Muswell Hill Barrow Group Main Stage Theatre Snapshot Review: Utterly Absorbing Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer The Barrow Group Theatre Company and The Pond Theatre Company present Torben Betts darkly comic, “Muswell Hill”. It’s social realism that pokes and prods at our first world ‘problems’ with a sharp Stanley knife blade. It is utterly absorbing and knocks you off your axis for a bit. You’re also laughing out loud as the dialogue bounces you around like a 4X4 ramping a sand dune, leaving your stomach queasy from the sudden jolts. It’s a high octane theatrical adrenaline sport and you’re quickly addicted. It’s 2010 and we’re in

Mankind Playwrights Horizons Snapshot Review: Darkly Hysterical Cindy Sibilsky, Reviewer With Mankind, playwright Robert O’Hara has secured his place as one of the most irreverent, interesting and important new voices in theatre and a true jewel in Playwright’s Horizon’s crown. His searing, darkly hysterical satire Mankind opens with a couple, post coitus, having “the Talk” about an unwanted pregnancy. Only they’re two men, “dudes” to be exact, for as the tense conversation boils, every other word is “dude!” in mock of the limited vocabulary of the prevalent Bro culture, forced with a predicament my own sex is usually on the receiving end of. The women

Mind Body Drop Away Chez Brunswick Studio Snapshot Review: Meta-Comedy D.B. Frick, Reviewer On January 3th at 8:30 pm I had the opportunity to attend The Exponential Festival at Chez Bushwick Studio located at 304 Boerum Street in Brooklyn, NY. Presented that evening was, Mind Body Drop Away, Directed by Kevin Laibson and written & performed by Shon Arieh-Lerer. Mind Body Drop Away seems to be a suggestion that the audience must drop its consciousness to truly envelope themselves into what is about to happen in front of them. This was my first time to Bushwick to see theatre. Most of my experiences

Let Me Cook for You Theaterlab Snapshot Review: Completely Engaging Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer Theaterlab presents “Let me cook for you” - an exquisitely intimate dinner party play. Only twelve audience members are given the opportunity to “dine” with Orietta Crispino as she sates your hunger with a masterful memoir. It’s one of those truly unique New York theatrical moments that you want to witness. Orietta is making us dinner. Along with celery, peppers and marinated tofu you’ll get to savor the delicious ingredients of foreign accents, past desires, impossible hungers, horoscopes, myths, numerology and blemished beauty. She carves up her past in bite size episodes

Lady MacBeth and Her Lover The Directors’ Studio Snapshot Review: Excellent Performances Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer The Directors Studio presents Richard Vetere’s “Lady Macbeth and Her Lover” –an intense oedipal complex fuelled psychological conversation. It’s an exploration of a myriad of female archetypes drawn from a male perspective against the backdrop of a poet’s creative process. The mentor, muse and manipulator roles fight for dominance in this intellectual discourse passionately performed by Maja Wampuszyc and Christy Escobar. The story involves the lives of a mother (Hope) and daughter (Emily) and their complicated relationship with the shadow filled Corinne. The pursuit of a higher art –poetry,

A Kind Shot Barrow Group Studio Theatre Snapshot Review: An Engaging Journey Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer We’re in exquisite memoir territory with Terri Mateer as she coaches us through her life’s upheavals and celebrations with humor and heart. She is a consummate storyteller with a mighty presence. Terri is a striking 6’1” blonde, ex-pro basketball playing bombshell, model, architect, actress and activist. Her story is devastating and necessary. With the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements gaining traction, this is an important contribution towards helping women find their line in the sand. A Kind Shot takes us on a hectic journey where you sometimes forget to

Josephine: A Burlesque Cabaret Dream Play SoHo Playhouse Snapshot Review: Baker Would be Proud Jeff Myhre, Reviewer Before Beyonce and Rihanna, before Miss Ross and the Supremes, before the glorious Lena Horne and the great Dorothy Dandridge, there was Josephine Baker. They all stand on her shoulders. She was the first African-American superstar, but because of America's shameful history of race, Baker became who she was in her adopted home of Paris. By my count, her story has been filmed or staged at least four times. There is something about her story that is wonderful, tragic, upsetting and delightful. Tymisha Harris has a

Jericho The Wild Project Snapshot Review: Sad, Beautiful Love Story Patricia Contino, Reviewer During his long lifetime, Ferenc Molnár saw his 1909 play “Liliom” become a classic 1934 Fritz Lang film (recently shown on TCM as part of their “Star of the Month” salute to Charles Boyer) and adapted in 1945 by Rodgers and Hammerstein for their second masterpiece, “Carousel”. The musical, a school and community theatre favorite about to return to Broadway, is better known but shares its source’s unhappy love story and unusual resolution. Michael Weller reimagines both in the touching and magical “Jericho” now being performed by The Attic Theater

The Gideon and Hubcap Show for Kids, Adults and Everyone Else A Living Room Near You Snapshot Review: Undiluted Joy Jacquelyn Claire, Reviewer I took my inner child to see Gideon and Hubcap’s soul tickling show. These two wonder wielders perform together in homes across the US and the world. This year they turned their attention to divining a children’s show and expertly broke the genre mold in the process. It was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day but I knew that was going to change because I was off to see these two marvelous music-making fun stokers. You get