Mike Birbiglia’s The New One
Written and performed by Mike Birbiglia
Directed by Seth Barrish
Cort Theatre
December 23, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
How does a successful stand-up comedian who has spent a life traveling through the midwest in town’s where “everything centers on the action at the local Applebees” translate to the Great White Way?How can one man fill he stage when he is used to filling a few square yards of staging shoved in the corner of some bar pushing a two drink minimum? Mike Birbiglia is how you do it!
Kinsey Sicks in Things You Shouldn’t Say
Soho Playhouse
December 22, 2018 Production website
💉💉 out of 5.
The Kinsey Sicks is an institution in the gay community, and I never knew it!Thinking this was going to be just another drag show to fill a chilly New York winter, I came to the theatre with little expectations.I imagined that they were going to either 1.) be doing some off-color re-wordings of Christmas tunes or 2,) going to go down the “we are Jews revolting against Christmas, or 3.) Trump commentary. We got some of this – but, thankfully much more.
Thom Pain (based on nothing)
Starring Michael C. Hall
Written by Will Eno
Directed by Oliver Butler
Signature Theatre
November 24, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
Watching Thom Paine (based on nothing), with Michael C. Hall is a 70 minute romp round the existential racetrack that feels very much like Beckett brought back to life.In fact, as I was sitting there, I began to see this play and imagining what it would be like to have seen Waiting for Godot– now told in the 21st century and now played out after the death of Estragon.What would Godot be like after the death of one member of its infamous couple?How would Vladimire hold forth on a world when there was no one to verbally spar with him?Can you imagine the pain of all those jokes and pondering landing on ears that were no longer there to answer.Existential on steroids for sure . . . Continue reading Thom Pain (based on nothing)→
Head Over Heels
Songs by the Go-Go’s
Based on The Arcadia by Sir Philip Sidney
Conceived & Original Book by Jeff Whitty
Adapted by James Magruder
Music Supervision, Orchestration & Arrangements by Tom Kitt
Choreographed by Spencer Liff
Directed by Michael Mayer
Hudson Theatre
November 21, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉 out of 5.
Sometimes I get the urge to be a total tourist I’m New York.I want to walk around Times Square and run into people by taking pictures of all the tall buildings. I want to do that avoidance dance as all of those poorly masked cartoon characters waddle to you to take the pictures with mandatory tips. I want to read each of the jumbo-trons and plan a meal in one of the oversized restaurants.And to this perfect tourist day, I would get tickets to see Head Over Heels.This musical, struggling at the box office, is an odd fairy tale like adventure of a kingdom held bound by a curse and threatened to “loose their beat.”For an out-of-towner this really could be the perfect show. Continue reading Head Over Heels→
The Waverly Gallery
Written by Kenneth Lonergan
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
Golden Theatre
October 27, 2018 Production website
💉💉💉💉 out of 5.
From its start, I did not think I was going to like this experience at all.The beginning of the play was so such of an obvious, relentless set of jokes about having a mother that is VERY hard of hearing and goes about repeating herself time after time.It was funny for a few minutes then it just became relentless.I thought I was going to be in for entire afternoon of cheap jokes on aging.But then the play changed. Continue reading The Waverly Gallery→
Mike Birbiglia’s The New One
