VIEWPOINTS – Musings on the state of the arts, then and now: The Civilians’ RADIO DOWNTOWN and Louise Orwin’s FAMEHUNGRY

This past weekend, I encountered a pair of Off-Broadway shows that investigate the state of the arts — both now and in the past — in fascinatingly distinct manners. As … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Khawla Ibraheem’s solo show A KNOCK ON THE ROOF is a fever dream spurred by the horrors of war

This past weekend, I ventured down to the East Village to catch New York Theatre Workshop and Under the Radar’s co-production of A Knock on the Roof, a fever dream … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning ENGLISH translates beautifully to the Great White Way

Earlier this week at the Todd Haimes Theatre, I was able to catch Roundabout Theatre Company’s Broadway transfer of Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning English (the play originally ran Off-Broadway in 2022 in … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Hervé Koubi’s gravity-defying WHAT THE DAY OWES TO THE NIGHT meditates on the choreographer’s Algerian roots

This week, the virtuosic Compagnie Hervé KOUBI has returned to The Joyce with What The Day Owes To The Night, one of the company’s signature pieces. Inspired by Algerian author Yasmina … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Taking cues from the classics: Gregg Ostrin’s KOWALSKI and Matthew Gasda’s staging of VANYA ON HURON STREET

Over the last few days, I came across a pair of works that have clearly taken their cues from classics of Western drama. As always, read on below for my … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera’s immersive processional opera PRIMERO SUEÑO is a transfixing marriage of music and setting

On Sunday night, I attended the final performance of Paola Prestini and Magos Herrera’s new opera Primero Sueño at The Met Cloisters. Essentially, the opera is presented as a fever … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In the genre-defying MANY HAPPY RETURNS, Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saez de Viteri revel in our shared humanity

Last night at Playwrights Horizons’ Peter Jay Sharp Theater, I attended one of the extended Off-Broadway performances of Monica Bill Barnes and Robbie Saenz de Viteri’s Many Happy Returns (the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – A smoldering cast led by Sondra Radvanovsky and Bryn Terfel elevate the Met’s production of TOSCA

Last night at the Metropolitan Opera, I attended the company’s final performance of the season of Puccini’s Tosca. To say it was one of the most smoldering and exciting evenings … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Relentlessly seeking validation Off-Broadway: Comedian Gary Gulman shows off his smarts in GRANDILOQUENT

Also earlier this week, Gary Gulman’s solo show Grandiloquent opened Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the West Village. For those of you unfamiliar with Gulman, he’s carved a … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – The NY PHIL rushes through a wordless Ring, and Muti leads the CSO to produce Italianate heat and a glorious Tchaikovsky

Over the past week or so, I was able to take in a pair of classical music concerts that endeavored to bring heat to these frigid early days of 2025. … Continue Reading →