Bruce Apar

Whether or not you've heard of art immortal Mark Rothko, John Logan's 'Red' is thrilling, mind-expanding theater that plumbs the human condition with vibrant dramaturgy and acting and stagecraft

The good news is that almost all the seven short pieces (averaging 10 minutes each) in RTB’s 2023 menu of theatrical hor d'oeuvres justify their place in the program well enough. Nobody will leave hungry for diverting entertainment.  

'Never the Sinner' is directed by three-time Emmy Award-Winning actress Cady McClain. It stars veteran actor Trent Dawson of General Hospital and As the World Turns and prominent Westchester playwright and actor Albi Gorn, most recently of Tuesdays with Morrie.

Henry Fielding's picaresque plot animated by witty lyrics from playwright Cary Gitter and ear-pleasing music by Max Silverman performed by a standout quintet of singing actors add up to a tour de force of a farce.

Creating an ambitious odyssey of time travel based on three short stories from Tom Hanks's collection 'Uncommon Type' sounds like an intriguing idea ... on paper. The challenge is how to transfer it effectively from page to stage. In its current form, it feels more like a workshop than a ready-for-prime-time production.

The show made a splash on Broadway a dozen years ago, garnering several Tony Awards, mainly in the craft categories (scenic design, sound, lighting, choreography). The sketchy book is like a sketchbook of rapid-fire episodes that leans heavily on the strength of the ensemble to pull it off. This ensemble is more than up to the task.

Gunderson’s characters are two high school seniors who could not be more unlike each other. Yet, as we find out, they end up soulmates in the most surreal way imaginable.

Apart from the infectious, wall-to-wall music, which is rousingly played live on stage by all the actors, what makes Million Dollar Quartet a crowd-pleaser is the interpersonal dramas driven by the egos of four pop music pioneers. 

After 23 years and 37 productions, Hudson Stage producers Denise Bessette and Olivia Sklar have decided it’s time they gave themselves some well-deserved R&R.

There are no weighty messages here. No high drama. Just fun stuff, listening to a couple of 60ish female actors, virtually joined at the hip, tease and tolerate each other with all manner of jokey repartee, acid-laced with rapier ripostes that cut to the quick.

Authored by five writers of diverse voices, styles and skillsets, tying the eclectic tales together is a uniform fascination with the meaning of existence, notably the randomness and revelations inherent in human interaction.

Mr. Allen has serious issues here to litigate -- children abandoned by a parent, Veterans abandoned by their government, wives abandoned by unfaithful spouses -- but the inevitable downers of life are entertainingly leavened by graceful, easy-flowing humor that springs not from punchy one-liners, but from the personality of the characters.

'Just to be back in person doing theater again feels like such a gift after being on computers for a year or more.'

This smartly-curated collection of five short, lively, skillfully-mounted plays -- running without intermission for a fast-moving 90 or so minutes -- is a fine and fun way to become reacquainted with the kind of pleasures only live-audience theater can offer. (Zoom theater ably serves its purpose as a stop-gap -- not a substitute -- for in-the-room theater.)

Six short plays and monologues explore diversity, equity and inclusion in our homes, neighborhoods and theatres in live performances June 11-12 as part of Philipstown Depot Theatre Pop-Up Patio Series

In VIRTUAL LIVING ART EVENT at Westchester Collaborative Theater, 7 Playwrights Paint Pictures With Words

When the ghost of Scrooge’s deceased partner Jacob Marley shows up to apprise him of the three visitations coming his way, if you close your eyes, Mr. Spaddacino would have you believing there were two actors on stage. It’s a lot of fun to watch -- and hear.

I don't remember a show moving with such energy, grace, Moe-mentum, musicality and sheer fun. From the moment the Moes materialize until the moment they Moe-sey off stage, this musical is magical, with just the right mix of mayhem, mugging and music.

While Lend Me a Tenor's tenor is typically farcical -- breakneck pace, mistaken identities, misunderstandings, overactive hormones, sexual wordplay, frenetic and improbable physicality, and a panoply of slamming doors -- what sets it apart from others of its ilk is the musical conceit that drives the nutty plot.

The Marvelous Wonderettes tugs at the memories of audiences who remember the days when AM radio ruled the airwaves and 45-rpm records were stacked, like hotcakes, on a phonograph spindle.