Off-Broadway Theater Reviews

BWW Review: Wave Productions' GOD STEELING Tackles Race and Culture in '80s NYC

GOD STEELING was a super interesting play. Couching this relationship story within the social and political climate of the early 1980s is not something that I frankly see enough. How race, social standing and culture plays into the lives of these union 'brothers' is a bottomless pool of material. Overall, I would like to have seen a bit more subtlety in the performances, but I do have to say that James Fenton's set is worth the price of admission. (more...)

BWW Review: Inspiring CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY (LIVE FROM LONDON) is Moving and Provocative

Before Matt Stone, Trey Parker, and Robert Lopez's BOOK OF MORMON made Missionaries cool, Steven Fales began sharing his personal story in the riveting and compelling one-man show CONFESSIONS OF A MORMON BOY. The show first premiered at the Sunstone Symposium in Salt Lake City in 2001. Since then, he has gone on to perform the show off-Broadway at the SoHo Playhouse with direction by Jack Hofsiss in 2006, all over the United States, the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and London's West End in 2012. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Belly Laughs and Food for Thought at THE DIET SHOW

Many of us have dieted in some way or another, trying to find just the right mix for a healthy lifestyle. Some of us have even fallen off the wagon. Where do you go when you find yourself more confused and overwhelmed than a novice cook attacking an Alton Brown recipe? Welcome to The Diet Show. (more...)

BWW Reviews: WHAT A GIRL WANTS

Sometimes in life what is needed most is editing. And so it goes with the Strand's original production of WHAT A GIRL WANTS. The play centers on a group of women preparing for a charity fashion show. Stacks of clothes next to the stage serve as a metaphor for a play that suffers from clutter. There are too many characters spending too much time carrying and hanging up all those clothes. All the words get lost in the back and forth and coming and going. (more...)

BWW Reviews: National Yiddish Theatre Charmingly Chronicles the Jewish Immigrant Experience in THE GOLDEN LAND

Have you ever wondered what might have happened to Tevya and Golde and their whole mishpucha had there been a sequel to Fiddler on the Roof? Well, the National Yiddish Theatre-Folksbiene's production of The Golden Land may be the most unique way to find out how immigrant Russian Jews faired on New York's Lower East Side after fleeing the Czars at the end of the 19th/beginning of the 20th centuries. The English-language musical punctuated by a mostly Yiddish score is reopening Thursday, December 20 (and will run through January 6) following an initial five-week run that ended on December 2. After its first preview at the end October, Hurricane Sandy had forced the producers to cancel the next nine performances (at the Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington Avenue at 25th Street). (more...)

BWW Reviews: Rock WILK's Gritty BROKE WIDE OPEN Plays 45th Street Theatre

Producer Rain Pryor is currently starring in her own critically acclaimed, solo autobiographical show "Fried Chicken and Latkes" and joins director Stephen Bishop Seely ("8 Million Protagonists") on the project. Rock WILK wrote and composed BROKE WIDE OPEN. The design team behind BROKE WIDE OPEN includes: Jason Sisino and Lee Alston (art design), Omayra Garriga Casiano (lighting design), Rock WILK (sound design), and Nivia Marrero Rolon (stage manager). (more...)

BWW Reviews: IN THE BAR OF A TOKYO HOTEL: Color and Fight

Media At Large Productions presents a revival of Tennessee Williams' play 'In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel', which incorporates dance as an atypical element. (more...)

COUGAR THE MUSICAL Hits the Right Notes on the Older Woman-Younger Man Dating Phenomenon

In Cougar the Musical, book writer and lyricist Donna Moore humorously embraces the older woman-younger man dating phenomenon with the declaration that "inside the word C-O-U-R-A-G-E is Cougar," a notion that goes down as easily as the "Cougartini," the vodka and pomegranate juice cocktail the audience is served before the show. Thankfully, you don't have to be tipsy to enjoy this whimsical social commentary and musical tribute to older women and the men who love them-or who at least want to bed them. (more...)

BWW Reviews: One Last Night for Araca Project's ONE NIGHT ONLY at American Theatre of Actors

One Night Only, a part of the 2012 Araca Project, finishes its run today at the American Theatre of Actors (314 West 54th Street). Directed by T. J. Shanoff, One Night Only is a completely improvised musical. With music direction by Mike Descoteaux, One Night Only stars Kate Cohen, Matthew Van Colton, Katie Dufrensne, Nicole C. Hastings, Kevin Sciretta and Michael Girts. The cast creates a brand new musical each night, developed through audience suggestion, singing, dancing, rhyming, rapping and free play. All veterans of The Second City's farm system, One Night Only, uses audience suggestions to create a 60-minute musical to rival Sondheim himself. (more...)

BWW Reviews: THE HUNCHBACK VARIATIONS - Clear as a Bell at 59E59

In The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov wrote: 'Suddenly a distant sound is heard, coming as if out of the sky, like the sound of a string snapping, slowly and sadly dying away.' That one sentence-one of the most controversial stage directions in western theater-has baffled sound designers for over a century. Chicago's Theater Oobleck has decided to confront the mystery in its own "Picasso at the Lapin Agile" fashion with The Hunchback Variations, now at 59E59 Theaters. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Amoralists Make You Question What is THE BAD AND THE BETTER

The play ultimately is 30 to 40 minutes too long. It is set in the present but the neo-noir language, scenic and costume design causes tonal confusion. Ahonen's dialogue leads to some comedic moments, but overall The Bad and the Better comes off as playing at being a Tracy Letts play and very much falls short. (more...)

BWW Reviews: New Victory Theatre's 8CHO is Tango with a Twist (and a Leap)

You may think you know everything about the tango after using up a 10-class punch-card at your local dance studio and DVRing every critique from Bruno, Len and Carrie Ann on "Dancing with the Stars." Oh, but you've never seen tango quite like this. At the New Victory Theatre, Brenda Angiel Aerial Dance Company presents the new show 8cho Aerial Tango (pronounced "ocho" like the Spanish word for 'eight'), which showcases this fiery dance form favorite with a twist (and a leap) - it uses circus-like aerial elements for a unique take on tango. (more...)

BWW Reviews: PRATFALLS Falls But Brushes Itself Off

Ultimately, this was a series of hits and misses. Half the characters and plot points weren't really needed. Nonetheless, when you boil it down, "Pratfalls" is a great relationship piece. "Pratfalls" is presented by Ground Up Productions at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex's Dorothy Strelsin Theatre, 312 W. 36th St., NYC. The show runs now through May 19. Tickes are available through (212) 352-3101, (866) 411-8111, www.theatermania.com, or www.groundupproductions.org. (more...)

Cary Hoffman's Obsessive Sinatra Syndrome Self-Therapy Session at Sofia's is Both Flawed and Compelling

Cary Hoffman's show My Sinatra is part karaoke, part cabaret show, part one-man jukebox musical, and all self-indulgent personal therapy session. It's also a surreal, seriously flawed, yet strangely poignant and compelling piece of performance art that true Ol' Blue Eyes aficionados will either love or hate. If you're not a Sinatra fan, it's like a theatrical car wreck from which you can't avert your eyes. (more...)

BWW Reviews: YOU BETTER SIT DOWN - TALES FROM MY PARENTS’ DIVORCE Offers Insightful Look at Life After Divorce

In the Flea Theater and the Civilians' YOU BETTER SIT DOWN: TALES FROM MY PARENTS' DIVORCE, four actors sit side by side in varying styles of chairs and play their parents, answering questions from actual interviews in one large confessional theater space. We go on a relationship journey of how each couple met and fell in love, got married, began having problems, broke up, and finally cope with life after divorce. Although the material is deep and thought-provoking, it also offers a simplicity that is relatable to anyone who has or is going through a divorce. We learn that "you pay a consequence when you want to get out." (more...)

BWW Reviews: Kids Will Go AHHH HA! with Delight at the New Victory Theater

Kids today. You're lucky if you can pry their attention away from the television, computer, tablet or phone. It would take a miracle to get them to sit through a musical, let alone a show where spoken words are scarce and the real delights are visuals, tricks and physicality. If you want to show your child (or your own inner child) the wonders beyond digital screens, then Do Jump!'s new show Ahhh HA! at the New Victory Theatre is the ticket to old-fashioned physical comedy, vaudevillian acts and circus entertainment with 21st century style and whimsical design. (more...)

BWW Reviews: La MaMa Goes Dancing, Puppet Theatre Style

La MaMa, in association with Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company, presents the World Premiere of Urban Odyssey. Conceived by Federico Restrepo and Denise Greber, Urban Odyssey depicts the experience of immigration to America through movement and visual theatre. A part of La MaMa's 50th Anniversary season, Urban Odyssey is a limited engagement run at La MaMa's Ellen Stewart Theatre (66 East 4th Street) from March 22 - April 8, 2012. (more...)

BWW Reviews: Don’t Vote for Mario Fratti's OBAMA 44

Maja Lieberman cannot tell a lie, and unfortunately, neither can I. Mario Fratti's OBAMA 44, now playing at the La MaMa Theatre, inherently lacks the necessary appeal to enable the audience to sympathize with any of its bizarre and one-dimensional characters, thus rendering an uninspiring and overall lackluster performance. (more...)

BWW Reviews: OCCASION OF SIN at Urban Stages a Timely Parable on the Destructive Nature of Racism

Inspired by true events that let to a 1969 race riot in author Monica Bauer's hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, 'My Occasion of Sin,' is a study on the power of music to unite and racism to destroy and is running at Urban Stages until April 15. (more...)

BWW Reviews: LUCKY DUCK at the New Victory Theater - Average Simple Mega Superstar

Once upon a time, there were disgruntled parents who were bored with their children's mindless entertainment. Whatever were they to do? How could they enrich their children's lives with the wonders of live theater without becoming grumpy, sleepy, or dopey? The answer: the toe-tapping, fluffy Lucky Duck at the New Victory Theater, which goes far beyond most children's shows to be, as the title character puts it, "an average simple mega superstar." (more...)

BWW Reviews: MY LIFE WITH MEN... AND OTHER ANIMALS - A Beautiful Account of Love, Life & Culture

Every once in a great while, a person comes across a play, musical, cabaret, or other production that is so inspiring, so magnetic, so unique, with a passionate performance, stellar direction, beautiful music, and ingenious sets that truly leaves the audience both captivated and inspired. My Life with Men... And Other Animals playing at the 45th Street Theatre does just that. (more...)

BWW Reviews: GRAPEFRUIT - A Sweet Tribute Despite Bitter Aftertaste

Actress, owner and artistic managing director of Stage Left Studio, Cheryl King, performs the one-woman play, Grapefruit, about the life of late opera singer and playwright, Sally Lambert, who was to appear in the show herself until unfortunately succumbing to cancer shortly prior to its opening. While King executes a stellar acting performance under the fine direction of Theresa Gambacorta, some of the material is wrought with political and governmental rhetoric, and turns Grapefruit somewhat sour. (more...)

BWW Reviews: The Mystery of THE MARIA PROJECT Unravels at 59E59 Theaters

59E59 Theaters welcomes Pure Projects, Inc., in association with Uncle Frank Productions with the Off Broadway premiere of The Maria Project. Written and performed by Marcella Goheen and directed by Larry Moss, The Maria Project runs now through April 1st. Using documentary footage, music and story telling, The Maria Project takes the audience on Marcella Goheen's spiritual quest to uncover the mysterious disappearance of Maria Salazar - her grandmother. (more...)

BWW Reviews: MAKE MINE MANHATTAN - I'll Take a Double

Style. Class. Grace. Charm. MAKE MINE MANHATTAN returns to its roots on the New York stage as a pocket revue after a larger Broadway production opened in 1948 and ran for nearly a year at the Broadhurst Theatre. This new revival preserves all the old-fashioned style and charm that was originally conceived in its smaller form. (more...)

BWW Reviews: CONFESSIONS: MARRYING GEORGE CLOONEY Is a Great Time at CAP21

CAP21 Theatre Company presents the world premiere of MARRYING GEORGE CLOONEY: CONFESSIONS FROM A MIDLIFE CRISIS. Based on a memoir by Amy Ferris, this new play by Amy and Ken Ferris along with Krista Lyons, officially opened March 1 at the CAP21 Black Box Theater (18 West 18th Street). Frank Ventura, Executive Artistic Director and co-founder of CAP21 directs. (more...)