THE HANGOVER REPORT – Julissa Contreras’s bilingual family drama VÁMONOS revisits 9/11 trauma from a different perspective

This past weekend, I also had the opportunity to check out the world premiere of Julissa Contreras’s Vámonos, which arrives Off-Broadway courtesy of the Latinx focused INTAR Theatre in Hell’s … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Encores! mounts a decidedly grim, well-sung revival of Lionel Bart’s OLIVER! at New York City Center

Last night at New York City Center, I attended Encores! latest entry in its 2023 season, an enticingly cast revival of Lionel Bart’s beloved 1960 musical Oliver! (the 1968 film adaptation won … Continue Reading →

VIEWPOINTS – They’ve still got it: Downtown theater artists RIZO and KAREN FINLEY urgently return to live performance

Over the course of the past week, I had the opportunity to catch the return to live performance of two revered downtown artists, both of whom have come out of … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Cie Focus & Cie Chaliwaté’s DIMANCHE playfully realizes escalating climate change calamities with gleeful macabre

This past weekend at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAM Fisher Center, I attended Cie Focus and Cie Chaliwaté’s production of Dimanche. In a series of loosely interlocking vignettes – … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s SHADOW/LAND heavy-handedly unpacks inter-generational trauma and legacy via Hurricane Katrina

Last night, Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s shadow/land opened Off-Broadway at the Public Theatre (the play was originally released in podcast form during lockdown). Set in New Orleans during the imminent onset of Hurricane Katrina, … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Laura Horton’s BREATHLESS kicks off 59E59 Theater’s 2023 Brits Off Broadway season in fine fashion

Earlier this week, I had a chance to catch up with Laura Horton’s Breathless, the first entry in 59E59 Theater’s 2023 edition of its excellent Brits Off Broadway series. As … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Red Bull and Fiasco’s lively revival of THE KNIGHT OF THE BURNING PESTLE pushes a tad too hard for laughs

I recently had a chance to catch up with Red Bull and Fiasco’s co-production of The Knight of the Burning Pestle at Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortelle Theatre. Penned by Francis Beaumont way … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Bobbi Jene Smith’s BROKEN THEATER: A fractured choreographic and meta-theatrical dissection of the theater-making process

This past weekend at La MaMa’s Ellen Stewart Theatre, I also had the opportunity to catch one of the closing performances of Bobbi Jene Smith’s Broken Theater. Co-presented by La … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – J2 Spotlight winningly commences its 2023 season with a rare revival of Kander & Ebb’s WOMAN OF THE YEAR

This past weekend, I caught one of the final performances of J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company’s revival of Woman of the Year. The production commences J2 Spotlight’s 2023 season, which … Continue Reading →

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Suzan-Lori Parks’s episodic, music-filled PLAYS FOR THE PLAGUE YEAR thoughtfully relives a fraught time

Last night, Suzan-Lori Parks’s Plays for the Plague Year opened Off-Broadway at the Public Theater. The aptly-named work – which originally premiered at the revered downtown theater last fall but … Continue Reading →