Remember back in school when you were told to stand up in front of your peers and read from a textbook? Now imagine raising the stakes: not simply reading what’s in front of you, but spelling a word out loud, letter by letter, with nothing to rely on but memory, instinct, and nerve. Suddenly, every…
If you have a memory for pop tunes that spans more than a decade, you’ve heard the songs of Burt Bacharach. In a career that lasted over 70 years, Bacharach’s music was recorded by everyone from Patti Page to Lady Gaga, Elvis Presley to Elvis Costello. If you get caught between the moon and New…
In 1967 Australian writer Joan Lindsay wrote a disturbingly eerie novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Lindsay’s novel created a scenario that resonated with the public so strongly that most people believed it was a true story, bolstered by the lyrical 1975 Peter Weir film, which was hugely successful worldwide. Now, the story has wound up,…
“The time to sing is when your emotional level is just too high to speak anymore, and the time to dance is when your emotions are just too strong to only sing about how you feel.” – Bob Fosse That’s precisely what unfolds at the York Theatre’s Upper East Side stage in Gotta Dance. From…
The pretty young woman is erotically drawn to the sexy young stud, but for plot reasons she’s committed to the much less attractive older man, and after a tryst with the young hottie, remains so. Surprise, it’s three musicals! Fanny (1954), in which Harold Rome, whose usual demographic was working-class New York Jews, proved he…
Signature Theatre launches its newest residency with Heather Christian’s Oratorio for Living Things, an immersive, in-the-round explosion of sound and spirit that bridges science, memory, and cosmic wonder. Under the direction of Lee Sunday Evans, the celebrated ensemble—many returning from the Ars Nova premiere—creates a theatrical universe where the human and the celestial hum in…
“I Invented Post-its.” Another cult classic has received the musical treatment, but was it worth it? Romy & Michele: The Musical, now playing Off-Broadway at Stage 42, transforms the 1997 comedy Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion into a neon-bright, campy spectacle, bursting with fabulous fashion and nostalgic moments, though it occasionally stumbles in execution….
“This is what four thousand years old looks like when you moisturize!” So saith Holy Divine, one of the ancient three sisters in a rocking gospel-trio. And we’re off and running on another wild and wonderful Jordan E. Cooper adventure. You remember Cooper’s last mad caper called Aint No Mo’, don’t you, when the playwright,…
This Is Not A Drill, now at the York Theatre, offers a pleasant enough way to pass a couple of hours in the theater. If there are no surprises, then also there’s something to be said about smooth sailing and just enjoying the show. The story of This Is Not A Drill follows 3 tourist…
Take me to church. Please. Saturday Church, now playing at New York Theatre Workshop, opens with the magnificent, ebullient, Tony-winning, can-do-no-wrong J. Harrison Ghee as Black Jesus, asking, “Can I show y’all what collective love looks like? What collective joy looks like? What collective healing looks like?” As directed by Whitney White and based on…