Stage Left

Aug 6

Aug 6 REVIEW: “This Ain’t No Disco” Ain’t Kidding

“This Ain’t No Disco”, an original rock opera about the art, music, and dance club scenes of 1979 New York, ain’t kidding. This new musical is bland and soulless, overstuffed, overdone, and under-dramatized, with a cacophony of characters, ideas, and issues offering only a sprawling, shallow story that is neither unique, distinctly tethered to the history of the setting, or frankly, engaging. This isn’t just a flop, but a belly flop—the likes of which you rarely see on stage in New York anymore.

Aug 6

Aug 6 REVIEW: Shakespeare in the Park’s Festive and Musical “Twelfth Night”

Robert Russo

Review, Musical, Off-Broadway, Critic's Pick

The Public Theater presents a free, Public Works musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” in Central Park. Featuring songs by Shaina Taub and a cast in excess of 75 professional and amateur performers of all ages, races, sizes, and abilities, this “radically inclusive” production is magical, festive, and highly accessible. Infectiously energetic and buoyantly spirited, do not miss this jubilant new musical.

Jul 26

Jul 26 REVIEW: A refreshingly queer “Head Over Heels” brings the beat

Robert Russo

Review, Broadway, Musical

“Head Over Heels”, a new musical featuring songs by The Go-Go’s, is an upbeat, gender fluid, Renaissance retro romp that is decidedly, and refreshingly, queer. Clever enough and funny enough, though the songs are mostly lackluster, the heart of “Head Over Heels” never stops beating, and the show features a palette of diverse representation that matters.

Jul 26

Jul 26 REVIEW: Encores! Off-Center’s “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope”

Robert Russo

Review, Off-Broadway, Musical

New York City Center completes this summer’s Encores! Off-Center series of five performance concert revivals of rarely seen Off-Broadway musicals with a presentation of “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope”, composer/lyricist Micki Grant’s incisive 1971 musical revue about black life in America.

Jul 23

Jul 23 REVIEW: Irish Rep’s “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”

Robert Russo

Review, Musical, Off-Broadway

Irish Rep revives Lane and Lerner’s “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever”, a middling oddball of a musical from 1965. Gorgeously sung, and charming throughout, the romance at the heart of the plot is unconvincing and largely absent from the stage. This new adaptation gets the scale right, but doesn’t solve the flaws baked in to this simple and strange musical.

Jul 22

Jul 22 REVIEW: “Smokey Joe’s Cafe” rocks your soul!

Robert Russo

Review, Off-Broadway, Musical, Critic's Pick

“Smokey Joe’s Cafe”, a musical revue featuring 39 songs from the pop cannon of legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, is a hyperkinetic 90 minutes of pure, joyful, electric entertainment; anyone looking for a jolt of high energy, head-shaking, toe-tapping fun should check out this rocking and soulful new revival at Stage 42 Off-Broadway.

Jul 1

Jul 1 REVIEW: Oscar Hammerstein’s “Carmen Jones” at CSC

Robert Russo

Review, Musical, Off-Broadway

Classic Stage Company presents the first major revival of Oscar Hammerstein’s “Carmen Jones” in an intimate, small-scale production by John Doyle; the music is magnificent and the voices gorgeous, but this 1943 opera-to-musical experiment doesn’t hold up. Catch the MetOpera’s “Carmen” instead.

Jun 18

Jun 18 REVIEW: Shakespeare goes West in “Desperate Measures”

Robert Russo

Review, Musical, Off-Broadway, Critic's Pick

“Desperate Measures” is a smartly crafted new musical (very) loosely inspired by the central plot of Shakespeare’s “Measure for Measure”, set in the Wild West in the late 1800s. A musical comedy guilty pleasure that is fun and charming, this show offers a perfect, joyful escape from the horror of the daily news.

Jun 10

Jun 10 REVIEW: “The Scottsboro Boys” at Signature Theatre

Robert Russo

Review, Musical, Regional

Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia mounts an impressive and solid production of Kander and Ebb’s “The Scottsboro Boys”, a satirical minstrel show presentation of the harrowing story of one of the most disgraceful episodes in American history. Musical theatre fans in the D.C.-metro area should flock to this regional premiere of an extraordinary and underappreciated musical. It’s an important “must see” of the season, and well-worth the visit.

Jun 7

Jun 7 REVIEW: “The Will Rogers Follies” at The Goodspeed Opera House

Robert Russo

Review, Regional, Musical

The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut presents a first rate production of “The Will Rogers Follies” starring a perfectly-cast David Lutken; marvelously staged, choreographed, and designed, this high-energy 1991 bio-musical—performed as a Ziegfeld Follies revue—was brilliantly crafted by Broadway greats Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Peter Stone, and feels every bit as lavish in the intimacy of this venue as any show does on Broadway.

May 14

May 14 REVIEW: “Unexpected Joy”

Robert Russo

Review, Off-Broadway, Musical

“Unexpected Joy”, a new musical at the York Theatre Company, contains several unexpected joys: a groovy, folk rock score, an intriguing original story mining contemporary themes, and a quartet of strong female vocal performances; and some unfortunate faults: a script and direction lacking dynamism, stereotypical characters and sitcom-deep dialogue, and a pat ending. The whole show feels dated and unrealistic, with an “agree to disagree” closing message about LGBT equality that I found troubling.

May 11

May 11 REVIEW: “Me and My Girl” Fizzes and Froths

Robert Russo

Review, Musical, Concert

“Me and My Girl” is a fizzy, frothy, and funny British musical from the 1930s, updated in the 1980s, presented with period pizzazz as part of City Center’s Encores! concert series. With a fancifully simple story and charming, if forgettable score, this show offers pure lighthearted escapism. If you’re looking to think, skip it, otherwise, serious musical theatre fans should catch this chance to see a classic.