Standing Room Only

The musical Chess premiered in London in 1986 and then on Broadway two years later. Despite its gorgeous score with music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (of ABBA) and Tim Rice, audiences weren’t enamored of the story. They didn’t flock to the theater, and the show closed after only two months. Yet […]

In Sophocles’ classic play, Oedipus tries to circumvent the fate the gods have ordained for him. He will kill his father and marry his mother. Tragically, he can’t because he has already fulfilled the predictions. The play, written in 429 BCE. is part of a trilogy of plays centered on Oedipus, the mythical king of […]

When you have trouble getting out of bed in the morning, just think about June Squibb, the 96 year old actress onstage each night performing 8 shows a week in Marjorie Prime at The Hayes Theater. As the title character, Squibb plays an 86-year old who is losing her memories. Although her husband is deceased, […]

Tartuffe, the womanizing fraud in the eponymous comedy by Molire, is like the man who came to dinner. It’s next to impossible to get him to leave. In Moliere’s play, Orgon, a wealthy man, is having an emotional, religious crisis when he meets Tartuffe who he feels has saved him. Grateful, Orgon welcomes Tartuffe into […]

The intimacy of Bug makes the revival of Tracy Lett’s play moving and powerful. Waitress Agnes White (Carrie Coon) lives in a seedy Oklahoma motel. Except for a certain amount of clutter, there’s little to show that someone is living there permanently. Her abusive ex-husband was just released early from prison and keeps calling her. […]

How do you spell – enjoyable. Definition, please -The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The revival of the musical at New World Stages, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Tony award-winning show is an enjoyable treat for the audience. Six lovable, quirky, awkward youngsters (all played by extremely talented adults) plus 4 audience members […]

Four Asian women gather in a Chinese restaurant for what Ellen (Jennifer Ikeda) calls an affinity meeting. All work together in the same financial company. In essence, they are a work support group. Although each woman has her own agenda with a different range of experiences, they have much in common. They are there to […]

We’ve all heard of the mythical Bigfoot. He’s a huge creature covered in fur and a popular figure in American and Canadian folklore. Now we can see and hear him at New York City Center Stage I in the new musical comedy by Amber Ruffin, David A. Schmoll, and Kevin Sciretta. Today, sometimes referred to […]

In my role as a critic, I see a lot of shows. While I enjoy many of them, I rarely leave planning to buy tickets for my family. However, by the end of Every Brilliant Thing starring Daniel Radcliffe (yes-the Harry Potter guy), I wanted to stop at the box office on the way out. […]

The play Antigone (This Play I Read in High School) by Anna Ziegler is not the play you and I read in high school. Although the major characters are the same, the play, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, feels modern because of a major change to the storyline. In the Sophocles’story, Antigone refuses to betray her […]