A VICTORY LAUGH Purlie Victorious, written by the late Ossie Davis, is a brilliant, funny, moving play that premiered on Broadway in 1961, with Mr. Davis in the title role. The initial produ…
WHILE IT'S BACK TO THE MOVIE MUSICAL, FUTURE IS A PRESENT Ever go on the original Star Tours ride at Disneyland? You're seated in some kind of space ship/tour bus that is piloted by a loveab…
TO BE FOR FREE IS A BEAUTY There may be something rotten in the state of Denmark, but there's something enthralling on the stage at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. In The Public Theat…
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE In the vernacular of showbiz, the appellation "triple threat" refers to a performer who equally excels at acting, singing and dancing. That Broadway veteran James T. La…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK SOARS ABOVE ITS OWN MATERIAL So apparently it's still up to you New York " with a healthy assist from Susan Stroman and Lin-Manuel Miranda " to bring Martin Scorsese's und…
WHITE GIRL IN DANGER IS IN DANGER Broadway wunderkind Michael R. Jackson is back on the boards at Second Stage's Vineyard Theatre, writing the book, music and lyrics for his…
YOU'LL BE HOOKED The title says it all. Based on the play Peter Pan by JM Barrie, Peter Pan Goes Wrong by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer and Henry Shields is about a stage production of the chi…
THERE'S PLENTY OF GREAT PRANCIN' BUT IT'S A HEAD-SCRATCHIN' DANCIN' There's whole lotta dancing in the updated, Broadway revival of Bob Fosse's DANCIN', currently running at The Music Box. E…
PROCTOR BY PROXY In playwright Talene Monahon's new play The Good John Proctor, John Proctor doesn't actually appear. He is integral to the plot and is certainly referenced but there is no p…
PERFORMERS AND PRODUCTION IMPROVE THE OPAQUE PLOT OF PERICLES Pericles by William Shakespeare is a play that is probably ripe for an HBO adaptation. It deals with incest, death, redemption, …
ON AND OFF THE RIGHT TRACK Ever been on public transportation and wondered about the people seated around you? Not just whether or not they are nut-jobs or pose any physical threat but who t…
IT'S A JUNGLE IN HERE When Dorothy emerged from her ill-fated farmhouse just after landing in Oz, she held tightly to her tiny dog and spoke the immortal words, "Toto, I don't think we're in…
THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES BEGINS WITH THE JOURNEY OF A THOUSAND MILES In black odyssey written by Marcus Gardley and currently running at Classic Stage Company, Mr. Gardley steps again…
THE ART OF MAKING ART The Collaboration by Anthony McCarten is much more than, well, a collaboration. This riveting performance produced by Manhattan Theatre Club and currently playing at th…
A PIANO PLAYED WELL NEEDS FINE TUNING There's much to learn in August Wilson's brilliant play The Piano Lesson. There's no little old lady running scales but there doesn't need to be. Becaus…
GIMME MO, MO, MO What would happen if every African American in the United States left the country en masse? And not only would we leave physically but as we left, all of our contributions, …
DOES TIME HEAL ALL WOUNDS? It is not news to write that violence permeates all corners of modern society. Psychological, emotional, sexual and physical violence are rampant. And while violen…
GETT IN THE MIDDLE A Gett, as described in the program for The Gett, a new play written by Liba Vaynberg and currently running at Rattlestick Theater is described in part as, "A dated and wi…
MADELINE SAYET LIFTS US UP WHERE SHE BELONGS Near the start of her solo show Where We Belong, currently playing at The Public Theater, playwright-performer-academic Madeline Sayet evocativel…
CAUGHT BY THE TALE The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare is kind of a weird play. It's a comedy because a pair of young lovers are united in the end but many awful things happen before th…
EVERYTHING'S OK Douglas McGrath presents as a nice, well-put together, middle-aged man. Onstage, McGrath wears a nice button-down collar shirt, stylish blazer with a matching kerchief in the…
THE COST OF MISSING THIS RAVISHING SHOW Every week in the opening sequence of the eighties television series Fame, dance instructor Lydia Grant would state without irony, "…fame costs and …
CROSS-EXAMINING THE AFFIRMATIVE & NEGATIVE IN THIS DEBATE In 1965, at the Cambridge Union, Cambridge University, England, eminent social critic and author James Baldwin publicly debated …
OH, OUR MAN, I LOVE IT SO Does absolute power corrupt absolutely? Does America export democracy or expand empire? Can an idealistic young man maintain his ideals in the harsh reality of work…
A NEAR DISASTER HANDLED BY A MASTER Jones and Schmidt, the creative team behind one of Broadway's longest running hits, The Fantasticks, also wrote another, lesser-know musical called Philem…