Editor
Julia Polinsky wrote, directed, produced, and starred in her first play when she was 7 years old. She’s been paying a lot of attention to theater ever since.
Caissie Levy, Patti Muran by Julia Polinsky Speaking as the one and only American who never saw Frozen: The Movie, it was good to come on Frozen: The Broadway Musical from cold, so to speak. Surprise! No surprises! Basic, fantastically successful Disney format. Simple-ish story (absent parents, child who masters obstacles, grows up,…
Tannis Kowalchuk, Photo credit: Emily Hewitt by Julia Polinsky The minute you start tinkering with the Legend that is Shakespeare, you invite disagreement. The problem is: we don’t know much about Shakespeare. Existing documents include such things as birth, marriage, and death records, and, of course, his will, with the famous legacy: to…
Hailey Kilgore and cast Photos by Joan Marcus by Julia Polinsky Every moment of this revival of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s Once On This Island touches the heart and rings true, from start – with the best “turn off your phone” reminder in recent history – to the happy/cry ending. Splendid…
Kate Hamill and Jason O’Connell photos by James Leynse by Julia Polinsky It’s easy to go back and forth between liking Primary Stages’ production of Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice and absolutely loathing it. If you can take or leave the Austen novel, you may like this show better than if you…
Eden Malyn in STUFFED – photo by Jeremy Daniel Lauren Ann Brickman Marsha Stephanie Blake Lisa Lampanelli Marsha Stephanie Blake, Lauren Ann Brickman, Lisa Lampanelli, Eden Malyn photos by Jeremy Daniel by Julia Polinsky Lisa Lampanelli’s Stuffed opens on an aqua fantasy mid-century modern kitchen, dominated by a chained…
Nancy Opel photos by Mathew Murphy by Julia Polinsky Bobby Goldman’s Curvy Widow tells the story of a fifty-ish widow’s search for sex after marriage in an enjoyable, sweetly sexual musical that won’t challenge your attention span, with a cast of seasoned pros, and terrific production values. The story is a simple…
Michael Moore (© Joan Marcus) by Julia Polinsky Regardless of what you think of his opinions, Michael Moore can really tell a story that touches the heart. If you thought that The Terms of My Surrender would be all politics, politics, politics and no heart, think again. From the moment he enters…
Taylor Caldwell photos by Joan Marcus by Julia Polinsky Encores! Off-Center did a kids show? From the 70s? You could be pardoned for having visions of Sesame Street-level cuteness, updated with a multicultural cast with sass and attitude and pink feather boas. Well, that’s pretty much what you’d get, and it’s just…
Count Wilhelm (Clint Hromsco) and Kabarett Headliner Rosie Penn (Amy Londyn) by Julia Polinsky If you like junior high drama-club level musical theater, you’ll love Write Act Repertory Theater’s production of Michael Antin’s Lili Marlene, currently running at St. Luke’s, on 46th Street, Tuesdays through the October. The show has all the…
by Julia Polinsky So often, words are open to interpretation. In the best possible way, interpreting almost every word spoken makes Lauren Yee’s In A Word deeply engrossing, a surprise in a play so short. Usually, “80 minutes no intermission” is code for “we know it needs work, but don’t want…