Where Have All the Festivals Gone? A January Wrap-Up
Though American Realness and COIL are sorely missed, there was much international work to take in at this year’s Under the Radar and Exponential fests.
Category Archives: Critic’s Notebook
A ‘West Side Story’ That Resets the Choreographic Balance
Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s pared-down choreography may depart from Jerome Robbins’s original steps, but is it telling the same story?
Don’t Blame It on Their Youth
The problem with young adult shows on Broadway isn’t that they focus on teens—it’s which teens they focus on.
A Tale of Two ‘Little Shop(s) of Horrors’
Two high-profile, celebrity-laden versions of the campy musical are playing on opposite coasts. Which one is better? It depends if you prefer innovation or nostalgia.
‘What the Constitution Means to Me’ Is Setting a Theatrical Precedent
Women and people of color, along with artistic originality, should not be considered commercial risks.
Black, Queer, and Here
In a post-‘Moonlight’ world, writers like Michael R. Jackson and Jeremy O. Harris are making the case for LGBTQ stories that go beyond the gay white experience.
In ‘Fairview,’ the Light of Truth and Its Reflection
If people of color were able to speak freely in a theatrical space, what would we say? Jackie Sibblies Drury’s play offers a compelling answer.
In Colorado, Seeing New Plays Before They’re Born
Last week at the Colorado New Play Festival in Steamboat Springs, work by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Jill Sobule, among others, searched for its sound and form.
‘King Lear’ Minus the Monarch, Plus Mom
Samantha Shay’s stripped-down, fem-focused take on the tragedy inspires low-tech awe—and starts a raucous argument.
Qui Nguyen Is Telling the Story of Asian America
How ‘Vietgone’ and ‘Poor Yella Rednecks’ subverts the Asian-as-foreigner trope to tell a distinctly American story.
