New Series Features New York’s Most Macabre
By Anam Baig
Ronni Thomas, a filmmaker and oddity enthusiast, has created a new web series documenting the darkness, eccentricity and mystery of the uncharted and unimaginable happenings of New York City. Read more
Singing about Love in an Alley
A revisal of ‘Porgy and Bess’ leaves the songs intact but distracts from the story
By Mark Peikert
Porgy and Bess has been something like this season’s highbrow Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark. Both shows came to Broadway trailing a wake of scandal and op-eds—except Porgy and Bess had Stephen Sondheim and the New York Times weighing in, while Spider-Man had the Post. And in both cases, what finally showed up on stage was…underwhelming.
What else could this revision of Porgy and Bess be? Director Diane Paulus and bookwriter/reviser Suzan-Lori Parks have streamlined the original four-hour work into a matinee-crowd-friendly two and a half hours, during which time most of the characters act incomprehensibly. Read more
They Want to Break Free
‘Dedalus Lounge’ draws big talent to the intimate Interart Theater
Certain universal questions arise in every generation: What is the meaning of life? What lies in the Great Beyond? And perhaps most important of all: Are you gonna take me home tonight? Read more
Bittersweet Symphony
A popular Jacques Brel revue gets an encore
Jacques Brel is no longer alive or in Paris, but that hasn’t stopped him from making a comeback. Again.
In the last decade, Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, a remounting of the storied 1960s production celebrating the renowned chanteur, enjoyed quite a bit of success in an Off-Broadway run at the Zipper Theater. The man and his music have returned in Jacques Brel Returns: The Music of Brel, Blau, Shuman and Jouannest, a more intimate version of Alive and Well currently celebrating a one-year run at the Upper West Side’s The Triad, at 158 W. 72nd St.
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Seasonal Offerings
From steampunk Scrooge to a Christmas-themed Exorcist spoof
By Mark Peikert
Even with the addition of 3-D technology, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular can only hold your attention for so many holiday seasons. Likewise The Nutcracker and its derivations. This year, break out of your Christmas routine with one of these shows, ranging from new takes on A Christmas Carol to revivals of holiday-themed plays. Read more
Frog and Peach Presents Bold Take on the Bard
The play’s the thing, or so claims the old adage from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. And yet, after centuries, there are still many who feel trepidation at the thought of experiencing one of the esteemed playwright’s many canonical works. In the mid-1990s, one group of actors decided to perform Shakespeare’s works in a way that both involved their audiences and still made the work accessible.
Berenstain Bears Live! Makes a New Den
Hit children’s musical extends into 2012
At a time when best-selling children’s books are as dark as Twilight and The Hunger Games, both of which burned up the bestseller lists and landed high-profile movie deals, a beloved childhood favorite has managed to carve a place for itself in the busy New York theater scene with a family-friendly show that offers pure fun—and a few lessons.
Read more
Frog and Peach Presents Bold Take on the Bard
The play’s the thing, or so claims the old adage from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. And yet, after centuries, there are still many who feel trepidation at the thought of experiencing one of the esteemed playwright’s many canonical works. In the mid-1990s, one group of actors decided to perform Shakespeare’s works in a way that both involved their audiences and still made the work accessible.
Scene from The Berenstain Bears LIVE! Photo by Aaron Epstein
Hit children’s musical extends into 2012
At a time when best-selling children’s books are as dark as Twilight and The Hunger Games, both of which burned up the bestseller lists and landed high-profile movie deals, a beloved childhood favorite has managed to carve a place for itself in the busy New York theater scene with a family-friendly show that offers pure fun—and a few lessons.
Read more
Ken Ferrigni’s new play tells more than it shows
You’ve got to pity poor Ned Frangipani (Anthony Manna), the protagonist—if not quite hero—of Ken Ferrigni’s quirky new philoso-comedy Mangella, playing at the Drilling Company Theater. Antisocial and saddled with the responsibility of caring for a father suffering from dementia, Ned pretty much hates the world at large. In fact, the only thing he does care for is the tool he uses to escape from it all: his computer.
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