Past reviews, recommendations, profiles, and posts about arts and culture in New York City.
Red Shirt Entertainment, a young theatrical production company, brings awareness to social issues both domestically and globally via a variety of artistic events. They focus on raw, in-your-face performances, often featuring young talents. One of their ongoing programs is The Remembrance Project, now in its second season. Conceived by the company’s[…]
After People Like You is a simply staged play that takes place on a subway car at some point in a future New York City after an apocalyptic event. It’s never explained exactly what happened. The audience must piece together the backstory based on intermittent references to surges, waves, and[…]
Jessi D. Hill Director
Ah, It’s A Wonderful Life – that American tradition we gather around at this time every year. You can celebrate Frank Capra’s classic film, starring Jimmy Stewart as the life-battered dreamer George Bailey, on Turner Classic Movies in a couple weeks like most people, or you can head to the[…]
Dr. Dysart, a quiet, bookish therapist, has a new patient – Alan Strang, a disturbed boy who enters his office singing commercial jingles and shooting daggers with his eyes. Dysart routinely treats troubled youths, but none quite like Alan. For the other night, Alan stripped naked and blinded five horses[…]
Blue Wizard/Black Wizard or Black Wizard/Blue Wizard (whichever you prefer) is a new musical from Dave Malloy (the mastermind behind super hit Natasha, Pierre and the Comet of 1812) and Eliza Bent (playwright, The Hotel Colors). Wizard is a layered rumination on friendships and romantic relationships, the pursuit and abandonment[…]
Facing Our Truth is a production of six ten-minute plays about race and privilege, all written in the wake of George Zimmerman’s acquittal for killing Trayvon Martin. A different playwright wrote each piece and, although connected by common themes, each piece is distinct. Maxamoo was fortunate to be invited to[…]
Welcome Home Sonny T is the first of a series of five plays by William Electric Black addressing violence and guns in U.S. inner cities. The story is set in a neighborhood plagued by antagonism between long-time black residents and Mexican newcomers. One of the black residents, Sonny T, returns home from[…]
59E59 Theaters presents Le Jazz Hot: How the French Saved Jazz, a unique production that features twin musician virtuosos, Peter and Will Anderson. The duo, who play no less than four instruments apiece (most notably the clarinet and saxophone), are buoyed by a guitarist, bassist, and drummer. Part jazz concert,[…]
Signature Theatre presents the world premiere of Chéri, an interdisciplinary work by Martha Clarke that incorporates theater, live music, and dance. Adapted from French author Colette’s novel Chéri and its sequel La Fin de Chéri, the story is set in Paris around the First World War. It tells the tragic story of Chéri, a young man who[…]
This holiday season Blessed Unrest, an award-winning theater company, brings a minimalist, physical version of Dickens’ classic A Christmas Carol to the stage. This trimmed-down version focuses on the socio-economic disparities in the world of Ebenezer Scrooge and everything is seen through the moral dilemma of the haves’ responsibility towards the[…]
Ensemble Studio Theatre, or “EST,” is a Hell’s Kitchen-based theater company founded in 1968 that is committed to showcasing new voices in American theater and nurturing emerging artists in all disciplines of the field. In addition to a few full scale productions each year, EST generates new work through a[…]
Actress Sage Snakechalmer (that is neither a typo nor a joke) writes and performs Private Dancer, a solo show that examines the glamorous public life and private struggles of the late Hollywood goddess Rita Hayworth. Director Bob Degus toggles between live theater and film, direct-address monologues and cinematic symbols, to portray[…]
Lesser America was founded in 2010 by Daniel Abeles, Jonathan Blitstein, Nate Miller, and Laura Ramadei after the four collaborated on a play called Keep Your Baggage With You At All Times, written by Blitstein. It was directed by Daniel Talbot and Blitstein won a 2011 New York Innovative Theatre Award[…]
The Pigeoning, written and directed by HERE‘s artist in residence Robin Frohardt, is a darkly comedic puppet show (or “object theater” piece, as we were recently instructed) set in 1980s New York. As it starts, audience members receive an office safety manual and watch a series of hilarious, paranoia-inducing, 80s-style office safety training[…]
Have you ever lamented the fact that you live in the greatest cultural city in the world, where artists create gorgeous art that you could see for virtually nothing today but tomorrow will be unattainably expensive and in demand, and yet you never take advantage? In the spirit of remedying[…]
Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind is the signature show of the funky theater group New York Neo-Futurists. It is a hectic sprint of creativity and energy as the actors aim to perform 30 plays in 60 minutes. The show takes place every Friday and Saturday night, 50 weeks a[…]
What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined, a tribute to the celebrated singer, songwriter, composer, and producer Burt Bacharach, is having its world premiere at the New York Theatre Workshop. Conceived by Kyle Riabko and David Lane Seltzer, What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined is a 90-minute fast-paced, soulful concert performed by a[…]
Christmas is almost here, and with it come many Christmas-themed shows (for a full list check out this special feature). One of these shows is How LTR Stole Christmas, an original variety show by theater company Less Than Rent (LTR). How LTR Stole Christmas is an umbrella title for three different shows[…]
If you are a fan of winter holiday cheer, you’re in luck, December is packed with Christmas, Hanukkah, and winter-y enthusiasm themed theater. Within this narrow category there are some surprisingly diverse options. Hate the holidays? We’ve got lots of non-winter-holiday-themed theater recommendations over here. Christmas Smackdown […]