Monday, April 15, 2024

Las Borinqueñas by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Nelson Diaz-Marcano’s "Las Borinqueñas," the latest play in the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation’s Science and Technology Project, has a fascinating, little known stor…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:59PM
Sunday, April 14, 2024

Sperm Donor Wanted (or, The Unnamed Baby Play) by Scotty Bennett

In a funny recounting of what happened when they placed an ad on Craig's List, they finally found a couple they thought would work. Charles and Aaron are a biracial gay couple. Charles is wh…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:00PM
Saturday, April 13, 2024

Teeth by Tony Marinelli

Sarah Benson’s direction is spot-on, but we find ourselves wishing the closing scene was more than just a plethora of bloody penises. This is where the creatives needed to say, “Okay, th…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:54PM

The Reef (opera workshop) by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

On April 10, 2024, Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center presented a tantalizing teaser of a musical evening with the world premiere workshop of only the first act of 2020 Pulitzer Prize-winni…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:09PM

Dali’s Dream by Joel Benjamin

The four patients’ stories occupy the bulk of "Dali’s Dream" in an uneven stream of oddball activities which divert the plot from the more important consideration of the Freud/Dali inter…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:03PM
Friday, April 12, 2024

Fish by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Aside from its attempt to cover too much at one time (drug addiction, pregnancy, incarceration, high school dropouts, gun violence, lack of health care, underfunded ghetto schools), "Fish" d…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:17AM
Wednesday, April 10, 2024

Witchland by Scotty Bennett

David Silberger, Mars Holscher and Geoffrey Grady in a scene from Tim Mulligan’s “Witchland” at Chain Theatre (Photo credit: Jordan Schreiber) Scotty Bennett, Critic If you think livin…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:32PM
Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Oh, Mary! by Joel Benjamin

No one should be sacrosanct or above satirical treatment, not even our heroes.  Everyone has feet of clay.  Cole Escola in their huge hit "Oh, Mary!" at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in Green…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:28PM
Monday, April 8, 2024

Water for Elephants by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Playwright/bookwriter Rick Elice has written the greatest jukebox musical (so far) in his 2005 Jersey Boys. In his adaptation of Sara Gruen’s bestselling novel Water for Elephants, he may …

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:36PM

The Who’s Tommy by Joseph Pisano

But, as the book's co-writer with Townshend, McAnuff is self-aware enough to recognize that "The Who's Tommy" needs to blow one's mind through sensory overload. That way, thoughts can't inte…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:42PM
Saturday, April 6, 2024

Eugene Onegin by Tony Marinelli

Enter young baritone Edwin Joseph. He has that dark curly hair and handsome face, yes, and the crucial understanding of the necessary swagger and selfishness that carries this character thro…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:28PM
Friday, April 5, 2024

Herself by Scotty Bennett

The cast of Tim McGillicuddy’s “Herself” at Gural Theatre at A.R.T/New York Theatres (Photo credit: Lee Wexler/Images for Innovation) Scotty Bennett, Critic Consider, if you will, bein…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:50PM

Travels by Joel Benjamin

"Travels" at Ars Nova isn’t just a story of the many places James Harrison Monaco has been.  That’s part of it, the most superficial part. "Travels" is far more:  a deep look at the pe…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:28PM
Thursday, April 4, 2024

The Notebook: The Musical by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

While the characters age, the use of diversity here has them switch races, so that while one couple has a Black Allie and a white Noah, another has a white Allie and a Black Noah, as well as…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:06PM
Wednesday, April 3, 2024

ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA … CATCHING THE HIGH SOCIETY NEW ORLEANS JAZZ BAND by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

This is, essentially, Woody Allen’s band, without Woody. It’s the only seven-piece New Orleans-style jazz band with a steady gig in New York. And if you like traditional jazz, this ban…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:50PM
Tuesday, April 2, 2024

Stalker by Joel Benjamin

Peter Brynolf and Jonas Ljung, two coolly elegant Swedes—who wrote the show with Edward Af Sillén (also the show’s director)—perform one mind-boggling feat after another, fed by infor…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:08PM
Monday, April 1, 2024

Dead Outlaw by Joseph Pisano

Conceived by Yazbek, the show is structured as a folksy retelling of the haplessly heinous Elmer McCurdy's life and post-life story, with the unbelievably true and undeniably dead portion re…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:15PM
Sunday, March 31, 2024

An Enemy of the People by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

The concept of alternate facts was not created under the Trump Administration. In 1882 Henrik Ibsen wrote "An Enemy of the People" in which a medical report that a town’s new spa is pollut…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 09:58PM
Saturday, March 30, 2024

Eddie Izzard: Hamlet by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

In this tour de force, Izzard has come up with a different voice and stance for each character: King Claudius is a baritone, Lord Polonius has a limp, Lady Ophelia has a somewhat breathy spe…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:33AM
Friday, March 29, 2024

Orson’s Shadow by Joel Benjamin

For those interested in both theatrical history and the lives of our former artistic heroes, Pendleton doesn’t disappoint, even if he exaggerates and manipulates the facts a bit.  He does…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 06:44PM
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Corruption by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Playwright J.T. Rogers ("Oslo", 2017 Tony Award for Best Play) specializes in dramatizing the backstories to true scandals of which the real details behind the facts never made the news. His…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:57AM
Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The Look of Love (Mark Morris Dance Group) by Joel Benjamin

"The Look of Love" was filled with Morris’ least complex choreography, relying on repetition, walking, running and soft leg extensions along with simple arm gestures.  Considering the sop…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:56AM
Tuesday, March 26, 2024

Bathhouse.pptx by Scotty Bennett

Theatrical productions can sometimes be exhilarating, moving, provocative, informative, perplexing, confusing, dull, or bad. "Bathhouse.pptx," written by Jesús I. Valles and directed by Cha…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:52PM

ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA … CATCHING “TITANIC” AT THE FRANK SINATRA SCHOOL OF THE ARTS by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

I’ve never seen any student production—at the high school or college level—achieve a more glorious ensemble sound than the ensemble sound produced by the students of the Sinatra School…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 12:01PM

Five Theatrical Plays About Gambling by Jack Quinn

While gambling may not be the main character in each of these plays, its role in each one adds to the drama, causing the story to unfold further and further. It adds to the drama, entertainm…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 10:48AM
Monday, March 25, 2024

Dongpo: Life in Poems by Joel Benjamin

Dongpo’s travels through life is set forth in the lovely poems—projected in Chinese script and in English—full of observations of nature, sad inner monologues and thoughts intimating t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:45PM
Saturday, March 23, 2024

Pharaoh by Scotty Bennett

This show, as conceived by Shulman, creates a unique theatrical experience combining narrative text with Kathakali, a form of traditional Indian dance exquisitely performed by Kalamandalam J…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 03:07PM
Thursday, March 21, 2024

Illinoise by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

While "Illinoise" does not seem bigger than its individual parts nor transcend them, it is both satisfying and moving. Peck’s inventive and derivative choreography at the same time seems t…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 11:53PM

Doubt: A Parable by Joel Benjamin

In this Roundabout/Scott Ellis production, Amy Ryan’s Sister Aloysius (stepping in for the originally cast Tyne Daly) comes across as less absolute in her suspicions while Liev Schreiber�…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 04:23PM
Wednesday, March 20, 2024

ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA … CATCHING THE VIVINO BROTHERS AT THE IRIDIUM by Chip Deffaa, Editor-At-Large

I’ve always loved their work, from the very start of their careers. Jimmy (on guitar) and Jerry (on tenor sax) have worked with some of the biggest names in the business--Tony Bennett, Bru…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 07:11PM

The Effect by Victor Gluck, Editor-In-Chief

Soutra Gilmour’s setting is a sort of empty runway with the audience sitting on either side. The other props are two black chairs at either end for the two doctors. Scenes are created enti…

SOURCE: www.theaterscene.net at 05:07PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards