Past reviews, recommendations, profiles, and posts about arts and culture in New York City.
First Date is a musical comedy that portrays a blind date in real time. Aaron is new to the blind date scene, whereas Casey is a seasoned veteran. The two sing and dance their way through ice-breakers, awkward conversation, and, surprisingly, really hitting it off. As the date unfolds, the couple realizes[…]
The Public Theater is one of the most important cultural institutions in New York City and in the U.S. It has produced innumerable unique and brilliant theatrical performances since its founding by Joseph Papp nearly 60 years ago. Production highlights include historic hits HAIR and A Chorus Line and venerable versions of[…]
The reviews haven’t been kind to Let It Be, a theatrical tribute to The Beatles. It was dubbed by one as “The cheesiest yet of all so-called Beatles celebrations” and another as the reason aliens would destroy our planet. Let It Be is basically a Fab Four cover-band concert — four apt musicians, dressed[…]
Shakespeare’s classic, The Taming of the Shrew, gets an outdoor revival in Pulse Ensemble Theatre’s ninth season of summer theater. The outdoor setting, situated directly on the Hudson River, provides some romantic ambiance for this bawdy and, let’s be honest, slightly sexist play. Lucentio and Bianca fall in love as Katherine[…]
Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac, together, performing an “apocalyptic vaudeville” with direction and choreography by Susan Stroman. Say no more, we wouldn’t miss it for the world. From Classic Stage Company: It’s the end of the world as we know it. A flood of biblical proportions leaves us with only[…]
Behold, a new craze for New York City tourists. After a sensational appearance on America’s Got Talent in 2011, iLuminate – a combo of high-tech light show and dance performance – now has its own show at New World Stages here in New York City. The plot of this technology-and-dance show is[…]
Acting greats Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart will appear in repertoire in Samuel Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot and Harold Pinter’s No Man’s Land this Fall in New York City. Tickets are on sale now. This is a 14-week limited engagement.
There is strong early buzz for The Civilians’ Mr. Burns, A Post-Electric Play at Playwrights Horizons later this summer. This show had an impressive debut in Washington D.C. last year, earning great reviews and spots on a few end of year “best of” lists, see here and here. Mr. Burns[…]
Volleygirls is a new musical about a troubled high school girls volleyball team. Despite my best cynical efforts to remain immune to the parable of a sports-team-overcoming-adversity I was tearing up and smiling along with everyone else at the end of this show. Somehow stories about teamwork, dedication, and triumph[…]
Shakespeare in the Park is the most well-known outdoor theater event in NYC, but it’s definitely not the only one. It’s not even the only outdoor Shakespeare theater. Shakespeare in the Parking Lot is Shakespeare in the Park’s casual cousin. Performed in a municipal parking lot on a collapsable set, the[…]
The Storyville neighborhood in New Orleans is the birthplace of jazz, so the legend goes. Here we witness that legend through the eyes of Butch, an out-of-town trumpet player. He floats into Storyville to spread the love for his unique brand of music. But the residents of Storyville are apprehensive. They have[…]
In the thick of this year’s OBIE award-winning Ice Factory theater festival, Red Wednesday hits hard and fast. The play opens with a few college-aged friends discussing unrest in the Middle East, which prompts a young woman’s memories of her earlier life in Iran. Inspired by the true family history of writer and[…]
Based on the true story of the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill W. and Dr. Bob is the story of two men who battled drinking together, and defined a method that helps millions. The play traces each man’s path to his own rock-bottom, their mutual redemption, and their attempt to[…]
Aggregated reviews and news about New York City theater from major New York City media outlets and trusted independent bloggers. REVIEWS Alcestis Ascending New York Theatre Wire Love and Superheroes The Capables New York Theatre Review Review Crossing Swords Theatre Is Easy Review Crossing Swords Castle Walk[…]
In what must have been the most surreal moment of her life, Elizabeth Fuller found her idol, Bette Davis, on her doorstep. She came to visit, and then she stayed . . . and stayed. Me and Jezebel takes place in 1985 and is entirely true. Elizabeth Fuller plays herself,[…]
Update: October 13th, 2013 Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have hailed this Julius Caesar, a production from one Warehouse (England’s Donmar) hosted by another (St. Ann’s in Brooklyn), as the best in recent memory. You’ll get little argument from us. A rapturously inventive interpretation – set in a[…]
Young Jean Lee is back at Lincoln Center with We’re Gonna Die. Partly a rock concert, partly a philosophical endeavor, We’re Gonna Die, performed by Lee and her band Future Wife, celebrates in song the only element we all have in common: death. The show is sold out, and for good reason: touchingly funny,[…]
Photos by Hunter Canning The Capables’ set is itself “almost worth the price of admission” says The New York Times. Unfortunately, the operative word in that sentence is almost. This play is about a family struggling to address the mother’s hoarding disorder. They enlist the help of a reality television[…]
The original New York performance of The Designated Mourner in 2000 is one of those productions that audiences speak about with reverence, awe, and superlatives. For example, it was “One of the most unforgettable experiences we’ve ever had” and “Easily in the top 3 best theater experiences I’ve ever had.“ This first New York[…]
Theater bona fides are established by discovering new theater productions in the following order: Post Tony Award = Too late, this is for international and Midwestern tourists only, might as well wear an “I heart NYC” shirt to the show Post Opening = Also too late, if the show is[…]