This weekend, Buran Theatre’s production of Mammoth: A De-Extinction Love Story will open at the Brick, where it is being presented as part of their Resident Artists series. Adam R. Burnett is Artistic Director of Buran Theatre and as such his plays are the driving force behind the company. After years of seeing his work and corresponding with him, I consider Adam a friend and … Continue reading PRE-GAME: BURAN’S MAMMOTH: A DE-EXTINCTION LOVE STORY

My first proper Pre-Game of 2015 is for The Temple, or Lebensraum, which had its opening last night at The Brick, where it is being presented as part of 2015 Resident Artist Series. It will play through next weekend. Nat Cassidy is a super talented (and super nice) guy, whose work as a playwright, director, actor, and musician I have been sorely under exposed to. … Continue reading PRE-GAME: THE TEMPLE, OR LEBENSRAUM

I have been dragging my feet on putting together this Pre-Game for Gideon Productions’ Asymmetric before my proper review posts in the next few days. There are a number of things contributing to this – two other reviews already in the queue for the site, a bigger project that I’ve been working on for Pop Matters about Joss Whedon, and also the wonderful and frenetic … Continue reading PRE-GAME: GIDEON PRODUCTIONS’ ASYMMETRIC

This week I will be seeing Jacuzzi, a new play by The Debate Society that is being presented at Ars Nova. My proper review will post sometime after it opens on October 13. I have a lot to say about The Debate Society company and their remarkable body of work – probably enough to fill a book at this point. It is always difficult for … Continue reading PRE-GAME: THE DEBATE SOCIETY’S JACUZZI

I’m going to level with you guys. There’s a good chance that I will NOT be reviewing the actual production of Buran Theater Company’s new production Magic Bullets – one of the final performances at the venerable Incubator Arts Project at St. Marks Church, before they close up shop this July. My wife gave birth to our second baby a few days ago so I … Continue reading MAGIC BULLETS PRE-GAME

My Pre-Gaming for Gideon Productions’ staging of Kill Shakespeare continues with this post about the IDW comic. The  comic Kill Shakespeare attempts to do for the iconic Shakespearean characters what the Avengers and Justice League comics have always done for the iconic super hero characters: establish a shared continuity and execute a massive team-up. I should say upfront that I feel it’s an attempt that … Continue reading KILL SHAKESPEARE PRE-GAME: THE COMIC

As a longtime Shakespeare guy and comic book guy, the IDW comic Kill Shakespeare has been on my radar for a while. Even so, I didn’t make time for it until I stumbled across a small blip on the internet saying that a theatrical production was to be mounted at HERE Arts Center by the fine folks over at Gideon Productions – the daring Brooklyn … Continue reading KILL SHAKESPEARE PRE-GAME: GIDEON PRODUCTIONS

Monologist Mike Daisey is currently in the midst of an epic 29-night “theatrical novel” called All the Faces of the Moon.  Each night from September 5th through October 3rd, Daisey has performed and will perform a new “chapter” at Joe’s Pub.  When I first heard about this ambitious format, my first instinct as someone who (wrongly) considers himself a hardcore theater commentator was that I … Continue reading ALL THE FACES OF THE MOON PRE-GAME

Five plays in two days?  It must be time for the New York Fringe Festival. Some of the best shows I’ve seen in New York have been part of the Fringe:  Pulp Shakespeare, which adapted Pulp Fiction into an iambic pentameter Shakespeare play, Theater of the Arcade, which mashed-up 80’s video game icons with the signature styles of famous playwrights, and Invader? I Hardly Know … Continue reading FRINGENYC 2013 PRE-GAME

I didn’t intend to do a Pre-Game for Gideon Productions’ Ligature Marks, which is being presented as part of the Brick’s Game Play Festival, but my scheduling got crossed up and I found myself with an extra week to think about it beforehand. Also helpful:  playwright Mac Rogers posted a couple of blog entries on the Gideon Website that locate this new play as a kind … Continue reading LIGATURE MARKS PRE-GAME