At the beginning of his eponymous Broadway foray, "Jeff Ross: Take a Banana for the Ride," the self-styled insult comic promises a catharsis, which seems like an obvious setup to soon mock the forlorn theater geeks sprinkled among an audience predominantly there to see Ross unleash the "Roastmaster General" persona he's cultivated over more than a quarter century of televised potshots at dais-trapped celebrities. But, it turns out the joke is on all of us. While Ross doesn't completely abandon his sophomoric shtick, it's also not the heart of his show, which has an unexpectedly big one. [more]
Part of the problem with the play is that it attempts to cover too many topics in the form of a domestic tragedy: pollution, industrial waste, climate change, toxic chemicals, poverty, red-lining, foreclosures, destruction of animals, etc. It also cannot make up its mind whether its style is realism, surrealism, expressionism, symbolism or even magic realism. Many of the elements seem extraneous, tangential or not fully unified to the plot such as the talking animals. There is an interesting play hiding in this material but the playwright does not seem to know how to shape his ideas and wants to cover everything in this one play. [more]
While the ensemble is solid in their portrayals of the characters, the play lacks a clear dramatic line regarding the main point of the story. Bossert's portrayal of Disney and his emotional struggles appears to provide the scaffolding for a story that, in reality, is about Lillian Disney and her influence on the decisions that will ultimately be attributed to Walt. Her careful guidance of Walt's presentation style ultimately enabled him to speak in public with greater confidence and engage more effectively with his audience. Her conversations and skillful guidance of Mary Blair's view of herself as an artist, independent of her husband, led to Mary's increased confidence in herself and ultimately to Walt's recognition of her talent. [more]
"well, i’ll let you go," Bubba Weiler’s exquisitely devastating new work, staged with unpretentious yet profound grace by director Jack Serio leading a magnificent cast at the Space at Irondale in Brooklyn is, in a word, haunting. The play unfolds as a poignant, slow-burning elegy to ordinary lives and the extraordinary grief that can shatter them. It is a tender meditation on loss, memory, and the fragile architecture of community—one that both embraces and exposes the complex, often contradictory, human heart. [more]
"Lili/Darwin" is a captivating one-woman show from writer/performer Darwin Del Fabro ("They/Them," "A Midsummer Night’s Dream") that explores her own transition as well as that of Danish painter Lili Elbe, with Del Fabro playing both in alternating segments. Elbe was a trans woman in the 1920s/30s and one of the first people to ever get sex reassignment surgery. Del Fabro reads from the painter’s posthumously published journals as a way to reimagine Elbe’s innermost moments contrasted with those of her own. At the same time, she maintains the dramatic distinction between herself and the Danish painter. [more]
The show deals with the emotional impact of their not being able to have children after a series of miscarriages, and finally leading to the diagnosis of ovarian cancer. Gitter adds emotional depth to the story with an understanding and sensitivity to the affection Gene and Gilda had for each other in these moments of stress, culminating in an ending that underscores their love. [more]
Kevin Zak’s 'Ginger Twinsies" now at the Orpheum Theatre is an outrageous, campy gay stage parody of the 1998 Lindsay Lohan (a true redhead) remake of "The Parent Trap" in which she played fraternal twins, directed by rom-com specialist Nancy Meyers. Much of the humor is based on name dropping of pop culture, film, stage and television lore with “appearances” by Vanessa Redgrave, Demi Moore, Shirley MacLaine, Julianne Moore and Jessica Lee Curtis as well as Ms. Meyers herself. A great many gags come from the Harry Potter movies as well as Curtis in "Freaky Friday" and a plug for her new "Freakier Friday" opening on August 1. You don’t have to know "The Parent Trap" to enjoy the jokes as much of the humor is visual but it helps set up the premise. The laughs come once a minute but not all of them land as successfully as they are meant to. [more]
As directed by Avra-Fox Lerner and written by Curtis Fox, the production has many problems, the first being its leisurely slow pace which makes the play seem longer and less dramatic than it is. Written in 19 scenes and taking place on the same Soho loft set throughout, the play is more of a teleplay than a stage play, minus the camera angles and the set changes. Each scene only reveals one new piece of information, a dramaturgically dull way to tell a stage story. In spite of all this, the play might have worked if the acting was passionate and intense but the cool, unemotional style undercuts much of the tension. [more]
How far would you go to be famous on social media? Julia Randall’s "Dilaria" is a stunning exposé of Gen Z 20-year olds, brought up on and addicted to TikTok and Instagram, who spend all their free time on their smart phones trolling the Internet. Making their Off Broadway debuts, rising stars Ella Stiller, Chiara Aurelia and Christopher Briney play very superficial college grads relocated to New York, but Randall gets a tremendous amount of satire from their interactions. The language is raw and sexy, not for senior citizens, but there is much humor in the way these twenty-somethings use words, particularly the latest urban slang. [more]
"Open" is an award-winning love story by Crystal Skillman that uses magic as the emotional hook, taking an audience on a journey through the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of the challenges some people face in the pursuit of love in a socially and politically complicated world. In this case, two young women are drawn to each other by their love of the magical and mysterious. [more]
The idea presented in this prologue is that Holder, after 20 years in his theatrical life, has reached a dead end in his interest in playwriting. He is looking for something to re-energize himself, or he will give it all up and move on to something else. The prologue reader pulls a string, releasing a cascade of 36 folded cards from a box on the ceiling. The claim is that everything that is to transpire is real, and if Holder doesn't complete all of the tasks listed on the cards, he will quit the theater forever. [more]
John Krasinski, best known for his role as the charming and amiable Jim Halpert on NBC’s sitcom The Office, is inspired casting for Penelope Skinner’s Angry Alan, a perfect showcase for his talents now the opening show at Studio Seaview, the renovated Tony Kiser Theater. In Skinner’s monologue co-created with actor Donald Sage Mackay who first played the part at the 2018 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Krasinski is Roger, a three-years divorced man, who also lost his executive position job at AT&T and now works as the dairy manager at his local Kroger, a job he hates. Surfing the net, he finds a website called “Angry Alan” which seems to explain his midlife crisis: it is all the result of the “Gynocracy: a female dominated political regime which took over decades ago.” Roger who addresses us directly is still smarting from the fact that his live-in girlfriend Courtney has recently discovered feminism from a community college life class she is attending. [more]
"Machinal" makes use of all of these Expressionistic techniques. However, the current production has added tap dancing, practical foley and heightened movement created by choreographer Hilligoss in all of the scenes which both drowns out much of the dialogue and becomes very distracting. Obviously it is meant to emphasize the mechanical aspects of modern life but it also works as a sledge hammer repeatedly hitting the audience over the head with what is perfectly clear in the text itself. It is as though the director and choreographer do not trust the audience to get the message of the play. [more]
"Lowcountry" by Abby Rosebrock, author of 'Blue Ridge" seen at Atlantic Theater Company in 2019, has a great deal going for it: a fine cast, a play told in real time, scenic design in keeping with the milieu and the plot, and characters quirky enough to keep us interested. However, this talky play doesn’t get where it is going until the last ten minutes and has a great many unanswered questions that perplex as one watches the play. While Jo Bonney’s production is strong on the characterizations, it is weak on pace so the plot seems to go on longer than it needs to and lacks tension until the very end. Ultimately, except for those last surprising minutes, the play eventually becomes tedious and in need of a few cuts – or new devices. [more]
A famous line from the John Ford film "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" is spoken by the newspaper reporter character, Maxwell Scott, near the end of the film, after hearing the true story about the death of Liberty Valance. When asked if he will print the facts, Scott replies: “When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” These words do not appear in the original story by Dorothy M. Johnson nor the stage version by Jethro Compton. Still, they form the central theme of both. Compton’s play, "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance," directed by Thomas R. Gordon, is a beautifully realized revival of the 2022 production with most of the original cast. It is a classic story of the Old West presented by a solid ensemble. If you enjoy a good story, well-told, see this one. [more]
'Duke & Roya" is an engrossing rom-com with a geo-political background, the sort of story that Hollywood specialized in during World War II. Charles Randolph-Wright’s new play makes use of the war in Afghanistan in 2017 before the American pull out in 2020. The cast is led by television stars Jay Ellis (James in "Insecure") and Stephanie Nur (Aalyiyah in "Lioness") who prove to be engaging company. The cast is filled out by veteran stage performers Dariush Kashani ("The Kite Runner," "The Band’s Visit," "Oslo") and Noma Dumezweni who created the part of Hermione in both the London and Broadway versions of "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child," winning the Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress. [more]
"A Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First" is a gem of a play written, directed, and performed by Xhloe Rice and Natasha Roland. This two-hander makes a connection between a couple of Boy Scouts in the early 1960s and grunts in Vietnam at the end of the decade. While billed as an "absurdist" production, given the various definitions of "absurd," this show is anything but absurd. The words that come to mind are humorous, poignant, comedic, dramatic, provocative, and compelling. [more]
In a sharply observed and emotionally layered turn, "Prince Faggot" brings a fresh perspective to the classic "meet the parents" trope—with a royal twist. John McCrea’s George, the openly gay Prince of England, brings his boyfriend Dev (an excellent Mihir Kumar) home to meet his parents: the seemingly progressive Prince William (K. Todd Freeman, masterfully restrained) and Princess Kate (a poised and quietly complex Rachel Crowl). At first glance, the royal welcome is warm, even congenial. But beneath the polished surface lies a prickly nest of social expectation, national identity, and unacknowledged privilege. [more]
Manuel Ortiz’s masterful play "Manifest Destiny" lays bare the complicity of the United States in the overthrow of the Chilean presidency of Salvador Allende and the authoritarian repression of Augusto Pinochet in an engaging, thoughtful and entertaining way. Ortiz’s direction seduces the audience into the darkness of political repression with humor and edgy, light-hearted banter, delivering an unforgettable statement on what happened in Chile and the U.S. organizations bearing responsibility for those events. It is a skillful blend of past, present, and perhaps future, and a show to be experienced by everyone who loves a compelling story solidly presented by an outstanding ensemble. [more]
"Prosperous Fools" is like those 1960s and 70s East Village happenings where one never knew what was coming next. Taylor Mac’s tremendous imagination could use some reining in but his satire is pungent and on target. Like happenings, this is a show that must be experienced to feel the import of the event. And one admires Theatre for a New Audience for risking their funding to offer to stage it. Moliere would be pleased that his 18th century comedy gave rise to this 21st century free-for-all. [more]
In great theater, history is not merely recounted but resurrected with breath and pulse, defiance and hope. In 'At the Barricades," the indomitable company What Will The Neighbors Say? breathes new life into one of the 20th century’s most harrowing yet heroic chapters — the Spanish Civil War of 1937. We find ourselves in Madrid not as tourists, but as comrades in struggle, embedded within a city and a country fraying at the seams, on the verge of succumbing to the iron fist of fascism. And yet, in the shadow of tyranny, a radiant flicker of international solidarity takes flame. [more]
This is not merely a delightful evening of theatre—it is a defiant, sequined middle finger to theatrical complacency. The cast, many of whom trained under the maverick George Ferencz at La MaMa, bring authentic chops to the chaos. Morrison is transcendent, as raw as he is precise. Vath is a hurricane in scrubs (and let it be known she is the hardest working actress south of the TKTS line as she races from her curtain call at Theater Row Theater’s production of Cracked Open to aid and abet the sorceress on the cover of Child Abuse Monthly). Howard’s Jason is laughable, pitiable, and oddly endearing—a fallen hero undone by hubris and soap suds. [more]
Portraying the eponymous Izzy--or Isabelle per the formal preference of a long-ago teacher--the charismatic Smart earns our rapt attention throughout the play, though she cannot begin to overcome a first-person narrative that doesn't know that person particularly well. Wax, with journalistic straightforwardness rather than dramatic breadth, essentially reduces Izzy to a collection of abject sorrows and artistic inclinations, much of which Izzy shares while on a lid-down toilet seat in a locked bathroom. A grim sanctuary, it's where Izzy reads and writes poetry nightly, accomplishing the latter with an eyebrow pencil and a roll of toilet paper as her husband, Ferd, menacingly slumbers nearby in the bedroom of their Louisiana mobile home. [more]
A farming couple who have been married 50 years go out into their western Kentucky field to watch a lunar eclipse. Nothing much happens but, on the other hand, they review their entire lives. There is little we don’t know about them by the end of the eclipse. Under the direction of Kate Whoriskey, Pulitzer Prize-winner Donald Margulies’ latest play, "Lunar Eclipse," with veteran actors Reed Birney and Lisa Emery is extremely poetic and sensitive about people and their feelings. If you are looking for action, this will not be for you. However, if you think plays should reveal the human condition, then you will be caught up in this very human story of lives lived with regrets but always to the best of their abilities. [more]
Hassan has managed to raise the strident, repetitive street rhythms and language of rap into an art form that gets to the heart of what ails these three colorful figures. To be frank, the language is often harsh, but just as often poetic. [more]
Creating his third outstanding and needed adaptation in conjunction with director Jesse Berger ("The Government Inspector," 2017; "The Alchemist," 2021), Jeffrey Hatcher has salvaged yet another comedy from the classic world theater which has been sorely neglected in the United States. All of these are large cast plays with lengthy speeches that have long needed pruning and updating for contemporary audiences. With Berger’s light touch and swift-paced production, this Molière is not only a delicious treat but a timely satire. [more]
Smith’s script, which is heartily laden with day-to-day chatter and feels slightly long, still finds perfect opportunities to divulge important messages about friendship, love, empowerment, loyalty, dignity, and perseverance. The play's conclusion is heartwarming, although there is a missed opportunity for rejoicing, when the ultimate success of the strike is written to occur between scenes. Director Awoye Timpo and dramaturg Arminda Thomas expertly weave the energy of the actors and their keenly intentional listening into a compelling tapestry. Though minimal, the opening choreography by Adesola Osakalumi and Jill M. Vallery is striking; this, and the few instances of singing spur the imagination with thoughts of what a great musical could be born from this material. [more]
Wolf’s direction skillfully manages the emotional tension to maintain the horror element of the story while also paying homage to B-movie scare tactics and tropes. Mulligan uses a device between scenes, featuring brief interludes of Rick and Kim watching scary movies, with Rick displaying fear and Kim being bored. It is an interesting and subtle way of adding definition to the two characters. [more]
Although Cobb makes references to Iago, Othello’s, second-in-command, and Barbary, the maid to Desdemona’s late mother who brought her up, Nine Moons does not tell us anything we don’t already know from Shakespeare’s play. Since the one thing we are waiting for is Othello’s wooing of Desdemona which will result in their elopement, this does not begin until one hour and five minutes into this 115 minute play. What transpires before that is chit chat about the state of Venice and Cyprus, Othello’s unease in this new city, and Cassio’s army ambitions at odds with his drinking problem, all of which is covered in Shakespeare’s later tragedy. [more]
If "Chiaroscuro" occasionally falters under the weight of its ambition, it ultimately dazzles with its daring. Rahman has crafted a bold, theatrical puzzle box — part satire, part sermon, part séance — that speaks to the depths and contradictions of Black desire in all its shadowed hues. The play doesn’t just shine a light; it refracts it—casting humor and heartache in tandem. With "Chiaroscuro," Rahman leaves us with a final, luminous testament to her unique voice—both searing and sublime. [more]
Orpheus’ song—aching, persistent—guides him deep into the Underworld in search of his lost Eurydice. Whether or not you’ve encountered this myth before, Sarah Ruhl’s "Eurydice" invites a new question: not just will they reunite, but should they? The tension isn’t only mythic—it’s emotional, intimate. As Eurydice teeters between the memory of her father and the love of her husband, the audience is left to wonder: can love pull them both from the brink, or will they vanish into the River of Forgetfulness, together yet apart?
This revival, directed once again by Les Waters more than two decades after he first helped bring Ruhl’s script to life, is a poignant reminder that some stories don’t age—they resonate. The production hums with urgency and heart, made vivid by a cohesive, impassioned ensemble that grounds the myth in emotional truth. [more]
In this Czech play, a 1930s transgender/intersex athlete, long forgotten, is brought back to center stage. Yet one can’t help but be disappointed at how little this play actually has to say about its ostensible subject matter of professional sports, fascism, persecution, transgender and intersex people, or even Zdeněk himself. Excellent directing and compelling performances don’t save a cruel script. Zdeněk never gets his moment to speak. Instead, he rides off into the sunset to be forgotten again. [more]
At an hour and 40 minutes, "Cracked Open" is an earnest but often exhausting theatrical experience. Its heart is unquestionably in the right place—tackling the vital and still-stigmatized subject of mental illness with sincerity—but the journey can feel more dutiful than illuminating. Despite these shortcomings, the cast’s unwavering commitment and playwright Kriegel’s courage in confronting such difficult terrain deserve commendation. [more]
