Off-Broadway Archives

  • Yours Unfaithfully

    Max von Essen and Mikaela Izquierdo                                By David Schultz Hard to fathom that this mildly diverting play penned in 1933 has never seen the light of day…until now that is. The highly regarded Mint Theater has dusted off this faded jewel and spiffed it up for a new century. On paper at least,…

  • The Beauty Queen of Leenane

    Marie Mullen as Mag Folan and Aisling O’Sullivan as Maureen Folan Photo Credit:Richard Termine                                             by Deirdre Donovan A bit of Grand Guignol to start off the New Year? Admirers of Martin McDonagh now have a chance to see a revival of The Beauty Queen of Leenane at The Brooklyn Academy of…

  • The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

    Melody Grove                                                                   (Photos by Jenny Anderson)                                                   By Ron Cohen Is Hell really next door to a Costco parking lot? Whether true or not, that intriguing factoid is put forth with a completely straight face in The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart. It’s one of the many elements, both large and small, that make…

  • Gorey The Secret Lives of Edward Gorey

    Andrew Dawson in GOREY (c) Jenny Anderson.                                            By David Schultz A more than passing interest and knowledge of this macabre illustrator would be helpful before attending this slim play. But writer-director Travis Russ infuses the piece with an obvious love and affection for this offbeat artist, so by the end of this 75-minute production…

  • Einstein

                                                A Review by Deirdre Donovan Actor-playwright Jack Fry returns to New York with his solo show that scratches beneath the skin of a famous physicist. Will the real Albert Einstein please stand up?  That question may seem odd to ask today given that the famous physicist died over 60 years ago.  But as actor-playwright…

  • The Mikado

    Top to Bottom) Matthew Wages, Sarah Caldwell Smith, Stephen Quint , Cáitlín Burke and  David Macaluso                                                          by Deirdre Donovan Well, chalk one up for the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players! The company has pulled off a Herculean feat by retooling The Mikado and turning it into a work that embraces all ethnic…

  • The Band’s Visit

    Colonel Tewfiq Zakaria, forefront (Tony Shalhoub)  (photo credit Ahron Foster)                                              by Deirdre Donovan Weary of the razzle-dazzle and special effects that go along with most Broadway musicals?  Well, The Band’s Visit, which opened Off Broadway on December 8th at the Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater, might be the best antidote to that…

  • Conversations with Coward

    Simon Green and David Shrubsole on piano           Photos by Heidi Bohnenkamp, 2016                                          by Eugene Paul With almost a Cowardian flair and an almost Cowardian performer as his star, pianist, composer, lyricist David Shrubsole has created an intimate pastiche for star Simon Green, its full title, Life is for Living: Conversations with Coward, giving…

  • Sweet Charity

    Emily Padgett, Sutton Foster, Asmeret Ghebremichael                                     PHOTO CREDIT: Monique Carboni                                                 by Marc Miller One can revel in the sturdy construction of this fine example of late-golden-era musical making, which continued Gwen Verdon’s unbroken string of hits. Masterminded by her then-husband, Bob Fosse, it adapted—and, many argued at the time, took some of the…

  • Finian’s Rainbow

    Ken Jennings and Melissa Errico             photos by Carol Rosegg                                                                by Eugene Paul Just say Finian’s Rainbow and a glow begins to emit, surely a built in protection concocted by leprechauns, what with the biggest and best leprechaun ever to appear in any of the many reappearances of  Finian’s Rainbow making his appearance in…