Friday, January 24, 2025
Here are some of the new shows opening this fall in New York (not an exhaustive list): Pass Over Open now and running through October 10 at the August Wilson Theatre. Lackawanna Blues Previews from September 14, opens September 28, for a limited run through October 31 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. SIX Previews resume September 17 for an opening October 3 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. American Utopia From September 17 through March 6 at the St. James Theatre. Chicken & Biscuits Previews from September 23, opens October 10 for a limited run through January 2 at Circle in the Square Theatre. The Lehman
Reviews
“The Motherf**ker with the Hat” — Denizens Theater Company
The premise of the play is simple enough. Jackie (David Feliz) is a former drug dealer freshly out of prison and determined to go straight. His girlfriend Veronica (Jillian K. Waters) is thrilled about this, but she is still using. Just before they get into bed to celebrate his successful job search, he sees a hat that doesn't belong to him. He suspects her of cheating; he goes off to meet his parole officer and AA sponsor Ralph D (Gregory Marlow), who is having trouble with his own wife Victoria (Lara Ruth Smith). Jackie gets a gun, is convinced to
Under the Radar Festival 2021: Re-envisioned Virtually
It’s 2021. We made it. Now what? For those of us fortunate enough to have survived (though not without scars) the year that no one could have imagined, we enter the new year less naive and more prepared for the unexpected. Fortunately, one of the annual delights that kicks off each January with surprisingly fresh performances from local artists and exciting international companies has returned. The Public Theater’s Under the Radar Festival is back for its 17th triumphant year, albeit differently than before. Like everything else, the festival’s offerings are confined to virtual viewings and one very personal phone call. The artists
Journey Around My Bedroom – New Ohio Theatre for Young Minds
This little puppet show concerns Xavi, a little girl who has been sentenced like the rest of us to spending the pandemic in our homes. Her mom orders her off the video games and tells her to go to sleep. And that is when the fun begins. As she waits for sleep to come, her imagination takes over. Enter Xavier de Maistre (who wrote a book called Journey Around My Bedroom while under house arrest a couple of centuries ago). He is a great explorer; something Xavi aspires to be. She challenges him to a duel, assists in the
A Christmas Carol – A virtual take on a classic
One-man performances of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol go back to the Victorian era, when Dickens himself gave readings of his instant hit. A new recorded production, starring Jefferson Mays, breathes new life into the tradition, and offers a genuinely moving—and truly theatrical—story about redemption and kindness. This recording was created to benefit partner theaters around the country that were affected by the pandemic. Directed by Michael Arden, adapted by Arden, Mays, and Susan Lyons and conceived by Arden and Dane Laffrey, the filmed version is based on the 2018 production that made its premiere at Los Angeles’ Geffen Playhouse. The script
Dracula — Resounding Live Immersive Audio
There is something deliciously lovely about turning off all the lights in the house and listening to a horror tale on a rainy autumn night. So with the mood set, I accessed Resounding Live Immersive Audio's “Dracula” on my smartphone with my headphones plugged in. The result was radio theatre for the 21st century. The script was an hour-long edit of the Bram Stoker novel, and so a great deal had to be left out. Fortunately, one can leave out Renfield and the asylum and lose nothing much of the real tale. The truth is Stoker wrote more than he needed
Bated Breath Theatre Company presents ‘Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Lautrec’ in Greenwich Village
Part street theatre, part walking tour and all fun, Bated Breath Theatre Company's, Voyeur: The Windows of Toulouse-Lautrec uses the West Village as its stage. Extended through November 22nd, the first live NYC stage production since COVID-19 shut theatres and disrupted everything is a socially-distanced (temperature check, audience is no larger than six, masks on at all times), journey through the artist's life and work. The Moulin Rouge's most famous visual memoirist is also the subject of Bated Breath's suspended show Unmaking Toulouse-Lautrec, both conceived and directed by Executive Artistic Director Mara Lieberman. The artist's Belle Époque Paris makes for passionate theatre material. In addition to creating
“Democracy Sucks” – Online Free Fringe Fest
Churchill said, among a great many other things, that democracy is the worst for of government except for all the others. Playwright and doctor of political science Monica Bauer appears largely to agree in her new work “Democracy Sucks.” The show is a little over half an hour and is a perfect imitation of a remote-learning college class, poli sci 101. Professor B has reached the end of the semester and his wits (but not quite his wine). He has given the same lecture all semester consisting of Plato's indictment of democracy in “The Republic.” If that sounds a bit
Snowdrops and Chlorine – Theatre and Breast Cancer
Although the pandemic has shuttered our theaters, the work of theatre goes on. Thanks to Zoom, YouTube and other platforms, digital delivery of theatrical works has blossomed. The National Theatre in the UK has given us weekly streaming productions. Disney+ has brought us “Hamilton.” Less commercial theatre, however, appears to be the biggest winner because digital delivery spares shoe-string budgets numerous expenses. Catalina Florina Florescu, the New Play Development Curator and Dramaturg at Jersey City Theater Center, has just started the streaming presentation of her work “Snowdrops and Chlorine.” It is the second part of the “Staging Breast Cancer” trilogy and
Zooming In OnTalia Reeses Virtual Life.
Photo By: Talia Reese The entertainment community on the whole has been hit very hard by recent events. Not all have been hit quite as hard as the world of stand up comedy. Some think it can't come back. Some comedians say they won't step back into a club until there is a vaccine. How do comedy clubs go about updating their clubs? Are we really going to put up plastic walls? I don't think audience members will adapt to that. though I guess they must try. Many comedians have gone to virtual shows to continue their efforts at being funny