He opened the doors to all three stalls in the bathroom. But let me back up a minute. The Light Years at Playwrights Horizons marks the proper Off-Broadway arrival of The Debate Society, a theater company close to my heart, who, after a decade of lush detail-oriented theatrics, deeply nuanced storytelling and consistently warm critical receptions in theaters downtown, have “made good,” as it were, in a … Continue reading REVIEW: THE LIGHT YEARS BY THE DEBATE SOCIETY

New York Shakespeare Exchange’s production of Much Ado About Nothing is straight up sensational – a poppy, neon-infused rollick punctuated by a dynamite cast, exquisite costumes and a host of glorious little details. Right away director Ross Williams sets up his precise (and precisely executed) vision of the Bard’s comedy by introducing Leonato, his sister Antonia and his daughter Hero, all of whom are all … Continue reading REVIEW: NYSX’s Production of Much Ado About Nothing

Tonight, I will be going to see New York Shakespeare Exchange‘s production of Much Ado About Nothing. I don’t know a ton about the company, but the production is certainly very slickly marketed and their mission of considering Shakespeare in contemporary culture seems fun. This did seem like good time to dust off the last big thing I wrote about Much Ado About Nothing, an … Continue reading PRE-GAME: NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE EXCHANGE’S MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

Adam R. Burnett of Buran Theatre, one of my very favorite theater artists, was once interviewed by Adam Szymkowicz and pointed out that he tends to favor female characters in his writing because “there is no mystery in a man, nothing lyrical or beautiful, devastating or dramatic.” In his lively new work Poshlost Saudades! (PS!), which was presented for one night only on Monday, June … Continue reading REVIEW: BURAN THEATRE’S POSHLOST SAUDADES! (PS!)

Context is everything, right? Gideon Productions’ crisply constructed new staging of Mac Rogers’ play Universal Robots lands squarely in the midst of an embarrassingly crude election cycle, more than a decade of American military conflict and, just a few days ago, the largest mass shooting in US history. So yeah, humankind is not at the top of my list these days. This is precisely why it … Continue reading REVIEW: GIDEON PRODUCTIONS’ UNIVERSAL ROBOTS

And we’re back. After a basically yearlong blackout, I am happy to return to STP with a quick Pre-Game for Gideon Theater’s restaging of Universal Robots at The Sheen Center, which I will be reviewing in the next few days. Back in 2009, Gideon presented Universal Robots at Manhattan Theater Source and it was my first experience with this remarkable company. Its science fiction story, an … Continue reading PRE-GAME: GIDEON PRODUCTIONS’ UNIVERSAL ROBOTS

My review series of the plays collected in Geek Theater: 15 Plays by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers continues! Each post will focus on one or two of the plays collected in the volume. Another of the truly remarkable surprises in Geek Theater is John Kessel’s delightfully absurd comedy Faustfeathers. Much like Carlos Hernandez’s The Clockwork Comrade, this play’s bizarre and compelling central concept doesn’t … Continue reading GEEK THEATER REVIEW — PART 10: FAUSTFEATHERS

My review series of the plays collected in Geek Theater: 15 Plays by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers continues! Each post will focus on one or two of the plays collected in the volume. There’s a good chance you’ll be won over before you even get to the actual script for Crystal Skillman’s play GEEK! As evidenced by her previous work Skillman is a thoroughgoing … Continue reading GEEK THEATER REVIEW — PART 9: GEEK!