Michael Sommers

Writer at New York Stage Review

Featured in: Favicon

nystagereview.com Favicon

nytimes.com Favicon

ucla.edu

mashed.com Favicon

tastetoronto.com Favicon

villagevoice.com Favicon

newsroom.ucla.edu

Articles

The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse: Skanks for the Y2K memories

3 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Who’s feeling nostalgic for the early 2000s? Who loves social media? Who enjoys a silly musical? Answer all of these queries affirmatively, and The Last Bimbo of the Apocalypse could well be a new Off Broadway show for you. Or maybe not. In 2006, a tabloid famously printed a paparazzi snap of Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton inside a car.
Five Models in Ruins, 1981: Dressed for Excess

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Caitlin Saylor Stephens titles her new play Five Models in Ruins, 1981. It precisely describes the situation of Stephens’ rueful comedy regarding glamour that premiered on Monday at Lincoln Center Theater’s Claire Tow space: High-fashion models participate in an overnight photo shoot for a Vogue cover that is being staged in a derelict country mansion in England in 1981. Not revealed by the title is that they are modeling ultra-couture wedding gowns rejected by newlywed Princess Diana.
Dead Outlaw: Macabre, Morbid, and Wickedly Smart

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Dead Outlaw is a Broadway musical for people who don’t like Broadway musicals. A major awards-winning success at the Minetta Lane Theater a year ago, Dead Outlaw has now moved uptown to Broadway. Geographically, anyway: Opening on Sunday at the Longacre Theatre, the musical’s raucous sounds and sardonic sensibilities remain far off the beaten Broadway track.
Pirates! The Penzance Musical: Bright and Breezy in the Big Easy

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Did you know The Pirates of Penzance was first seen in New York City? The soon to become legendary British team of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan premiered their fifth operetta here in 1879 to establish an American copyright, so their latest work would not be pirated like dozens of unauthorized H.M.S. Pinafore troupes then playing around the country and paying them no royalties.
Floyd Collins: Jeremy Jordan goes deep as a forgotten headliner from 1925

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

It is good to hear and see Floyd Collins again. The musical about a man who is trapped in a Kentucky cavern – and what happens 200 feet above his head over the next three weeks – is a challenging work to produce successfully. Few companies have the resources to fulfill the beautiful, yet demanding score created by Adam Guettel and the dark, real-life saga crafted by Tina Landau.
Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp: Caryl Churchill Vaudeville

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Opening on Wednesday at the Public Theater, four brief, contrasting plays of circa 2020 vintage composed by the great British dramatist Caryl Churchill appear in their New York premieres. They are handsomely arranged in a program cleverly directed by James Macdonald, a longtime collaborator, under a banner naming their titles in order of performance: Glass. Kill. What If If Only. Imp.
minor.ity: Talking ident.ity, creativ.ity, authentic.ity, commun.ity

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

That dot in the title of minor.ity signals how francisca da silveira’s thoughtful comedy regards Black artists doing financially well for themselves by being, um, Black artists. Later they are revealed to be doing not so much in the way of art. Exploring the patronage side of an artist’s life and beyond, the play considers themes relating to Black identity and community. All that, plus it offers a satirical figure from Generation Z.
Smash: Marilyn, We Hardly Knew Ye

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Twelve Broadway attractions open during this cruel theatrical month of April, so here’s the short report on Smash, which premiered Thursday at the Imperial: Energetically performed by an excellent company, the capably designed and directed show proves to be a busy, cold, facetious and ultimately rueful backstage musical comedy involving some people making a Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe.
I’m Assuming You Know David Greenspan: Singular Theater Talk

2 months ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Theater lovers who collect performances by David Greenspan as ephemeral works of art – for that’s what they are, truly – will savor his delightful appearance in a smart new solo comedy written especially for his remarkable proficiency at being several people simultaneously in conversation.
Danger and Opportunity: Up Close and Personal with a Polyamorous Trio - New York Stage Review

2 months ago | nystagereview.com | Michael Sommers

Two men and a woman share a polyamorous affair that grows into a committed relationship – for a while, anyway – in Ken Urban’s new contemporary drama, Danger and Opportunity. Sincerity is the sustaining hallmark of Urban’s play, which gets graphic whenever its characters discuss sex, but otherwise proves to be neither salacious nor sensational – nor especially revelatory – in studying their ever-mutable dynamics as a throuple. The actors keep their clothes on.