Reviews Archives

  • The Golden Bride

      by Eugene Paul One upon a time a long time ago in 1923 there were fourteen Yiddish musicals on Second Avenue all playing simultaneously to packed houses.  And among them, in the 2000 seat Second Avenue Theater was Di Goldene Kaleh which many of you would recognize as The Golden Bride because you can…

  • Troilus and Cressida

    Ismenia Mendes, left, Andrew Burnap and John Glover  Photo Credit: Joan Marcus               by Deirdre Donovan Daniel Sullivan adds another feather to his cap by mounting Shakespeare’s most modern play at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Troilus and Cressida has won the difficult affection of critics over the years.  And, with Daniel Sullivan’s…

  • Sense and Sensibility

    photo by Gregory Castonzo, 2016                                                        by Deirdre Donovan  The smartest way to beat the heat this summer may be to tuck into a seat at the Gym (at Judson), where the Bedlam theater company is presenting an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  Adapted by Kate Hamill, and directed by Eric Tucker,…

  • Million Dollar Quartet

    Dominique Scott as Jerry Lee Lewis, John Michael Presney as Carl Perkins, Ari Mckay Wilford as Elvis Presley, and Sky Seals as Johnny Cash                                                                        Photos by John Vecchiolla                            By Ed Lieberman Long before the dream team known as the Traveling Wilburys (George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, Tom Petty and Jeff Lynn), there…

  • God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater

    Santino Fontana and cast                                         by Deirdre Donovan If you are a chronic rooter for the underdog, then God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater will be right up your alley.  Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s 1979 musical version of Kurt Vonnegut’s novel resurfaces at New York City Center’s Encores! Off-Center series–and it couldn’t be fresher. …

  • Privacy

    Daniel Radcliffe and cast                       Photos by Joan Marcus Privacy                                   by David Schultz Playwright James Graham and co-creator/director Josie Rourke have orchestrated a mesmerizing evening of theater. That is not to say that this play is typical in any ordinary way. The skeletal plot and outline of this work is just window dressing for the…

  • The Mushroom Cure

                                            by Nicholas Linnehan “I love you but I hate your mental illness!” The harsh stigma around mental illness still plagues us today. How often have we heard someone say “I’m a little OCD when it comes to that? But for people suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, it’s a very different beast all…

  • Vivian Reed Sings “Standards & More” at the Metropolitan Room

                                                                                      Photo by Lou Montesano..                                                       by Marc Miller Vivian Reed’s set at the Metropolitan Room runs about an hour twenty, and how she gets through it is anyone’s guess. A hard-working, old-school cabaret veteran with Broadway experience (a Tony nomination for Bubbling Brown Sugar), she displays an amazing, rangy voice, dances, growls, exhibits effusive…

  • Quietly

    Declan Conlon, Robert Zawadzki and Patrick O’Kane                                                                                                                  By Eugene Paul   The Irish have kept records, daily records, of their day to day struggles killing each other.  If you want to look up who was killed on what day by what means you can do it. Pick a date significant to you and…

  • Simon Says

    Anthony Goes and Brian Murray                                photos by Maria Baranova   by Eugene Paul Simon is who James, (Anthony J. Goes) becomes when he’s channeling.  Channelers are those rare creatures who fascinate us by their capacity to go into trance states in order to contact individuals who have lived other lives in the past.  James had…