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Articles by Jack Quinn

Mary Foster Conklin — Mirrors Revisited (50th Anniversary)

December 12, 2025

Mary Foster Conklin’s Mirrors Revisited stripped Peggy Lee’s 1975 art-album down to its core. With a tightly aligned ensemble led by John DiMartino, Yoshi Waki’s bass, Vince Cherico’s percussion and luminous violin from Sara Caswell, the performance revealed the cycle’s psychological through-lines and affirmed Sue Matsuki’s thoughtful curatorial vision for Winter Rhythms. [more]

Kathy Kaefer — Kiss Me Once: Stories from the Homefront

December 11, 2025

Kathy Kaefer’s Kiss Me Once: Stories from the Homefront transforms 1940s wartime songs into moving portraits of real families, lovers, and soldiers. Through tender storytelling and beautifully sung classics, she honors the Greatest Generation not with nostalgia, but with living, breathing remembrance. [more]

A Noel Coward Celebration — Steve Ross & Friends

December 9, 2025

Steve Ross and a gifted ensemble brought Noël Coward’s world vividly to life at the Episcopal Actors’ Guild, blending wit, longing, and theatrical history. Highlights included Shana Farr’s luminous “Someday I’ll Find You,” young Austin Hardy’s charming poem, and a show-stopping turn from 100-year-old Dorothy. A night of artistry with purpose. [more]

Tom Stoppard: An Appreciation

December 5, 2025

With Tom Stoppard’s passing, we look back on a career that transformed theatrical language and feeling. Our tribute revisits Arcadia, Leopoldstadt, Travesties, and The Real Thing through TheaterScene’s critics, capturing the wit, humanity, and intellectual daring that shaped his enduring legacy. [more]

GLORIA! — Canterbury Choral Society

November 24, 2025

GLORIA! from the Canterbury Choral Society unites Vivaldi, Puccini, and Arnesen in a luminous performance shaped by expressive voices and rich ensemble color. [more]

Gruesome Playground Injuries

November 24, 2025

In Neil Pepe’s stark revival of Rajiv Joseph’s "Gruesome Playground Injuries," Nicholas Braun and Kara Young trace three decades of bruised connection. Childhood scars, teenage volatility, and a late-night reckoning unfold in jagged time jumps that reveal how two people can orbit each other without ever landing in the same emotional place. [more]

The New York Pops: Everything I Know: Mandy Gonzalez Sings Lin-Manuel Miranda

November 23, 2025

These highlights stood out not because they were big, but because they were grounded. Nothing felt inflated or overworked. Reineke kept the orchestra responsive, and Gonzalez moved through Miranda’s catalog with the ease of someone who knows the material from the inside out — from the early basement-club creativity of "Freestyle Love Supreme" to the cross-platform storytelling that carries him from "In the Heights" to "Encanto" without changing his fingerprint. [more]

Bruno Giraldi: Love or Death? at Don’t Tell Mama

November 23, 2025

Bruno Giraldi’s "Love or Death?" at Don’t Tell Mama blends cabaret performance, philosophy, and intimate storytelling. Each idea leads to a personal revelation; each revelation breaks into song. This cabaret review highlights a show where love, loss, and music intertwine, creating a powerful emotional journey on a small New York stage. [more]

The Unfinished Conversation: Shaw in 2025

November 19, 2025

George Bernard Shaw — A salon-style evening at the American Irish Historical Society brought artists and educators together as David Staller led a candid, contemporary look at Shaw’s ideas in 2025. [more]

Sue Matsuki and the Heartbeat of Winter Rhythms

November 17, 2025

At Winter Rhythms, the lights warm, the lobby hums, and Sue Matsuki runs Urban Stages with the grace of a mentor and the stamina of a producer who loves every beat of the work. More than 150 artists gather for 11 nights of music, community, cookies, and the unmistakable generosity that defines this festival. [more]

The Harvest

November 16, 2025

James Carthage, Jr. (TC Knutson) and Sarah Pinnelly (Tylyn Turner) Photo by MariAnn Ryan Skoyen Photography
In a Montana farmhouse worn thin by grief and memory, "The Harvest" exposes the fractures beneath a family’s final crop. What begins as a quiet drama of duty erupts into a raw reckoning—where a mother’s long-silenced truth rewrites everything her children thought they knew. [more]

Episcopal Actors’ Guild’s 2025 Annual Memorial Evensong Service

November 10, 2025

This year’s service, held Sunday, November 9, 2025, was led by Father John David van Dooren, Rector of the Little Church and Warden of the Guild. His opening words recalled the centuries-old connection between art and faith: “Our work as performers is to make the invisible visible—to show that light, even when flickering, is never lost.” Then came the reading of names: a litany of the departed, some famous, some known only to the theater community, all united by their devotion to the performing arts. [more]

Theatre Now’s Astonishing! Gala 2025

November 10, 2025

Honoring three women reshaping the American musical: Mindi Dickstein, Lisa Lambert and Anna K. Jacobs.Hosted with radiant humor by Taylor Iman Jones, the evening celebrated women and nonbinary musical-theatre writers, with performances by Isabelle McCalla, Kyra Kennedy, Claire Kwon, Afra Sophia Tully, and Jones herself. Songs rose through the oak-paneled hall like light through stained glass. [more]

Vape! The Grease Parody

November 4, 2025

Billy Recce and Danny Salles' lyrics are the secret engine of "Vape!"—clever, campy, and unexpectedly pointed. They skewers performative purity, influencer culture, and the desperate nostalgia of Gen Z’s retro revival, all while composing hooks catchy enough to survive outside satire. Under Jack Plotnick’s razor-sharp direction, "Vape!" turns vintage pink into neon green, and proves that a good parody doesn’t mock its source—it reinvents it. [more]

The Lucky Ones

October 31, 2025

A moving, funny meditation on mortality and friendship, Lia Romeo’s “The Lucky Ones” opens not with sentimentality but with shock — and ends with a grace note of acceptance that feels wholly earned. [more]

The New York Pops —2025 Opening Night

October 25, 2025

Steven Reineke and The New York Pops opened their Carnegie Hall season with a luminous concert tracing the path of great songs from Broadway to Hollywood. Hugh Panaro and Elizabeth Stanley lent the evening its beating heart, blending theatrical soul with cinematic sweep. [more]

The Pitch

October 22, 2025

There’s no denying that when 'The Pitch" stays in the office, it’s alive—taut, funny, and honest. Alper clearly knows this world; he writes its jargon and swagger with precision. But each time the play strays from the phones and the whiteboard, it forgets its own best pitch. As a showcase for a terrific ensemble and Keller’s crisp direction, it’s worth the listen. Yet, like a salesman who can’t stop talking after he’s closed the deal, The Pitch doesn’t know when to hang up. When it stays on the phone, it’s riveting; when it hangs up, we’re stuck on hold. [more]

Celebration of Song — Freedom and Hope (Open House New York 2025)

October 19, 2025

As part of this year’s Open House New York festival, the Episcopal Actors’ Guild presented Celebration of Song — Freedom and Hope at the Church of the Transfiguration, affectionately known as The Little Church Around the Corner. It was an inspired afternoon of music and fellowship—part history lesson, part hymn, and part rallying cry. [more]

Unstuck and Unflinching: Olivia Levine on Comedy, Control, and Coming Clean

October 19, 2025

For Levine, the crowd isn’t a backdrop—it’s a living collaborator. Her show is intimate, often exposing the kind of stories most people bury: intrusive thoughts, shame, and the messy intersections of sex and control. She relies on the audience to meet her there. “Sometimes people’s reactions change what happens in the moment,” she says. “When my mom’s friends came, they’d whisper or gasp or laugh in surprise—and I can feel that energy. It changes how I tell a story.” [more]

Unstuck

October 17, 2025

Olivia Levine’s "Unstuck" begins like a comedy set and ends like a cleansing. She steps into the light holding a fake candle and an orange, instantly setting the tone: part ritual, part bit. “I hope my parents are always happy and that they live forever — of course they will, but just in case,” she intones, before muttering “Done done done done done GUN — goddammit.” It’s funny, until it isn’t. You laugh, then realize you’re inside the mechanics of OCD — the panic disguised as precision, the desperate repetition hiding inside a joke. [more]

Country Roads, Quiet Rooms, and Inner Weight: Two Plays in Conversation

September 24, 2025

As TheaterScene.net approaches its 24th anniversary, I’ve been reflecting not only on the shows we cover but also on how they speak to one another across the season. Sometimes two productions, opening within days of each other, unexpectedly illuminate common ground. This past week, seeing "let’s talk about anything else" (reviewed by Victor Gluck) and "The Porch on Windy Hill" (reviewed by Joseph Pisano), I couldn’t help but notice how these seemingly different works echo each other in intriguing ways. [more]

Roses and Beyond: The Best Flowers to Give Your Favorite Artist

February 17, 2025

An artist has a long-lasting effect when they really connect on stage. A thoughtful gift such as flowers can express your gratitude in a manner that words cannot express. While roses are a common choice, there is a vast array of flowers with unique meanings that can convey profound messages. [more]

How to Swap Ethereum: A Quick Guide for Beginners

October 28, 2024

Swapping Ethereum is a practical strategy for investors who want to diversify, secure stable assets, or participate in new opportunities within the Ethereum ecosystem. With a trusted platform, you can swap ETH safely and quickly, maintaining flexibility in your portfolio without needing to cash out in traditional currency. [more]

The Ultimate Guide to Planning the Perfect Christmas Dinner Party

October 24, 2024

Ready to host the ultimate Christmas dinner party? Whether you're a seasoned entertainer or a first-timer, planning the perfect holiday gathering can feel overwhelming. But don't worry! Here are easy holiday hosting tips to help you create a festive and memorable evening. From delicious dishes to cheerful decor, we've got you covered. [more]

Betting in Broadway: A guide to NYC’s hottest shows

October 24, 2024

Broadway is the embodiment of the most in-demand shows in the world. Getting good tickets to a Broadway show can feel like winning the lottery. Famous shows like Hamilton, The Lion King, Wicked, and Moulin Rouge! are all cultural phenomena, and both tourists and locals will go miles to ensure getting tickets to the spectacle. [more]

How Virtual Theater Is Expanding Access to Global Audiences

October 24, 2024

In an era where technology is often seen as isolating, virtual theater reminds us that it can also be a tool for connection. Whether it’s through the fusion of abstract photography into storytelling or the simple act of sharing a performance across borders, virtual theater is reshaping the way we experience art, making it more accessible, more collaborative, and more global than ever before. [more]

Krzysztof Knapczyk: A New Face of Classical Music with Global Ambitions

October 4, 2024

Krzysztof Knapczyk
Krzysztof Knapczyk, who has performed in countries such as Greece, Germany, and the U.S., aims to expand the Pop Opera project to American and international audiences. "Performing in New York was a huge step for me," he says. "Now, I want to bring this concept to stages all over the world—bridging the gap between opera, pop, and musicals in a fresh and exciting way." [more]
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Copyright Jack Quinn, 2001-2023