Monsoon Season at The Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

You get two riveting solo shows performed by two exceptional performers for the price of one! Monsoon Season is a great gift to give yourself in November - a pre-thanksgiving/festive season present.It's almost like watching a theatrical episode of The Affair or The Slap where we get two versions of the same moment told from the perspectives of each character - it is deeply satisfying to watch. There are many elements that make this production rewarding - an engrossing text, expert direction, masterfully crafted performances, magical stage design transformations, daring lighting and a gloriously jarring sound scape. And it all plays out

‘Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation’ at The Triad

Jenny Lee Stern (left) as Gwen Verdon and Chris Collins-Pisano (right) as Bob Fosse in a scene from FORBIDDEN BROADWAY: THE NEXT GENERATION at the Triad Theatre.

Forbidden Broadway: The Next Generation is review-proof.  Creator/Writer/Director Gerard Alessandrini started parodying The Great White Way in 1982, and The Triad Theatre (158 West 72nd Street) was packed with show-tune types for its first reincarnation in five years. Running through November 30, the 80-minute revue is the best kind of tried-and-true evening, matinee or celebratory time out with a great cast and Fred Barton at the piano. Alessandrini didn't have to look hard for new material.  Most of the skewering is for movies turned into musicals - a formula with mixed creative and box office results.  Moulin Rouge!, Tootsie and Beetlejuice  all get

Next Wave 2019: ‘The Second Woman’ at BAM Fisher

Alia Shawkat in The Second Woman at BAM_PC NayMarie-35.JPG

The happiest and worst memories are those that last, re-playing over and over in one's head.  Movies have the same effect, like smiling when thinking about Han Solo winking at Princess Leia in the throne room, or grinding teeth because the sights and sounds of La La Land won't ever go away.  Co-creators Nat Randall and Anna Breckon apply the continuous loop to The Second Woman.  Starting in BAM Fisher on Friday,October 18 at 5 PM and ending 24 hours later, the intrepid, amazing Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Transparent, Drunk History) repeated the same awkward love scene with 100 actors.  An

William Forsythe: A Quiet Evening of Dance at The Shed

Rauf ‘RubberLegz’ Yasit (left), Parvaneh Scharafali (right). A Quiet Evening of Dance. Photo: Mohamed Sadek. Courtesy The Shed

  Walking to The Shed, NYC's newest cultural center on West 30th Street and 11th Avenue, is a visual lesson in urban planning.  After exiting the A train on 34th Street at the eyesore that is Penn Station and crossing Eighth Avenue, signage indicates that there will be the new Moynihan Station.  (Among the many reasons to see Ed Norton's Motherless Brooklyn when it opens next month is the recreation of the original Penn Station.)   Heading towards 11th Ave. and the Hudson River are more glassy complexes way closer to completion than the long-delayed station.  There's also Neiman Marcus.  The Shed's physical address, 545 30th Street, is

Emma Van Heyn at The Bitter End

Emma Van Heyn is a quirky millennial memoirist using music as flypaper for her unique perspective. She is one of those actor/pianist/storyteller/composer artists that create instant fans on a first viewing. We are seeing the epic rise of this breed of multi-skilled performer that are equally strong as musicians and actors, able to craft original monologues, lyrics and compositions to craft a powerful theatrical experience. Van Heyn has a mighty vocal instrument that booms out of her slight frame with the force of a cannonball. She has a strong, sensual sound that ricochets around the room filling it with warmth

11 Questions With Carie Karavas: Because This One Goes Up To Eleven

Photo: Courtesy of Google Long Island is a never ending bevy of comedic genius. There is no denying the incredible talent that has poured forth from the mouth of the comedy circuit on this tiny island 20 miles easy East of Manhattan over the last 100 years. From Lenny Bruce to Rosie O'Donnell and Eddie Murphy to Ophira Eisenberg. Long Island boasts the best. That is no different with the inimitable Carie Karavas. This past week At 7pm on September 27th at The Argyle Theater in Babylon Long Island this very true statement was no different. Carie first started stand up

The Height of the Storm – Samuel J. Friedman Theatre

Back in elementary school, we all learned that a story has a beginning, a middle and an end. Apparently, playwright Florian Zeller was absent that day, or perhaps, he merely couldn't be bothered to edit his script. Despite a fine and talented cast led by Eileen Atkins and Jonathan Pryce (two of their generation's finest who are at the top of their game), supported by the finest set design and lighting tricks, Director Jonathan Kent and the Manhattan Theatre Club have a broken production on their hands. They don't have enough duct tape to fix it. The story (defined loosely) involves

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