Fifty years after A Chorus Line revolutionized Broadway, Cassie’s solo in “Music and the Mirror” still feels like watching a dancer bare her soul through movement alone. It’s the kind of theatrical magic Gotta Dance!, presented by The York Theatre and American Dance Machine, tries to bottle across more than a dozen numbers.
The weight of that challenge demands that the 14-person ensemble not only execute the movement but understand why they’re moving in the first place. Broadway vets Jessica Lee Goldyn, Afra Hines, and Jess LeProtto, along with New York City Ballet principal dancer Taylor Stanley, raise the bar, while large ensemble numbers, like “Cool” from West Side Story and “One” from A Chorus Line, reveal a schism in the level of technique and maturity among the company.
Still, Gotta Dance! lives up to its name, featuring a seven-piece band, live vocals, and an exacting attention to detail, thanks to stagers like Baayork Lee, Stephanie Pope, and Donna McKechnie, who are passing along the legacy to the next generation of dancers.
Icke has given himself the ultimate theatrical challenge: create tension when we already know the ending. The convention, for the most part, works brilliantly, thanks to Strong, Manville, and the acting company’s captivating performances. The contemporary setting draws parallels to real-life political and cultural controversies, from Prince Andrew's involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s predatory sexual behavior to Princess Diana's death in a high-speed car crash.
But unlike Trump’s obsession with gilding the people's house for his own amusement, Oedipus’s commitment to truth and transparency lures us toward a sense of authenticity. But his ultimate desire for power seals his fate.
"Let’s just skip this part, I — I don’t dwell on the negative,” says Kristin Chenoweth as MAGA millionaire Jackie Siegel on escaping the abusive marriage that pulled her from her New York City modeling career to the Florida swampland, where she eventually meets her second husband and begins building the largest home in America. If only we could do the same with The Queen of Versailles, the Broadway house of cards at the St. James Theatre.
Scenic designer Dane Laffrey’s requisite construction site eventually delivers the garish monstrosity it promises. However, we never see the “secret passageway” Jackie planned to connect her room with her disenchanted daughter, Victoria (Nina White), so they can “get dressed up together.”
Probably for the best, though that secret passageway would serve the audience better if it led out of the theatre. Full review HERE
Is it weird to say that Taylor Trench, coming off a Tony-nominated performance in Floyd Collins, has landed in a role he was born to play?
O’Keefe’s song stylings run the gamut, with fun nods to rock opera a la Jesus Christ Superstar and 70s flute-driven love ballads. The composer, who previously brought dark humor to high school with Heathers, clearly understands camp.
Scenic designer David Korins amps up the production value, and a rousing supporting cast, including Andrew Durrand (Dead Outlaw) and Alex Newell as The God Pan, helps Bat Boy take flight, even when its wacky plot threatens to strand you in a dark cave without a flashlight.
Liberation balances both intellect and heart, which makes for a remarkable night of theater. As Lizzie gets closer to understanding her mother’s multi-faceted ambitions, one last trip through time may leave you sobbing. Full review here
1 Minute Critic review ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Targeting those who already love the film, the musical stays true to the original plotlines and eras while introducing a bright new universe, punctuated by heightened physical comedy, MTV golden-era dance routines, and character portrayals that defy imitation. Romy & Michele also evokes feminist themes, including the importance of female friendship, which remains relevant nearly 30 years later.
But the 80s and 90s pop-inspired score (music and lyrics by Gwendolyn Sanford and Branford Jay), while a refreshing departure from all the jukebox musicals, is uneven and, with the show’s nearly two-and-a-half-hour length, ends up searching for memorable hooks. Full Review
While Major League Baseball winds down with the World Series just weeks away, Paper Mill Playhouse hopes to heat things up with its season opener, a musical version of the 1988 film Bull Durham. Unfortunately, it barely reaches a simmer and leaves audiences asking themselves, “Did this need to be a musical?” The hugely talented cast is stuck in a show with pacing more akin to golf than that of the great American pastime.
Bull Durham reminds us that musicals often spend years in the minor leagues. With Damn Yankees waiting in the wings at Arena Stage, Broadway may get its baseball musical this season after all. FULL REVIEW HERE
"Folllow me!” “This way!” “Hurry!” I doubt Andrew Lloyd Webber and his collaborators imagined there’d be so much shuffling and calls-to-action when they first conceived of a musical adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s novel. But the catacombs of what was once the home of the American Society of Civil Engineers require nimble navigation for cast, crew, and attendees of Masquerade, a mostly mesmerizing immersive reimagining of The Phantom of the Opera.
The evening’s participatory aspect sometimes feels forced (Do we need to learn the Masquerade dance? It’s not my Bar Mitzvah.) At other times, it’s intoxicating. Some naysayers might guffaw that its creators have turned the musical into what purists may consider a theme park attraction, feeling the phantom pain of the performers trapped in a dimly lit and fog-filled Groundhog Day. But Paulus and team have pulled off something miraculous: an immersive evening that retains the essence and dramatic arc of its source material. Finally, a reason to dress up and get lost in New York.
If there’s anyone who knows the highs and lows of Latin life in America, it’s John Leguizamo. From his early stand-up career to breakout film roles and award-winning solo shows, the Colombian-born creative has often leveraged humor to highlight social disparities while also celebrating the rich history of his heritage. Now Leguizamo takes on the classic family drama as both playwright and actor in The Other Americans.
As an actor, Leguizamo harnesses his signature charm and social commentary, but as a playwright, The Other Americans drowns in its own exposition. Rarely does the family—both literally and figuratively— escape the mire of its circumstances. Velez, as Castro’s wife, is saddled with cumbersome stage business amid Arnulfo Maldonado’s over-packed scenic design, which obstructs one of the play’s most climactic and traumatic moments. The aftermath, with echoes of playwrights August Wilson and Arthur Miller, feels like it wants to be more substantial than it ultimately lands.
UPDATE: The new Sia musical at New York Theatre Workshop was extended again, now running through October 24.
1 Minute Critic Faith can provide solace, but it can also act as a double-edged sword, dividing us from those we claim to love the most, including ourselves. Such is the struggle of Ulysses, a queer teen on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance in Saturday Church, a new musical featuring music by Sia.
Bryson Battle (The Voice season 27 semi-finalist) blows the roof off of Sia’s pop-infused soulful score as Ulysses, a questioning teen struggling with his father’s recent death, his overworked mother’s absence (Kristolyn Lloyd), and pressure from an aunt (Joaquina Kalukango) who wants to straighten him up. But Cardasis and Ijames’ book provides him little beyond the broad strokes of teen angst and young love.
"If I sing at La Scala it will be on my own terms or not at all,” exclaims opera diva Maria Gadalena Galas when presented with the opportunity to sing at the famed Italian opera house in Galas, Charles Ludlam’s “modern tragedy” (or more accurately, high-camp comedy), being presented in a rare revival at Little Island. The same might be said for director Eric Ting and a first-rate company led by countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo in the title role.
Produced originally by Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theatrical Company in 1983 at the Sheridan Square Theatre, Galas marks another epic turn in Little Island’s summer season under producing artistic director Zack Winokur. Imbued with a queer and multicultural sensibility that leverages joy as a palpable resistance to recent attacks on the arts and the LGBTQ+ community, Galas brings high theatrics loosely inspired by the life of opera singer Maria Callas.
Director Ting keeps the stakes high, which feels particularly palpable for the world we’re living in. When asked by her husband if she loves music, Galas replies, “I wouldn’t dare. Art is so great it frightens me sometimes.” Full review here
1 Minute Critic - 5/5 stars In the program note for his play The Brothers Size, playwright and co-director Tarell Alvin McCraney reflects on presenting his show nearly two decades after its premiere: “When I wrote the play, the United States had the highest level of incarceration of any ‘developed’ country in the world, and that’s still the case today.”
As in the Oscar-winning Moonlight, McCraney unravels the nuances, vulnerabilities, and shimmering love that shape Black masculinity. In this stellar revival, the performances and production match the writer’s clarity. Full review HERE.
Just like the provocative fashion designer at its center, House of McQueenisn’t afraid to shock. Take its opening image: Alexander McQueen in silhouette, holding a gun in his mouth. From the outset, Darrah Cloud’s new play doesn’t shy away from the dark side of the designer’s life, which he often channeled into controversial avant-garde runway shows.
The title role marks a sophisticated star turn for Bridgerton breakout Luke Newton, who captures McQueen’s physical demeanor with a requisite buzzcut and a pair of baggy jeans. The play sees Newton embody McQueen from his troubled childhood through the tumult of his adulthood, contending with homophobia, addiction, disease, and heartbreak...
1 Minute Critic Review — Free Shakespeare in the Park roars back to life with Lupita Nyong’o & Sandra Oh in a dazzling ‘Twelfth Night’
At a recent performance of Twelfth Night at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, Public Theater executive director Patrick Willingham took to the stage before the play began to rev up the audience and stress the importance of access to theater and cultural institutions. While it wasn’t quite Henry V’s “Once more onto the breach, dear friends, once more” speech, it was pretty damn close.
Director Saheem Ali’s rousing and star-packed production is of one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies (proven by the fact that the Public has produced the play seven times). Ali’s imaginary Illyria is such stuff as dreams are made on, a magical but intentionally nondescript world in which the tempest of separated twins, a desperation for love, and gluttonous mischief are the follies of the players rather than the place.
A triumphant gender-defying curtain call, costumed in glorious technicolor by Oana Botez, further challenges the recent assault on creative expression and the arts, demonstrating that joy is an act of resistance. And there’s nothing more joyful than the return of Shakespeare in the Park. FULL REVIEW HERE - It only takes a minute ⏰
🍌 🍌 🍌 If you’re headed to the Nederlander Theatre for a barrage of foul-mouthed expletives for which comedian is known, you may find more laughs downtown at the Comedy Cellar in the West Village.
The show’s title pays tribute to Ross’s late grandfather, Pop Jack, who said, “You never know what’s going to happen…” An apt saying, which comes to fruition when Ross works the audience during the evening’s final moments. But this banana is more of a snack than a feast, leaving audiences hungry for the full-course roasting they likely came for.Full review HERE, it only takes a minute! ⏰
Ava Gardner was one of the biggest stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. She also had a mouth like a trucker. At least as interpreted by Elizabeth McGovern, who wrote and stars in Ava: The Secret Conversations.
McGovern, who most audiences know most recently through her role as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham, in the Downton Abbey TV and film franchise, takes big swings at Gardner’s life, both as a playwright and as an actor. And she knocks it out of the park.
Foul-mouthed and flirty in her youth, frail and ferocious in later years, the Oscar-nominated actress (both subject and star) is a force to be reckoned with. Costa Ganis provides a formidable sparring partner, not only as Evans but also as an uncanny embodiment of Gardner’s ex-husbands. Full Review here - it only takes a minute!
Aaron Costa Ganis and Elizabeth McGovern in "Ava: The Secret Conversations." Photo by Jeff Lorch.
Morgan Bassichis writes and stars in Can I Be Frank? directed by Sam Pinkleton.
You want Morgan Bassichis at your next dinner party. That is, if they’re anything like their onstage persona in Can I Be Frank?, Bassichis’ quirky, meandering, enraged, and brilliantly conceived riff on the life and impact of performance artist Frank Maya.
Unless you’re a queer of a certain age, a particular fan of New York City’s downtown theater scene, or up late-night binge-watching early 90s comedy specials, Maya may have passed you by. Not because of lack of talent, but because—like thousands of gay men before the introduction of protease inhibitors—he died too soon from AIDS-related complications.
The obsession culminates in a tribute performance of Maya’s haunting compositions (he was also a gifted composer with an eerie Jonathan Larson-esque quality) and a rousing manifesto in which Bassichis outlines the multitudes of ways we can honor our queer history. In a world where so many LGBTQ+ voices continue to be silenced, we’re fortunate to have artists like Morgan Bassichis dragging these essential stories (like that absurdly long corded mic) back into the spotlight where they belong. Full Review HERE
Smell burnt toast? It’s not a stroke, you’re at ‘Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins’ If Harry Houdini hasn’t escaped his grave, he may be turning over in it after setting eyes on Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins, a new “theatrical escape experience” playing Off-Broadway at Stage 42. Audiences watch Lord Nil conquer his biggest fears, like being chained in a sealed water tank or sawed in half.
In one olfactory display of bravado, Lord Nil’s wrists and ankles are chained before his back-up dancers place him on a spit over an open flame (proven real by some toasted bread, a few slices of bacon, and maybe a pork chop).
Herein lies the dry rub. Lord Nil made it to the quarter-finals of America’s Got Talent, Season 13, and loyal fans eagerly anticipate seeing the escape artist in real life. And while nobody expects a high-brow dramatic interpretation of the Seven Deadly Sins, Marta Lucata (concept and script) and director Alberto Oliva fail to stir up any sense of thematic urgency. Full Review Here
"Lord Nil: Seven Deadly Sins" Photo: Jeremy Daniel
1 Minute Critic Review To be inside the warped mind of Ginger Twinsieswriter-director Kevin Zak is like slipping into a pair of high-waisted, light-wash denim shorts: so wrong, but oh so right. Unless you’ve been glued to the internet since the AOL days and deep in pop culture, some of Zak’s references may whizz by. But rather than alienating the audience, you’ll likely find yourself leaning in, catching what you can, and enjoying the surrounding laughter when someone else gets the joke. Full review <60 seconds here. ⏰
