VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Exuberant dancing from City Ballet, a set of captivating opera productions, the invaluable “Stars in the House”, and a little-known Andrew Lloyd Webber musical

Eight weeks of quarantine have come and gone, and I think I would have already gone mad had it not been for the performances I’ve been able to stream at … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Nick Dear’s stage adaptation of FRANKENSTEIN is jolted by a visceral staging and ample star-power

One of the National Theatre’s biggest successes in its recent history was Nick Dear’s 2011 stage adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Although it’s been nearly a decade since the show wowed London audiences, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – City Ballet’s thoughtfully-curated digital spring season continues with works by Balanchine, Peck, and Wheeldon

Since New York City Ballet’s digital spring season got off to a sparkling start on April 21 – with George Balanchine’s Allegro Brilliante, led by an impeccable Tiler Peck – the thoughtfully-curated … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In Richard Nelson’s WHAT DO WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT?, zoom both magnifies and focuses the Apple Family experience

This past Wednesday, What Do We Need to Talk About?, the fourth installment of Richard Nelson’s acclaimed Apply Family plays was streamed live by the Public Theater. We last encountered the barely … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – The Met and Sondheim, two pillars of the arts, held up amidst the lockdown and celebrated with considerable style

In light of the bleak uncertainty facing the performing arts during the ongoing lockdown, I’ve been inspired by the valiant and nimble efforts of artists (and administrators) to band together and … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Richard Strauss’s ELEKTRA, Bryony Lavery’s TREASURE ISLAND, George Balanchine’s ALLEGRO BRILLANTE, and Robert O’Hara’s GATHER

Like many performing arts fans out there, I’ve been steadily streaming content to enjoy in lieu of attending live performances (which, pre-pandemic, I used to do pretty much on a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In PRIME, Heather Christian’s untethered imagination sets the act of prayer free

Lucky for us in our current fraught times, Playwrights Horizons was ahead of the curve when it started commissioning its audio-only Soundstage series. The aptly named Heather Christian’s Prime: A Practical Breviary – which I … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – This coronavirus Easter, the rebroadcast of NBC’s starry JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR hits the mark by striking the right tone

One of the highlights of this muted Easter weekend was the rebroadcast of NBC’s starry, filmed-live-for-TV rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s 1970 rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar (the televised … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Sally Cookson’s energetic, inventive stage adaptation of JANE EYRE (via NT at Home) takes the Dickensian route

Like many performing arts fans across the globe, I’ve been adapting to the current reality of having the complete inability to access live performance. Although nothing can replace the singularly visceral … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – John Cameron Mitchell’s singular, sprawling ANTHEM: HOMUNCULUS defies expectations, with familiarity

Last night, I completed listening to John Cameron Mitchell’s latest concoction, Anthem: Homunculus. Given the current unprecedented time of uncertainty for the performing arts (and all things in life, really), it seemed ripe … Continue Reading →