the latest outing to be presented at Manhattan Repertory Theatre.
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Review: “June is the First Fall” at New Ohio Theatre
There’s no shortage of new plays being written in 2019 that deal with LGBTQ issues, and the continued discrimination that many members of the LGBTQ community continue to face to this day. However, it’s not every day we see a play that explores the specific strain of homophobia that still runs strong among older generations in the Asian-American community. Yet June is the First Fall, now running at New Ohio Theatre, does an outstanding job at doing exactly that.
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Review: 'Johannes Dokchtor Faust' at Theatre For the New City
Taking the classic story of the ambitious Doctor Faust and presenting it through well-crafted marionettes, the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre gives a more light-hearted and somewhat modern take on the story, with jokes galore and plenty of references to pop culture and the happenings of today.
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Review: Hamlet Isn’t Dead presents “Hamlet”
To go or not to go? If that is the question of this review, New Yorkers looking to escape the pendulum swing happening between seasons outside right now should get themselves inside to The Center at West Park where Hamlet Isn’t Dead’s “Hamlet” captivates and excites.
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Review: 'Miranda From Stormville' at IRT Theatre
A modern retelling of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, “Miranda From Stormville” tells the story of nineteen-year-old Miranda living in Stormville, New Jersey with her sick father and his caretaker Ariel. After a mysterious storm, they are visited by two stranded travelers, Will and Steve who have found themselves stranded after crashing their car on a nearby highway. Outsiders to the mysterious Stormville and stuck waiting for their car to be repaired, Will and Steve discover that there may be more to this hidden New Jersey town and the people living there than they thought.
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Off-Broadway Review: “Nantucket Sleigh Ride”
In the 18th and 19th centuries, new phrases entered the language of the sailors who took to the sea off the island of Nantucket, one of the whaling capitals of the world during that period. One specific expression “Nantucket Sleigh Ride” describes what happens when a harpooned whale drags the sailors in their long boat across the surface of the water in the wake of waves until it dies. During this treacherous event, which was a fight to the finish, sometimes the sailors also perished. John Guare’s somewhat new play (revised from a previous 2012 production at McCarter Theater) is aptly titled since the audience is only given enough to trawl over the surface of the story and characters without any depth of understanding until the play dies or the audience gives up trying to comprehend it. The switching from reality to the surreal and absurd becomes too confusing and too big a whale of a tale to comprehend the message or purpose of the play. Stopping half way through the farcical memory ride for an intermission seemed unnecessary for a ninety-five-minute play.
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Review: Mystical Feet Company & EMVEE Productions Present “THE MAR VISTA: In Search of My Mother’s Love Life”
Written, directed, and choreographed by the industrious and passionate Yehuda Hyman, “THE MAR VISTA: In Search of My Mother’s Love Life” is a comical, semi-autobiographical dance-play hybrid that ultimately gets lost within its dizzying breadth of aspirations.
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