With the concept of “winter” an increasing memory, here is overview of all that’s coming to New York stages this spring!
All in Off-Off-Broadway
REVIEW: “Killing An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe”
Actor John Kevin Jones performs four of Edgar Allan Poe’s greatest and best-known works in “Killing An Evening with Edgar Allan Poe” at Merchant’s House Museum; the historic and spooky setting is perfect for this ghoulishly good evening of literature coming to life.
REVIEW: Confronting the past in “jazz singer”
In “jazz singer” a group of artists grapple with making a piece of theatre about the film “The Jazz Singer” by examining its roots in Jewish mythology, wrestling with its use of blackface, exploring vital themes of assimilation, appropriation, and atonement, and questioning its legacy. While the piece substantively evinces the feel of a work still in progress, the production design is impeccable and unimpeachable, and its mission is achieved.
REVIEW: A must-see immersive production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” in Brooklyn
A new, immersive Off-Off-Broadway production of “A Streetcar Named Desire” makes history as the first to feature a genderqueer actor as Blanche DuBois, but that’s only one reason to see this uncensored and visceral take on an American classic, performed mere feet from the audience and loaded with complex and raw performances. A must-see.
REVIEW: Astoria Performing Arts Center’s “Caroline, or Change”
Fans of Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori’s “Caroline, or Change” who are eager to see this 2003 musical masterpiece on stage should check out the Astoria Performing Arts Center’s ambitious and well-executed production. While the trimmings are simple and the vocal performances vary in quality, the strength of the story still radiates.
REVIEW: Immersive “Bleach” in Brooklyn
“Bleach” is an immersive, site-specific solo show about a gay sex worker that is performed for an audience of ten or less in a drafty basement in Bushwick, Brooklyn. The experience is memorable, but the play itself is too safe for its own good.
REVIEWS: “King Kong” and “The Making of King Kong”
In this comparative review, I take a look at the $35M “King Kong” musical on Broadway—complete with its thrilling stagecraft and lackluster material underneath—and the decidedly low-budget Off-Off-Broadway play, “The Making of King Kong”—a playful deconstruction of the “Kong” myth and its attendant problems of white patriarchy, colonialism, and sexism.