The Notebook Music and Lyrics by Ingrid Michaelson Book by Beech Brunstetter Based on the book by Nicholas Sparks Choreographed by Katie Superman Directed by Michael Greig & Scheme Williams Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre May 29, 2024 Production website 💉💉💉 out of 5.
I must have been the ONLY person in the audience who had never read nor seen the movie for the Notebook. I was a rarity in the theatre. I was a bit concerned coming into the theater. One thing that struck me with worry is that even in the merchandise counter as you came in, they were selling boxed tissues for the audience as if we were going to be incapable of getting through the show without pouring tears onto our laps.
Three Houses Music, Lyrics, Book and Orchestrations by Dave Malloy Directed and Choreographed by Annie Tippe Signature Theatre May 29, 2024 Production website 💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
“My heart broke and then the world broke and then my brain broke too, and I don’t know which one to blame.” Three Houses is the first piece of musical theatre that I’ve seen that explores the psychological trauma experienced at the peak of the COVID pandemic as its theme: the isolation and separation and fear. The audience is cozily set in the round in a run down smoky over-stuffed cocktail bar for an open mic night as three guests are called forward to share
Here There are Blueberries Tectonic Theatre Project by Moises Kaufman and Amanda Gronich conceived and directed by Moises Kaufman New York Theatre Workshop April 19, 2024 Production website 💉💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Based on real events, Here There are Blueberries tells the story of a mysterious collection of photographs that was set to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007. The shocking discovery in these photographs taken at Auschwitz was that not a single picture was of a prisoner or a corpse. Every picture was of a soldier or a person employed at the camp. There, picture after picture – – was of office meetings, retreats, and even holiday celebrations. They showed groups of young, giggling women all working as switchboard operators manning the phones and communication channels for the camp. In short it presented the human, day-to-day side of the Germans in Auschwitz.
TransMasculine Cabaret by Vulva Va-Voom NYC Theatre Fringe Festival at 14th Street Y April 13, 2024 Production website 💉💉 out of 5.
This second slice of Fringe Theatre for the trip certainly worked better than the first. To begin, the artist actually cared and invested in their message and how it was being shared. The story told was of a performer dressed as a female preparing for a cabaret performance that slowly transforms into a performance as a “drag king”. Along the way the performer- they/them shares the journey that they have experienced as a trans performer and how they have been received both off and on stage. The play is wild and offensive, gross and caustic – all good things you expect from a fringe piece.
A Drag is Born Creator, Producer, & Performer Edu Diaz Directed by Rachel Resnik New York City Fringe – 14th Street Y April 13, 2024 Production website ☠ out of 5.
This was one of the WORST nights in the theatre that I have experienced in years! I realize there is an entirely different metric to be used in judging and enjoying fringe pieces – and I do love seeing fringe pieces and supporting new artists – but nothing can excuse this shit! The “story” that was only “attempted” was about a middle-aged man letting go of his masculinity and its trappings and letting his freak flag fly was a suitable story line for a fringe piece but nothing worked here.
