Stage Left

Part civics lesson, part memoir—at once bittersweet and beautiful— Heidi Schreck’s mostly one-woman play “What the Constitution Means to Me” at New York Theatre Workshop recounts her formative experience of wrestling with the constitution’s meaning as a teenager through the lens of her adult self, the women in her family, and the bitterly divided nation it serves. Heartbreaking, humorous, brilliant, and profoundly important, this is a must-see event of the fall season.

Oct 9

Oct 9 REVIEWS: Misery’s coming around in “Girl from the North Country” and “I Was Most Alive with You”

Review, Off-Broadway, Play, Musical

A roundup look at “Girl from the North Country” and “I Was Most Alive with You”, a musical and play brimming with craft and daring ambition, despite their depressing subject matter, that left me yearning for deeper impact.

Sep 26

Sep 26 REVIEW: WWI Through the Eyes of a Young Soldier in “Private Peaceful”

In “Private Peaceful”, Irish actor Shane O’Regan makes a smashing New York debut playing 24 characters in a one-man World War I story. A dispatch from the trenches of war told from the perspective of a young solider, this simple but arresting play is a haunting reminder of the savage cost of war and the terrific sacrifices made for democracy by those who came before us. I recommend you catch this crisp and brilliant production before it goes on tour.

Sep 23

Sep 23 REVIEW: Edie Falco in “The True”

In “The True”, playwright Sharr White dramatizes the 1977 Albany Mayoral primary election from a domestic, interpersonal perspective. Edie Falco is fiercely magnetic as real life, foul-mouthed political operative Polly Noonan, but the play itself is rarely compelling and suffers from sedentary staging and unrealistic expository conversations that explain complex—and fundamentally uninteresting—political dynamics.

Sep 23

Sep 23 REVIEW: “The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d”

“The Revolving Cycles Truly and Steadily Roll’d” makes its imprint in explicitly displaying the tragedy of its titular “revolving cycles” of racism and indifference, and by viscerally depriving the audience of any disconnection between the world of the stage and the world of our lives. With terrific performances throughout, and trenchant treatment of a devastating story and situation, metatheatrical devices cloud its impact, which can be too clinical, but is nevertheless striking.

Sep 17

Sep 17 REVIEW: “Collective Rage: A Play in 5 Betties” is a must see!

Jen Silverman’s “Collective Rage: A Play In 5 Betties” at MCC Theater is a blazingly brilliant and uproariously funny new comedy that serves up a giant entrée of pure feminist, queer, intersectional theatre. Smart direction and design, and a stellar cast, make this fresh, original, and urgently-now play a must see of the fall season.

Sep 16

Sep 16 REVIEW: “THE AЯTS” at LaMaMa

“THE AЯTS” at La MaMa is a stirring world-premiere collage-like piece of multimedia docu-drama recounting the contentious history and debate over public funding for the arts and humanities in the United States. Rousing, informative, and depressing, this is an important piece of argumentative, documentary theatre for these weary times.

Sep 15

Sep 15 REVIEW: The Pond Theatre Company presents “The Naturalists”

The Pond Theatre Company, dedicated to world premieres of plays by Irish and British writers, presents “The Naturalists” anew play by Irish playwright Jaki McCarrick. Even though the pace and tone of the piece varies widely from act one to act two, you won’t find a better acted suite of scenes on any New York stage than the ones here. The Pond is a new theatre company worth keeping your eyes on.

Sep 15

Sep 15 REVIEW: “Show Time! The First 100 Years of the American Musical”

Review, Off-Broadway, Musical

“Show Time! The First 100 Years of the American Musical”, a one-man presentation of the history of the American Musical, has the feel of a slick TedTalk with the added benefit of songs. Serious musical theatre history buffs and those genuinely seeking a lively academic instruction on the roots and evolution of the art form should definitely not miss this show.

Sep 10

Sep 10 REVIEW: Shaw's “Heartbreak House”

Gingold Theatrical Group presents a new adaptation of Shaw’s “Heartbreak House”. Despite an impressive roster of actors, and a slew of standout performances, a new framing device for the play results in a muddled tone and lack of setting central to communicating the play’s anti-war allegory.

Sep 7

Sep 7 REVIEW: “The Gospel at Colonus” in Central Park