THE HANGOVER REPORT – Robert Schenkkan’s underwhelming THE GREAT SOCIETY opens on the Great White Way, continuing the LBJ saga

Last night, Robert Schenkkan’s The Great Society opened on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre. The play is the sequel to Mr. Schenkkan’s Tony-winning play All the Way from a … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Florian Zeller’s THE HEIGHT OF THE STORM, led by Jonathan Pryce and Eileen Atkins, magnifies the angst of old age

French playwright Florian Zeller – thanks in no insignificant part to his frequent collaboration with English translator Christopher Hampton – has become well known in theater circles on both sides of the … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Mentalist Derren Brown once again has my head buzzing with the Broadway edition of SECRET

Earlier this week, the Broadway edition of British mentalist Derren Brown’s Secret opened at the Cort Theatre. I had seen the show when it played Off-Broadway more than two years ago … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Tom Hiddleston leads a stylish, utterly enthralling revival of BETRAYAL by Harold Pinter

This week at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, I caught Jamie Lloyd’s utterly enthralling revival of Harold Pinter’s oft-performed 1978 play Betrayal, which comes to the Great White Way after an acclaimed, sold … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – PHANTOM & CHICAGO: Broadway’s two longest-running shows are currently in prime condition

This summer, I had the opportunity to revisit Broadway’s two longest-running shows, The Phantom of the Opera and Chicago. Both are currently in prime condition, living up to their storied … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge bring SEA WALL / A LIFE to breathtaking and heartbreaking life, again

I had some misgivings when it was announced that Sea Wall / A Life was transferring from Off-Broadway’s Public Theater to the Great White Way. Commercially, the move makes sense. The involvement of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The exhilarating MOULIN ROUGE triumphantly makes the leap from screen to stage

This week, the highly anticipated film-to-stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge opened at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, after a hugely successful out-of-town tryout in Boston. The iconic 2001 film took the jukebox musical … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Terrence McNally’s FRANKIE AND JOHNNY IN THE CLAIR DE LUNE is in good hands with Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon

Last week, the Broadway revival of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, led by Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon in the titular roles, opened at the Broadhurst Theatre. I … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Taylor Mac’s lopsided but oddly moving GARY is more than salvaged by a trio of boldly comic performances

There’s little doubt in my mind that Taylor Mac will go down in history as one of the most important theater artists of judy’s (i.e., Taylor Mac’s chosen pronoun) generation. judy’s 24-hour concert chronicling … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – The singular, ravishing HADESTOWN arrives on Broadway, and it’s the musical to beat this season

Something special is happening at the Walter Kerr Theatre, which is where Anaïs Mitchell’s singular Hadestown has set up camp. The new musical is a folk/jazz retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, and … Continue Reading →