A Bodega Princess Remembers La Fiesta de los Reyes Magos, 1998
Iraisa Ann Reilly in her one-woman show “A Bodega Princess Remembers La Fiesta de los Reyes [more]
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Ready for Company and Other Family Tales
"Ready for Company and Other Family Tales" is at times quite heartwarming. Amidst jokes and cakes, Kim Ima explores her family history across a century of change in the United States. The tone is light, Ima is quite fun as a performer, and the show never wears out its welcome. While the show is charming for what it is, yet leaves much material unexplored. Instead, there are long digressions about aunts and grandfathers that tend to blend together, making it difficult to keep track of who’s who in the winding family tree the show seeks to present. Ima herself is at ease onstage, with a definite charisma. However, the show’s subject matter often renders the entire production perfectly pleasant though somewhat forgettable. [more]
The Yellow Wallpaper
"The Yellow Wallpaper" is an enthralling new stage adaptation of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s 1892 short story of the same name. Gilman’s original narrative is written as a series of diary entries by a woman who’s been confined to the upstairs room of a rented mansion by her husband, who is also her doctor. He prescribes her bed rest and little else, leading her to slowly losing her mind due to the stifling restrictions she is forced to exist under. Actress/choreographer Susannah Millonzi (Beldam's "Fall River Fishing," "Hedda Gabler," "The Crucible") and director Caitlin Morley ("Macbeth," "Twelfth Night") adapted the story together, taking a very direct approach. The diary entries become a series of monologues to be read by the nameless protagonist, the play’s only character. At the same time, the creative production and clever blocking adds significant depth to the narrative, introducing new ideas and exploring them wonderfully. [more]
Hannah Senesh
At the center of it all stands Apple, whose performance is nothing short of revelatory. As Catherine, she is brittle yet unbowed; as Hannah, she radiates vitality and purpose. Her voice—both spoken and sung—cuts through the air with the precision of belief. A stirring portrait of resistance, resilience, and unyielding hope, Apple’s one-woman tour de force unfolds with the emotional breadth and intensity of a full ensemble. Apple commands the stage with a virtuosity that transcends mere performance; she channels something elemental and deeply human, crafting an experience that lingers long after the lights fade. It is as inspiring as it is unforgettable—a testament not only to the power of storytelling, but to the indomitable spirit it so eloquently celebrates. Around her, Simon Feil lends quiet gravity as the spectral voices of Hannah’s brother and her Nazi captor. [more]
Playing Shylock
Mark Leiren-Young’s timely one-man show, "Playing Shylock" (formerly called simply "Shylock"), has arrived in New York after its premiere run in Toronto in its new version rewritten around the life and career of veteran film actor Saul Rubinek ("The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," "Unforgiven," "Frasier") playing himself. Returning to the stage for the first time since 1990, Rubinek plays an actor performing Shylock in a (fictional) production of Shakespeare’s "The Merchant of Venice" which is shut down by protestors claiming that the play is anti-Semitic and the theater company has caved in to their demands. While the play is fascinating and provocative, it also has some flawed passages but Rubinek is commanding at all times. [more]
Did You Eat? (밥 먹었니?)
To have emerged from a childhood like Zoë Kim’s—with enough self-awareness, critical distance, and sheer emotional stamina to craft a piece of theater with even a hint of uplift—is in itself an act of tremendous courage. The piece’s very existence is a quiet triumph: a testament to survival, to the insistence of choosing a path of identity in the face of sheer cruelty, and to the reclamation of one’s own narrative. Yet "Did You Eat?" accomplishes something beyond testimony. Artistically, it is a layered, deeply felt work that reveals Kim’s aesthetic intelligence and her willingness to experiment with form, language, and the body. [more]
Unstuck
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]
Nothing Can Take You from the Hand of God
Jen Tullock in the one-woman play “Nothing Can Take You from the Hand of God” at Playwrights [more]
The Least Problematic Woman in the World
Under the weight of the show's ambition, Dylan Mulvaney is a star. Not in the manufactured influencer sense, but in the time-honored theatrical tradition of the charismatic truth-teller who can command a stage with little more than timing, talent, and tenacity. She invites us to laugh with her, cry with her, rage with her—and then, perhaps, go out into the world a little more willing to see the humanity in people who are simply just trying to “be.” "The Least Problematic Woman in the World" is not without flaws—but like its creator, it dares to be seen in all its contradictions. And that is the most radical act of all. [more]
From Trinity to Trinity
Among her most haunting and meditative works is the slim yet searing "From Trinity to Trinity," an autobiographical pilgrimage undertaken in 1999 to the Trinity Site in New Mexico where the world’s first atomic bomb was tested. It is, in essence, a journey back to the beginning of the end. Published in 2000 and rendered into English by Eiko Otake—half of the hauntingly expressive performance duo Eiko & Koma—the work was later published in 2010, bringing Hayashi’s voice to new ears, and new hearts. But it was in 2009 that Eiko, recognizing the performative potential and piercing immediacy of Hayashi’s words, reached out to the accomplished New York-based actress Ako—known for her roles in "Shogun," "God Said This," and "Snow Falling on Cedars," and the visionary founder of the Amaterasu Za theater company. Eiko posed a proposition: Could this text—so personal, so painful, so charged with historical weight—be embodied on stage as a one-person play? The answer, though tentative and reverent, was yes. It is Ako’s own adaptation for the stage that she performs today. [more]
Relative Stranger
Director Ryan Cunningham has helped Ms. Ali shape the show into a strong piece of theater. There are sound cues (it's raining so you hear rain, that sort of thing) and it helps make it feel less like standup and more like a show. Overall, Relative Stranger is a solid evening of theater. Here's hoping the short run extends, or maybe gets adapted into a series. The story is worth it. [more]
Open
"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]
Call Me Izzy
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]
Hold Me in the Water
That balance—between emotional vulnerability and razor-sharp humor—is what elevates "Hold Me in the Water" beyond the sea of solo shows that mine personal experience for applause. Haddad’s artistry lies in his fierce honesty and unsparing introspection. He examines his own longing, joy, and heartache with something approaching clinical precision, yet never loses the pulse of the deeply human. He never asks for pity, and when disappointment inevitably arrives, he extends surprising compassion—even to the one who’s let him down. [more]
The Picture of Dorian Gray
However, it is not just the remarkable video design which uses sometimes up to six screens to convey the action of the story plus live action, but we get inside of the head of protagonist Dorian Gray in ways not possible before. Also seeing or hearing Snook as all the characters in different voices is quite a remarkable feat. Andrew Scott only plays eight in his Vanya one-man show, but here Snook also changes costumes repeatedly before our eyes and emerges as someone else. Beginning as the narrator, she slowly becomes Dorian Gray who eventually takes over completely. We also see her as Lord Henry Wotton, painter Basil Hallward, actress Sibyl Vane and later her brother James, the Duchess of Harley, and former friend and Oxford classmate Alan Campbell. [more]
All the Beauty in the World
Bringley, making his theatrical debut as himself, delivers a performance marked by restraint and quiet intensity. His words, drawn largely from the memoir, reveal a man of thoughtfulness and delicacy—someone who seeks refuge not in action, but in observation, retreating to the hushed galleries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he once worked as a guard. “You lose someone,” he tells us, simply, “and it puts a hole in your life—and for a time you huddle down in that hole.” It’s in that stillness, that huddling, that the piece finds its quiet power. [more]
Amm(i)gone
In "Amm(i)gone," Mansoor masterfully delves into the delicate nuances of cultural and personal differences, exploring the connections that bind us even in our diversity. Co-directed with Lyam B. Gabel, this meta-theatrical production—spanning a compact yet potent 80 minutes—recounts the journey of Mansoor and his mother as they embark on the project of translating "Antigone" into Urdu. Surrounded by designer Xotchil Musser’s evocative set of wooden cutouts and intricate mosaics, and serene candles for effect, Mansoor guides the audience through their creative process, blending dialogue, video and audio recordings, and projected imagery to weave a story that is both intimate and expansive. The production’s clever use of multimedia enhances the emotional weight of their shared task, inviting the audience to reflect on the complexities of language, family, and legacy. [more]
Talking with Angels: Budapest, 1943
So much of "Talking with Angels" is taken up by the rantings of these otherworldly emenations, which are filled increasingly by cryptic, impenetrable spoutings referencing religious imagery, that the play loses all momentum. Even though these Angels are the eponymous subjects, the really dramatic stretch of the play begins with Gitta’s plan to save not only her Jewish intimates, but scores of Jewish women after these Friday kaffeeklatsch idylls are suddenly interrupted as the Nazis bomb and then enter Budapest with frightening speed. [more]
After Endgame
Doyle’s storytelling skillfully blends didactic commentary with humorous anecdotes, holding the audience’s attention throughout and resulting in a thoroughly satisfying evening of entertainment. Whether you are a chess person or not, it is a show worth seeing. Afterward, you can hang around in the "Soho Chess Lounge," the Huron Room performance space skillfully transformed by set designer and chess consultant Charles “Chuck” Matte. [more]
Grandliloquent
Gary Gulman in his one-man show “Grandiloquent” at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (Photo credit: [more]
300 Paintings
Not only are the paintings massive but they also cover all sorts of modern periods of art without Kissajukian having known their work (abstract work by Picasso, Matisse, Joan Miró, Jackson Pollock, Franz Kline, Basquiat, etc.) After the show the audience is invited to experience his recent art work on display in four galleries in the theater while he remains available to answer questions. Not only are the paintings a kind of therapy for him, he also titles them with witty names and explanations, often having little to do with actual images. [more]
This Is My Favorite Song
Walking into the Peter Sharp Theater we have no hint of what is behind what look like opaque vinyl shower curtains from one end of the stage to the other. Within moments of her appearance, decked out in a black suit and tie like the kid who hates to dress up to go to Grandma’s for Sunday dinner, we know Francesca D’Uva just doesn’t want to be here. At the end of 80 minutes, we are so glad she came. She breaks the ice by letting us know how sensitive she is to mouth sounds telling us about a high school teacher who smiled so hard you could hear it. On the count of three, we all try to copy the smile noise. “I love bringing people together like that. That will be the only piece of crowd work I do tonight. So hope you enjoyed it. You’re done.” [more]
Woman on a Ledge
"Woman on a Ledge" is an adaptation by Hershey Felder of harpist Rita Costanzi’s writings about her life. Ms. Costanzi is a world-renowned harpist whose life experiences have been woven into a fascinating and highly engaging theater piece. As directed by Lissa Moira, this one-woman production beautifully integrates Ms. Costanzi’s superlative playing with her solid storytelling. One does not have to be a harpist or classical music fan to enjoy this production. Her storytelling alone is worth the time spent, and it becomes exceptional when coupled with her exquisite playing, used to underscore elements of her story. [more]
Deep History
Directed by Annette Mees, "Deep History" is a real eye opener but it is not depressing. Finnigan is so upbeat and compelling a storyteller it is not possible not be pulled into events as he describes, telling the history of the world from the point of view of a mythic woman who appears in all eras. The show is punctuated by Australian pop songs that figure in both Finnigan's life and the history he is recounting. The video design by Hayley Egan will sear the proof of climate change into your eyeballs permanently. You will never think about this topic the same way again: a not to be missed enlightening theatrical event. [more]
Woof!
Comedian Hannah Gadsby became an international sensation with their Netflix Special "Nanette," in which they revealed traumatic episodes from their past along with a slew of jokes. Gadsby's latest, "Woof!," now at the gorgeous Abrons Arts Center, is more focused on laughs than serious matters, but it still has some serious moments. [more]
Magnificent Bird/Book of Travelers
Gabriel Kahane’s pair of song cycles are a welcome throwback to when lyrics were poetry and told great stories. Think of the 70's when the airwaves were blessed with the voices and songwriting of Harry Chapin, Joni Mitchell and Cat Stevens and you will have a basic understanding of what Kahane has successfully put together here. [more]
Clowns Like Me
Ehrenpreis’ "Clowns Like Me" is sad, but true, and with the help of writer and director Jason Cannon, the brutally honest tale finds all the humor that’s possible. Within a very few minutes we are introduced to all the tools to discuss an obvious manifestation of his obsessive-compulsive disorder: cleanliness. Out come the goggles, gloves, cleaning rag, spray bottle and his co-stars Swiffer and Dirt Devil in this elaborate Ginger and Fred dance to clean where the average person would see no dirt. [more]
Jimmy Tingle: Humor and Hope for Humanity
Watching Jimmy Tingle is like encountering a fascinating guy at a bar : you listen, you're engaged, you're just enjoying the ride. Tingle has been at it a long time, and he has stories to tell as well as political takes on events past and present. In his 60 Minutes II segment, he discusses the possibility of a presidential candidate Donald Trump, sounding prescient since this is many years before it actually happened. [more]
Fingers & Spoons: The Ins and Outs of an Open Marriage
"Fingers & Spoons" does have its titillating moments, with descriptions of sex and even mild simulations. (The show is sexual enough that it would probably be a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe.) You will leave knowing that Pascale Roger-McKeever, the author and star, likes to be called a slut, at least under the right circumstances. You will not, however, leave with a greater understanding of open marriage. [more]
Eddie Izzard: Hamlet
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 speech pattern while Queen Gertrude is very emotional. The gravediggers are given two different lower class accents and the humor in the scene is still very vivid. The courtier Osric, who is usually played as somewhat fey, waves his hands around a great deal. The duel scene between Hamlet and Laertes in the last act is mostly successful but eventually it becomes difficult to figure out who is winning and who is losing. [more]
The Life & Slimes of Marc Summers
Christopher Rhoton's Double Dare-inspired set belies these weightier autobiographical details, offering enough of a time-warping simulacrum to help middle-aged members of the audience shed a few decades when Summers interrupts his fraught remembering to twice become a kid's game show host again. Those who legibly scribble their names on a piece of paper dropped into a fishbowl before the performance, eventually get the chance to head onstage (not sure if mezzanine ticket buyers are eligible), answer trivia questions, and launch pies on a catapult (a warning for the first few rows). Amid all the cheers, laughter, and chaotic fun, there's also an opportunity for the quick-witted Summers to go off-script, asking the theatergoers-turned-contestants trite questions like "Where are you from?" and "What do you do?" to set up a slightly mischievous back-and-forth. [more]