BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Like rocking out to the sweet riffs of a Bob Seeger song after years of irony-only listening, writer/performer Bruce McCulloch’s autumnal residency at Soho Playhouse reveals heretofore hidden depths to the stellar ensemble comedian, whose work with The Kids in the Hall is peppered with mission-focused loners and sweet searchers yearning […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Superachiever Judy Garland isn’t wasting one second of precious, pumpkin spice-infused time when the final day of September gives way to a month-long celebration of ghosts, ghouls, goblins, and things that go bump in the night. And in honor of that, the woman who once singlehandedly killed a wicked witch by […]
BY BONNIE ROSENSTOCK| Some minutes before Burn began, there was an epic river of a rainstorm, pelting leftward, seen on the back screen. Booming claps of thunder were heard, and lightning illuminated the sky, which gave just a hint of a mountainous backdrop. After it subsided, Alan Cumming appeared onstage dressed in black, dark eyeliner […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Worlds collide, sending fiction crashing into fate and creating a new reality so meta, it makes the Marvel Cinematic Universe seem utterly unambitious. That’s the sense you get when reading the timeline that accounts for this weekend’s stage presentation of David and Kate Get Re-Married. Written and performed by David Carl […]
BY ELIZABETH ZIMMER | Returning to action after its annual hiatus, the dedicated-to-dance Joyce Theater offers a rare outlier: An hour-long, one-man show, Burn, made collaboratively by the multi-talented Scottish actor Alan Cumming and choreographer Steven Hoggett, in celebration of the Scottish poet laureate Robert Burns. Arriving in Chelsea weeks after its world premiere at […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Founded in 2010 and operating from the fourth floor of 312 West 36th Street since 2018, Chain Theatre’s restless quest to contemplate “the cyclical nature of history and complexity of the human spirit” has expressed itself through muscular revivals of proven stage works (The Pillowman), film and play festivals, and NYC […]
BY MICHAEL MUSTO | Two whole days after the Tonys came the 66th Annual Drama Desk Awards, which go one step further by honoring not just Broadway, but Off-Broadway too. On Tuesday, I got to meet some of the (previously announced) winners at Sardi’s second floor, where they sauntered in with their honors and got […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | Canadian writer, director, and, yes, rocker Bruce McCulloch’s enduring sketch comedy characters cut to the bone because they swim so close to the surface. Over the course of our nearly 30-minute phone interview in advance of his June solo run in NYC, a number of McCulloch’s darkly shaded oddball creations reveal […]
BY SCOTT STIFFLER | If you plan to tie the knot in the United States this year, you’re in good company. Sidelined for the past two years by COVID, relaxed public gathering protocols mean that 2022 will see an unusually high amount of packed pews and reception halls. Indeed, wedding prep website theknot.com puts at […]
NOTE: Following this feature (with quotes from an interview conducted prior to the show’s NYC premier), find Trav S.D.’s brief review. Spoiler: The upshot is, says Trav, “Go see it.” TRAV S.D.| Good news for NYC fans of Downton Abbey cast member Lesley Nicol, who plays the role of the cranky Crawley family cook, Mrs. Patmore. Not only […]