Off-Broadway Reviews

'Stranger Sings' review — musical parody turns the hit TV show upside down

If Stranger Things Twitter, theatre Twitter, and '80s kids all created a show together, it would look something like Stranger Sings! The Parody Musical.Jonathan Hogue, who wrote the show's book, music, and lyrics, seems to represent all those culture niches in one. Stranger Sings! is not only stuffed to the brim with nostalgic jokes, but it is also perfectly on the pulse with fan conversations around the show (speaking from personal experience, as a Stranger Things fan), perhaps even more so now...

'This Beautiful Future' review — whose future is it, anyway?

This Beautiful Future is a peculiar yet quietly compelling portrait of two teenagers, a French girl and a German soldier, chasing a connection — and a roll in the hay — amid wartime. Over its compact 75 minutes, the play by Rita Kalnejais, an Australian writer based in London, lands with a modest impact as it pulls off a sly feat. It feels both very familiar (young love among the ruins) and disarmingly fresh (credit the unusual framework). The setting is Chartres, France in August 1944, a...

'Sesame Street: The Musical' review — a fun-loving testament to the power of theatre

It seems inevitable that Sesame Street would eventually hit the New York stage — the beloved children's show is already musical, and the theme song is as iconic as any classic Broadway overture. This season, it's finally here, right on the heels of the critically acclaimed Winnie the Pooh, Rockefeller Productions' last family-friendly show at Theatre Row. The company has once again outdone itself with Sesame Street: The Musical, a clever and utterly joyous show that's truly for all ages.The...

'Kate' review — Kate Berlant battles the camera, but was born for the stage

As audiences file into the Connelly Theater for Kate, they might notice comedian Kate Berlant, of the title, sitting off to the side with a spotlight shining in her face — and on a sign taped to her chest that reads "ignore me." But make no mistake, this is absolutely her show. If the show's name, the photos of her plastered all around the theatre in various sizes (from life-size versions you can get a picture with, to teeny-tiny stickers in even the bathroom stalls), and the replicas of her...

'As You Like It' review — Shakespeare musical offers breezy summer fun

Situated amid the leafy splendor of Central Park, the Delacorte Theater offers an ideal open-air playground for As You Like It. In Shakespeare's comedy, after all, feuding families and mixed-up couples find forgiveness and "I do"-worthy clarity by going into the woods and savoring the rare and special vibe in the Forest of Arden.Call it reforestation at its best and most theatrical: The restorative grove has rooted again on the same Public Theater stage as part of Free Shakespeare in the Park....

'Kinky Boots' review — hit musical returns with its heart and glittery heels intact

It's not everyday a shoe gets an entrance applause. But at a recent performance of Kinky Boots off Broadway, that's just what happened when the eponymous kinky boot was unveiled. Here she is, folks: bright red, sparkling, not a seam out of place, with a stiletto heel as high as the heavens, and "two and a half feet of irresistible, tubular sex." With her unveiling, and the entrance of the drag queen wearing her, the message is clear: Kinky Boots has officially sashayed back to New York. In 2013,...

'Patience' review — exploring the many different faces of excellence

In the world of Johnny G. Lloyd's Patience, being a world-champion solitaire player apparently invites the same kind of fame and media attention as a Hollywood star or an NBA player. Far-fetched? Perhaps slightly. But then again, to that solitaire player, the stakes of becoming and remaining the best are just as high as they are for the movie star or athlete, whether or not the world is really watching. For 90 minutes at the McGinn/Cazale Theater, at least, we are watching, and we're invited...

'The Nosebleed' review — autobiographical play explores a failed family relationship

Grown kids coming to terms with failed relationships with their parents has always been fertile dramatic territory. As it covers this time-worn terrain, The Nosebleed, a compact and peculiar work written and directed by Aya Ogawa, deserves credit for its singular storytelling approach.That's not exactly the same as saying this autobiographical play at Lincoln Center Theater completely succeeds and satisfies. Beyond some too-pronounced performances, the key character of the author's father is a...

‘Oresteia’ at Park Avenue Armory review — a muddled, modernized Greek tragedy

Anastasia Hille is doing the most right now. She stars in the new adaptation of the Greek tragedy Oresteia at Park Avenue Armory as Klytemnestra. In the role, she plays a grieving mother, a wronged wife, a cunning strategist, and a murderer. She delivers a strong performance, in more ways than one. After she commits murder, she has to physically drag the dead body several feet and down two steps, while the corpse leaves a streak of red blood in its wake. It's a stomach-churning moment, and Hille...

'Heart' review — Jade Anouka tells a moving story from the heart

It's a tale as old as time: An LGBT+ person realizes they're queer for the first time, and all the happiness that they feel toward finally discovering their true self (and perhaps toward an object of their affection that led to their revelation) gets crushed beneath insecurity, shame, and fear that their families or society will never see them the same way again. Countless people, including this critic, have lived this story. But just because it's a time-worn tale doesn't mean it's any less...