The Day I Accidentally Went to War Written and performed by Bill Posley Soho Playhouse August 16, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5
My final one-person show of this visit to NYC was The Day I Accidentally Went to War. Written and performed by Bill Posley, the play confronts his experience as a soldier in Iraq during the War on Terror. The audience follows a deeply personal journey from his childhood through basic training, his unexpected deployment, and eventual homecoming. Apart from his personal story, he is trying to bridge the anti-military with the pro-military.
Ta-Da! Written by Josh Sharp Directed by Sam Pinkerton Greenwich House Theater August 11, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Sam Pinkleton has been very busy this giving a career boost to three burgeoning gay actors. He began with Cole Escola and won a Tony for directing him in Oh, Mary! And – tonight I watched his next collaboration with Josh Sharp and his Off-Broadway solo show, Ta-Da. The title makes you feel like you are going to be watching a magic show but there is no rabbit to be pulled out of a hat. Instead, we get a bit of a TED Talk-like personal monologue lasting some 80 minutes that is driven and defined by exactly 2,000 rapid fire projects – for the most part displaying his script or a few clever asides to the script. It felt like a standup comedy routine where every moment was scripted – and that was the very source of its humor. 2,000 slides – – in 80 minutes he had to hit the PowerPoint button every 2.4 seconds to get us to the finish line!
Viola’s Room Art Installation by Punchdrunk The Shed August 10, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Technically, Viola’s Room is NOT theatre in that there is no interaction between a live audience and a live performer. It is truly an art instillation with a story that is promising to have a bit of a “play” to it. Created by Punchdrunk, the company that created the long-running hit Sleep No More, it is a sensory experience guided by the pre-recorded voice of Helena Bonham Carter, queen of the creepy.
The Weir Written by Conor McPherson Directed by Ciaran O’Reilly Irish Repertory Theatre August 3, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
The Weir is not the type of play that you want to watch after spending a few hours of walking energetically through the streets of New York – only to find a dim well air-conditioned theatre – the play is so quiet that you can hear a pin drop. The Weir is a very quiet, very still and very much a show to be attentive and present to.
Trophy Boys Written by Emmanuelle Mattana Directed by Danya Taymor MCC Theater July 31, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Trophy Boys was a most novel, explosive, concentrated 70 minutes of classroom drama. Staged by Danya Taymor of both The Outsiders and John Proctor is the Villain, the play is amplified with dance moves, blaring music and flashing lights – here – not as successfully as in the previous two works. According to the playwright’s non-negotiable terms, her drama’s four 17-something male characters must be enacted by female, gender non-conforming and/or non-binary performers wearing schoolboy drag. The play is set inside the classroom at a private school for girls – all the classroom walls were covered with historical female icons.
