The Picture of Dorian Gray Written by Oscar Wilde In a new adaptation written and directed by Kip Williams Music Box Theatre May 23, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
The Picture of Dorian Gray was an incredible night in the theatre! It was simply magical how one woman, an amazing technology and crew could fill the stage and tell a somewhat forgotten story long considered a literary classic. From the very first moment that the large screen center stage lights up, you know you are going to see the “pictures” in the Picture of Dorian Gray like you could never have imagined. The story is told by one woman using characters she creates live vying with those she has pre-recorded on sets that are live in front of us and settings that have been pre-recorded.
John Proctor is the Villain Written by Kimberly Belflower Directed by Danya Taymor Booth Theatre May 18, 2025 Productionwebsite 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
John Proctor is the Villain tells the story of a high school English classroom in the spring semester of the junior year in 2018 in a one-stoplight town in northeast Georgia. Mr. Smith, a very attractive, popular English teacher, is quickly and awkwardly working his way through the state required sex-ed curriculum so that he can get to the highly anticipated study of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible. It is when this study of the characters and themes of the Crucible collides with the realities of the classroom and the world of the 2018 (the height of the #MeToo movement) that this play erupts into one of the most explosive and oddly cathartic dramas currently on Broadway.
Floyd Collins Book, Additional Lyrics & Direction by Tina Landau Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel Lincoln Center Theatre May 17, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
Floyd Collins is a musical inspired by the true life experience of Floyd Collins who in 1925, while chasing fame and fortune by turning a Kentucky cave into a tourist attraction became the attraction himself as he became trapped 200 feet underground. The haunting and glorious folk and bluegrass-inspired music of Floyd Collins is exceptionally beautiful. Jeremy Jordan and Lizzy McAlpine sing some of the most beautiful music that I can remember on the musical theatre stage in a good long time. Plus, the orchestrations that move us from moment to moment in the story are truly magical. I would have been so happy if evening had just been a concert version of the musical.
Purpose Written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Directed by Phylicia Rashad Hayes Theatre May 16, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Purpose begins the evening with its protagonist waning the audience to, “Buckle up,” and he is not kidding. On stage we are about to experience three hours lacerating, biting and totally unforgettable family drama. At first, you believe you are going to go down the well-worn path of a conventional family reunion. The snow is falling, roads are closed, and the wayward son has returned. But it is here that playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins takes a most distinct point of view: he introduces black history and his peerless use of language to plumet this funny, deep and provocative work. Purpose is a dramatic vivisection of the Jasper family and so much more.
Eureka Day Written by Jonathan Spector Directed by Anna D. Shapiro Manhattan Theatre Club/Samuel J. Friedman Theatre February 12, 2025 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Eureka Day was a terrific, hilarious, and timely way to spend the afternoon in the theatre. The play is a rather biting satire of a progressive elementary school thrown into turmoil by a sudden mumps outbreak. The Board of Directors, known for their commitment to consensus and mutual respect, find themselves in the eye of a storm, grappling with divergent viewpoints and tensions. Their debate over whether to maintain their liberal vaccination stance or impose mandates that could fracture the community forms the crux of the drama.
