THE HANGOVER REPORT – Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ stealthy THE COMEUPPANCE keenly dissects mortality and human fragility via friendship

Something must be in the water these days. In recent weeks in my Off-Broadway theatergoing, I’ve encountering an uncommon plethora of new top-notch plays (catch them while you can!) that … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Paper Mill Playhouse’s tepid new production of RENT recasts the iconic musical as memory play

Down at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, you’ll currently find on the boards — just in time for Pride month — a new production of Jonathan Larson’s Rent. … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – William Jackson Harper gives a quietly stunning performance in Eboni Booth’s compelling PRIMARY TRUST

Earlier this week, I had the chance to catch up with Roundabout Theatre Company’s Off-Broadway production of Eboni Booth’s Primary Trust at the Laura Pels Theatre (the playwright was last … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In the quirky new dark comedy WET BRAIN, John J. Caswell, Jr. pungently depicts a family woefully riddled with addiction

Earlier this week, John J. Caswell, Jr.’s Wet Brain opened at Playwrights Horizons (the production is being co-produced by MCC Theater). In the same vein as Caswell’s earlier play Man … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Tori Sampson’s impassioned THIS LAND WAS MADE speculatively looks back at the genesis of the Black Panther Party

Earlier this week, Tori Sampson’s This Land Was Made opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre. Set in Oakland in 1967, the impassioned new play in essence looks back at the genesis and … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In an unlikely feat of intimacy and obsessive rigor, Joseph Medeiros brings Book 1 of THE ODYSSEY to theatrical life … in Ancient Greek

I recently had the opportunity to immerse myself in certainly one of the most unique and unlikely theatrical experiences I’ve had all year. In an unassuming, enclave-like private apartment in … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – ruth tang’s WORK HARD HAVE FUN MAKE HISTORY kicks off Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks in typically offbeat manner

Last night at The Wild Project, I attended a performance of ruth tang’s Work Hard Have Fun Make History, the opening production of the 2023 edition of Clubbed Thumb’s Summerworks series … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – Bursts of drama from Flatbush to Washington Heights: Diane Exavier’s BERNARDA’S DAUGHTERS and Guadalís Del Carmen’s BEES & HONEY

This holiday weekend, I attended a pair new domestic dramas set in our teeming city that vividly capture diverse perspectives. Here are my thoughts on them. BERNARDA’S DAUGHTERSThe New Group … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Keeljay Gipson’s DEMONS. unpacks grief and inter-generational trauma in an unlikely, whimsical manner

Earlier this week, I wrote a piece about how several recent performances I’ve attended have addressed how to come to terms with grief. Continuing on this trajectory is Keeljay Gipson’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – La MaMa exquisitely reconstructs María Irene Fornés’s EVELYN BROWN (A DIARY), a poetic meditation on a lost life

Also last night, a rare revival of María Irene Fornés’s Evelyn Brown (A Diary) opened Off-Broadway at La MaMa’s The Downstairs performance space (in fact, the piece hasn’t been revived since premiering … Continue Reading →