New York Stage Review

New York Stage Review features timely evaluations of both Broadway and off-Broadway productions, written by experienced theater critics.

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Lunar Eclipse: A Moving Portrait of a Married Couple in Twilight

3 days ago | nystagereview.com | Frank Scheck

In the opening moments of Donald Margulies’ new play, we see a character in the shadows, sobbing profusely. That turns out to be the most dramatic moment in Lunar Eclipse, which depicts an evening-long conversation between a long-married couple as they watch the titular event. It might sound like the recipe for a listless evening in the theater, but when those two characters are played by Reed Birney and Lisa Emery it’s anything but.
Creditors: Strindberg Updated, For Better and Worse

2 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Frank Scheck

The program for the new Audible & Together production shows that the play is “by August Strindberg, in a new version by Jen Silverman.” The script for the same production says that the play is “by Jen Silverman, after August Strindberg.” So is it any wonder that this version of Creditors feels a bit confused?
Creditors: Love, Marriage, and Maddening Mind Games

2 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Melissa Rose Bernardo

If a single man and a married woman fall in love, do they owe their happiness to her (soon to be ex-) husband? August Strindberg thinks so, and titled his 1889 one-act play Creditors. “Sooner or later, he’ll show up to collect the debt,” says Gustav (Liev Schreiber), the aforementioned husband, in Jen Silverman’s very loose adaptation, now onstage at the Minetta Lane Theatre and produced by Audible x Together.
Goddess: A Myth-Making, Magical New Musical

2 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Melissa Rose Bernardo

At the start of Goddess, the elaborate, captivating, chaotic new musical at the Public Theater, the Griotrio—aka the muses/storytellers, played by Melessie Clark, Teshomech Olenja, and Awa Sal Secka—promises to tell us the story of Marimba, the African goddess of music.
Lights Out, Nat King Cole: Smile When Your Heart Is Breaking

2 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Frank Scheck

Pop stars from the past are having a moment on New York Stages. On Broadway, you can see Jonathan Groff celebrating the life of Bobby Darin in Just in Time. And Off-Broadway, you can see playwrights Colman Domingo and Patricia McGregor lamenting the life of Nat King Cole in Lights Out: Nat “King” Cole. In terms of enjoyment, there’s no contest. Described by its creators as a “fever dream,” the show is likely to leave you with a headache.
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.
Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes: Let’s Hear It From the Boy

4 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Melissa Rose Bernardo

Ever since #MeToo became a hashtag and a movement, forever altering the way we frame, discuss, and spotlight sexual abuse and harassment, ask yourself: When was the last time—if ever—you found yourself sympathizing with an aggressor? Yet here we are off-Broadway at Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes, listening to the confessions of famous author/rock-star college professor Jon Macklem, and we’re immediately charmed.
Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes: Star Power Up Close

4 weeks ago | nystagereview.com | Frank Scheck

If you’re presenting a play about a middle-aged celebrated author and university professor who embarks on an affair with one of his teenage students, casting Hugh Jackman in the lead seems like stacking the deck. Renowned for his unsurpassable charisma and rapport with audiences, the Australian actor proves so winning in Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes that you find yourself rooting for his character despite his transgressions.
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.
Real Women Have Curves: Latina Stories Take Center Stage - New York Stage Review

1 month ago | nystagereview.com | Melissa Rose Bernardo

In the author’s note to Real Women Have Curves, Josefina López reflects on the concept of “illegal aliens,” a phrase that “conjures up in our minds the image of extraterrestrial beings who are not human, who do not bleed when they’re cut, who do not cry when they feel pain, who do not have fears, dreams and hopes.