Standing Room Only

December 26, 2021 By now, everyone associated with musical theater has written a tribute to legend Stephen Sondheim who died Nov. 26, 2021 at age 91. Productive until the end, Sondheim died while working on another musical. Every season, even truncated ones like 2021, has been represented by Sondheim’s work as directors revisit his works […]

January 13, 2002 It felt strange to be attending a show last Saturday night instead of sitting in front of the television waiting for SNL to begin. Fortunately, the play was “The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe” and the star was Cecily Strong, one of the most talented SNL performers. First […]

January 21,2022 Only Stephen Sondheim could have taken a motley group of would-be murderers and made them sympathetic and funny. At one time, a musical about killing presidents would have been controversial or startling. Certainly that was the case 30 years ago when the show “Assassins” first opened. But today, after the events at the […]

 The Island Now -April 5, 2021 Long-term friendships take many forms and often relationships are tested along the way. In Middletown, playwright Dan Clancy sets up two mismatched couples and follows their friendship over 37 years. Don and Dotty Abrams and Tom and Peg Hogan live in Middletown, New Jersey and become friends through the women. […]

December 28, 2020 Everything old can be new again with creativity. The question is how to make the traditional relevant and, more importantly, how to attract paying viewers. John Caird and Paul Gordon collaborated to create Little Miss Scrooge, a combination of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations. Their musical was presented onstage […]

March 15, 2021 It has been over a year since Broadway theaters shut down, putting tens of thousands of people out of work. As more people are getting vaccinated and restaurants, gyms and bars are increasing operating capacity,theaters have still remained dark. That is about to change. Governor Cuomo announced that indoor theater in NY […]

November 11, 2020 It was a different kind of Halloween this year-no New York’s Village Halloween Parade, no house parties, not even a lot of trick or-treaters. Many houses posted signs saying “no candy, see you next year” and put yellow barrier tape around their front doors. So why not a ‘different’ Halloween theatrical experience? […]

March 20,2021 In her landmark book On Death and Dying, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross details the five stages of grief. Approaching it on a personal level in The Year of Magical Thinking, writer Joan Didion shares her painful description of denial at the sudden death of her husband, writer John Dunne. Twenty years ago, Didion’s book and […]

 The Island Now – October 30, 2020   Were you a fan of the TV show The Brady Bunch? If so, “The Very Brady Musical” might be fun for you. The Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine is presenting a new live-streamed performance based on TV’s The Brady Bunch. Even if you didn’t watch the show, you will recognize […]

By The Island Now – November 3, 2020 It’s E-day. Election day. And like many others, I am filled with anxiety as to the outcome. Stores are boarding their windows anticipating violence while armies of lawyers are preparing to contest votes that have yet to be cast. The stress is overwhelming. I need humor; I need theater. So […]