With the concept of “winter” an increasing memory, here is overview of all that’s coming to New York stages this spring!
All tagged Playwrights Horizons
FEATURE: Top 10 of 2019
By my count, I’ve attended 234 performances of theatre, dance, music, opera, and cabaret during 2019. Out of a field that large, it’s hard to pick just ten, but nevertheless, here are my top ten (ok, eleven) favorite shows I saw in 2019.
"Mrs. Doubtfire" the musical will open at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre; the Broadway-aimed musical "Lempicka" will play La Jolla Playhouse; Tim Sanford will step down as Artistic Director of Playwrights Horizons; stars of "SpongeBob SquarePants" will reunite for a new TV adaptation that will premiere on Nickelodeon; Maria Dizzia to headline “Constitution” tour; Roger Bart joins "Back to the Future" musical; Warren Carlyle to direct and choreograph Barry Manilow's "Harmony"; first look of Carolee Carmello as Dolly Levi in the national tour of "Hello, Dolly!"
REVIEW: Jaclyn Backhaus’ hilarious new comedy: “Wives”
Wives”, Jaclyn Backhaus’ smartly satiric and forthrightly feminist play, deconstructs the way in which women are “supposed” to behave, think, and feel about each other, and retells three historical episodes typically told through the male gaze, but this time from the perspective of the “wives”. The result is hilarious and poignant.
FEATURE: 2019 Fall Season Preview
The city that never sleeps also boasts a theatre scene that never sleeps. With the summer now behind us, this is an overview of all that’s coming to New York stages this fall (spoiler alert: it’s a lot).
REVIEWS: Charting new musical frontiers with “A Strange Loop” and “Octet”
Two new Off-Broadway musicals that are marquee productions of the summer experiment with form and content in exciting ways that portend well for the future of the art form. Unique for musicals, both are also the product of a single author. Here I take a look at Michael R. Jackson’s “A Strange Loop” at Playwrights Horizons andDave Malloy’s “Octet” at Signature Theatre.
Jackie Sibblies Drury's "Fairview" wins the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Laurie Metcalf, Eddie Izzard, Russell Tovey, and Patsy Ferran to star in 2020 Broadway revival of Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"; "Oklahoma!" musical television series in development; 2019-2020 seasons announced at Off-Broadway's Signature Theatre and Playwright's Horizons; "Grease" movie prequel is in the works; Mike Faist will play Riff in “West Side Story" film; Olga Merediz, Gregory Diaz IV, Jimmy Smits join "In the Heights" film; Lila Neugebauer to make film debut; RIP Georgia Engel
FEATURE: Top 10 Shows of 2018
By my count, I’ve attended 246 performances of theatre, dance, music, opera, and cabaret during 2018. Out of a field that large, it’s hard to pick just ten, but nevertheless, here are my top ten favorite shows I saw in New York (including no new musicals and only three Broadway shows!).
REVIEWS: “The Hard Problem”, “Natural Shocks”, and “The Thanksgiving Play”
A roundup look at three new Off-Broadway plays: Tom Stoppard’s “The Hard Problem at Lincoln Center Theater; Lauren Gunderson’s “Natural Shocks” at WP Theater; and Larissa FastHorse’s “The Thanksgiving Play” at Playwrights Horizons.
REVIEWS: Misery’s coming around in “Girl from the North Country” and “I Was Most Alive with You”
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.
Mike Birbiglia "The New One" books the Cort; "Kinky Boots" will close April 7th; Tony Goldwyn joins "Network"; "Almost Famous" musical and a musical about Jean-Michel Basquiat in the works; "Diana" musical books La Jolla Playhouse; Playwrights Horizons adopts GalaPro technology for deaf and hard-of-hearing patrons; “Head Over Heels" and! "Twelfth Night" cast albums coming; RIP Joe Masteroff, Merle Debuskey, and Roger Robinson
REVIEW: “Dance Nation”
“Dance Nation” at Playwrights Horizons is Clare Barron’s explosive and raw look at a ragtag troupe of 11-to-13 year-old competitive dancers as they discover their bodies, their power, and their ambition amid the glorious horror of adolescence. Both messy and explicit, this hilarious and unsettling new play is refreshingly weird and thrillingly honest, featuring an excellent ensemble cast and perfect direction. Catch this one if you can.