Helping Theatre Survive the Current Unpleasantness

Stagebiz.com has been the beneficiary of a lot of support and plain affection from the NY theatre industry in the last few years. From the big Broadway shows to the black-box theatres to the press agents large and small, each has been more than generous to our reviewers and by extension our readers. In order to keep as many afloat as possible, we are going to provide you links that will allow you to give what you can to aid these artists and entrepreneurs during the pandemic. One of my personal favorites is Frigid New York in my old neighborhood -- the

A Renaissance Man During The Renaissance Of Comedy: Ferris Butler

Ferris is Pictured with Celeste Jennings at The Comic Strip In NYC                     Ferris Butler hails from the mean streets of Brooklyn and is regarded as the George Washington of modern day cable sketch comedy in America. He is an artist that asserts his main influences were Monty Python and Ernie Kovacs. While enrolled in NYU film school during the turbulent 1960’s, Ferris Butler took the course “Fundamentals Of Filmmaking” by instructor Martin Scorsese. Then acting major, Billy Crystal, was in Ferris’ “Television Production” class at NYU. During that class Ferris

The Last Day Of Broadway: Martin McDonagh’s Riveting Dramedy “Hangmen”

While the world falls apart I sip my highly caffeinated coffee and write that piece about Hangmen the new Broadway play. Cavorting at The John Golden theatre on 47th St. and 8th Avenue Hangmen is Martin McDonagh's latest Broadway effort since his Oscar Nominated film "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri". "Maybe it'll be my last opportunity to write about a Broadway production?!!" I yelled to myself in my brain (what's left of it). Though it's very unlikely that the apocolypse is coming and will ensnare Broadway, being the last to write about any one thing seems to hold some gravity

SEVEN SINS at Théâtre XIV

SEVEN SINS is a delightful descent into our shadow selves and the mischievous curiosity that erupts from self exploration. This bawdy Baroque Burlesque entices us to contemplate our "fall from grace" at the hands of the sneaky serpent hellbent on making us eat the ruby rose red apple. It's another scandalous treat from Company XIV director/choreographer Austin McCormick who truly understands the art of the tease. Not only does he boldly re-imagine the biblical Adam and Eve soap opera but he also gives us permission to soak ourselves in the vibrancy of hedonism in a space created to enervate our senses. Back

Phoenix Theatre Ensemble Presents ‘The Death of Ivan Ilyich’

  Ivan Ilyich Golovin died a hard death.  Judgement of the Imperial Court official's soul is left to his creator - Leo Tolstoy - whose edicts are more dogmatic than any Supreme Being.  One of the finest examples of short fiction, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, has been adapted by Stephen Sharkey and stars Craig Smith in Phoenix Theatre Ensemble's production at The Paradise Theater. The only departure from the 1886 novella is that the dead man speaks for himself.  Tolstoy's third-person narrative is both emotionally and physically clinical, which is why it's so hard to shake.  Director Leo Lion introduces audience members to Ivan

“The Perplexed” at New York City Center Stage I

"The Perplexed" should be one of the events of the theatre this spring. A Richard Greenberg script directed by Lynne Meadow and presented by the Manhattan Theatre Club – what could possibly go wrong? As it turns out, the script leaves this production snake-bit from the beginning. A glorious set and a solid cast can not make up for the fact that the script is overly long and the characters rather unengaging. The action all takes place in the library of the Fifth Avenue apartment among various members of two families. The Resnicks and the Stahls have been involved with one

“The Game of Life” Ushers in Rubin Museum of Art’s Brainwave 2020 on Impermanence

The Rubin Museum of Art has a knack for making their exhibitions of both ancient and contemporary art from the Himalayan region -- and the philosophies and practices that inspired and informed the work -- relevant through compelling interactive engagement that makes the creations and concepts spring to life in ways that are entertaining, thought-provoking and sometimes profound. I should know because I was first lured into the former tenement building-turned-Barney’s store that was transformed into a museum to host the collection of art collectors and entrepreneurs Donald and Shelley Rubin -- who bought their first Tibetan thangka painting with

Radical Adaptations of Dracula & Frankenstein Ignite Classic Stage Company

For as many adaptations and interpretations as there are of the classic gothic horror novels Frankenstein and Dracula, it is hard to imagine two more creative, unique, radical and timely works that deal with the well-known tales and characters than the pair playing in a repertory cycle at Classic Stage Company (CSC). They are also strikingly contrasting works. Both are deeply engaging, provocative and compelling explorations of the source material -- each of which was written in the 1800s, one slightly predating the other near the end of the Victorian era. They remind the audience of timeless themes investigated in

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