Disgraced by Ayad Akhtar At the opposite end of the theater going spectrum from It's Only a Play is Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced, winner of the 2013 Pulitzer Price. This celebrity free, but certainly not talent free performance is riveting. Except for a collective gasp at a particularly scathing ... [Continue Reading]
It’s Only a Play by Terrence McNally
It’s Only a Play by Terrence McNally The big play in NYC this Fall is It’s Only A Play—heavy on celebrity casting-- F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Rupert Grint, Nathan Lane and Megan Mullally-- and light on dramatic merits. Some reviewers were less than enthusiastic, ... [Continue Reading]
NEW YORK THEATER SUMMER 2014
NEW YORK THEATER SUMMER 2014 Earlier this month, I saw three plays in NYC-- two I liked very much, one not so much. But none were as much fun as A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder which opened last fall and is still going strong at the Walter Kerr Theatre. (NOTE: If the producers replace ... [Continue Reading]
The Assembled Parties by Richard Greenberg
To Jeff, visiting from somewhere-not-New York City, the Bascov family is the epidemy of urban sophistication with their witty conversation, an immense, tastefully decorated apartment on Central Park West, and a whiff of celebrity. (Julie Bascov was a child movie star.) But best of all, the Bascov ... [Continue Reading]
The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess Richard Rodgers Theatre NYC
When I tell people that they should see Porgy and Bess, they smile politely. And then ask me what other plays I recommend! Poor Porgy and Bess! Because it is labeled an American classic, the musical suffers from the same stigma as works of classic fiction such as Moby Dick. You know that as an ... [Continue Reading]
Nice Work If You Can Get It Imperial Theater NYC
Broadway producers love a musical revival. Why create a new work when one can simply relaunch a classic show? But what’s a producer to do when all the good musicals have been taken? Introducing the un-revival, a medley of familiar tunes coupled with a great cast and gorgeous choreography. Take ... [Continue Reading]
One Man, Two Guvnors The Music Box Theater NYC
Successful comedy is hard work, and no one in NYC is working harder than James Corden, the furiously funny star of the National Theatre of Great Britain production, One Man, Two Guvnors currently playing at The Music Box theater. One Man, Two Guvnors is set in the seaside community of Brighton in ... [Continue Reading]
Christmas in NYC!
Is there anything better than Christmas in NYC? I think not! I’ll be back in time to rustle up Xmas Eve dinner for the family, and to share the scoop on the plays Neighborhood Watch by Alan Ackborn, Other Desert Cities by Jon Robin Baitz, and Chinglish by David Henry Hwang. Reviews of The ... [Continue Reading]
Theater & Dining, Shopping & Sights–Sept in NYC
Just returned from a fab week in NYC! The calendar said fall, but temperatures in the 80s said otherwise--perfect walking weather! (I managed to catch a cold anyhow--go figure!) The sniffles slowed me down a little, but mom and I still managed to pack in many activities. THEATER We saw ... [Continue Reading]
Who You Gonna Trust– Me or Charles Isherwood?
Earlier this year, I purchased tickets to the chamber musical A Minister’s Wife at the Mitzi Newhouse Theater principally for the convenient Lincoln Center location. (And because I couldn’t get tickets to my first choice, War Horse.) As the play was in preview (no reviews,) I took a leap of faith ... [Continue Reading]