Of the many dark comedies debuting at this year’s Fringe Festival, The Dead Hooker Play stands out to us for the simple reason that the playwright’s bio reports he spent ten years as a bouncer and celebrity bodyguard. He must’ve sees some crazy sh!t that found its way into this[…]
Writing a play about abortion takes guts, a comedy about abortion is even more daring. The A-is-for-Abortion Play is a Vagina Monologues-esque production, in which 5 actresses play 15 different characters and tell personal stories about their abortions in a series of funny, touching, and candid monologues. An all-women cast, bold subject matter,[…]
We don’t fancy ourselves musical anthropologists at Maxamoo but it strikes us as odd that the intersection of musical theater and country western music is largely unexplored territory. One would think a dying medium would be eager to attach itself to the most popular genre of music in the U.S. Cowboys[…]
KINEMATIK is a multimedia dance production composed of two pieces by the Kinematik Dance Theater. Maxamoo caught a brief preview performance and we were impressed. We added it to this list as a result. The performance includes pounding music, light projections, and mannequin parts, all incorporated into mesmerizing dance routines. For a sense[…]
SummerStage Theater is back! This series is part of the City Parks Foundation effort to make art more diverse and accessible throughout New York City’s five boroughs. All productions are free and aim to present a unique voice. This season’s theatrical events are two musicals: King Kong and Diablo Love. King Kong is a 1970’s[…]
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,[…]