Peter Danish

BEYOND BEAUTIFUL (THE HEDY LAMAR MUSICAL) at Green Room 42 has more beautiful melodies than any show currently on Broadway - hands down!

The most beautiful woman in the world. Inventor of the basis for the technological revolution.  An Austrian Jew and wife of an abusive Nazi arms dealer. Hollywood’s original bombshell.  Hedy Kiesler was so much more than the image of “Hedy Lamarr” the world thrust onto her.  Sibling playwrights Robert Farruggia and Cristina Farruggia’s new musical, Beyond Beautiful:  The Hedy Lamarr Musical explores the woman behind the beautiful face and how her brilliant mind helped change the modern world. The musical will be presented in concert at The Green Room 42 on Sunday, November 19th at 1pm.

What did our critic think of LET THERE BE LOVE at Penguin Rep? Quite often dramas concerning race, immigration, family squabbles (and other issues that we can’t reveal here without spoiling) tend to be in-your-face, preachy and heavy-handed.  “Let There Be Love” is a play about all of the former, with none of the latter.   It is charming, moving, hilariously funny and full of tremendous heart.

What did our critic think of GENE AND GILDA at Penguin Rep?

What did our critic think of THE GUITAR WORKS OF ROBERT W. BUTTS at Elegia Classics?

What did our critic think of ELDBJØRG HEMSING PERFORMS 'ARCTIC' AT DEATH OF CLASSICAL at Green-Wood Cemetery?

1994, I was crazy in love with Sally Murphy.  She was starring in the Lincoln Center theater import of Nicholas Hytner’s National Theater production of Carousel.  I got a friend who works at Lincoln Center to give me a tour backstage, in hope of “running into” Sally.   Long story short, I got lost and had to ask for directions.  The young lady whom I asked was charming and sweet and she said: “Are you sure you’re allowed back here?” That was my first encounter with Audra McDonald.  Later that day, I saw her on stage as Carrie in the show.  She was wonderful – won her first Tony in the role.  So it was really a treat on Saturday night at Caramoor’s opening gala concert, when she sang “When I Marry Mr. Snow.”  It brought back all sorts of wonderful memories of the myriad of characters and performances I’ve seen/heard Audra do in the last (hard to believe) 30 years.

This weekend Teatro Gratticielo will present it's highly anticipated new production of Don Giovanni, and Artistic Director Stefanos Koroneos took a few minutes out of his rehearsal to chat with us about the production.

Thomas Guggeis, the young German conductor making his Met debut, is Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin and the designated Generalmusikdirektor of the Oper Frankfurt; pretty impressive for one who has yet to hit his 30th birthday!   His Met debut was justly anticipated, as across Europe he is known as something of a Wagner and Strauss specialist.   His performance was well-paced and well-colored and energetic.  The score provides for enormous surges of energy and power, and the orchestra was certainly up to the task, but Guggeis’ rendition while quite good, was perhaps a tad lacking in thrills – the magnificent Wagner bombast was a little timid and the quieter passages were lovely but just a bit bland.   With time and more experience with this orchestra, one can safely expect some exceptional performances in the future.

What did our critic think of POPCORN FALLS at Penguin Rep?

THE NYACK INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL begins this weekend!

What did our critic think of MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS CONDUCTS THE NY PHILHARMONIC at David Geffen Hall? Sunday's performance at the NY Philharmonic was nothing short of a lovefest. From the moment MTT entered the auditorium until after his last standing ovation, curtain call - well over two hours later.

What did our critic think of THE VIENNA PHILHARMONIC AT CARNEGIE HALL at Carnegie Hall? As I sat in Carnegie Hall on Sunday afternoon, awaiting Christian Thielemann and his mighty Vienna Philharmonic's final performance of a three-concert visit, I waxed nostalgic and drifted back to my very first hearing of the day's featured piece: Bruckner 8th. In 1989, I saw (for the only time live) Herbert Von Karajan with this same Vienna Philharmonic deliver a blistering performance of the piece.

NEWARK, NJ: January 27, 2023 - The New Jersey Symphony is thrilled to announce its 101st season highlighting Music Director Xian Zhang's ambitious vision to explore the musical heritage of the American orchestral works.

What did our critic think of NJ SYMPHONY MAHLER 3RD at NJPAC? NJ Symphony musical director, Xian Zhang has stated often that the Mahler 3rd is her favorite work of all time. This was evident from the instant she bounded up onto the platform until the time she stepped down some 99 minutes later. During the time in between, she led her orchestra through a titanic performance of the epic Mahler 3rd.

What did our critic think of PARLANDO ENSEMBLE: HEROINES AND HERETICS at Merkin Hall;?

Avalona: a new 'immersive' musical to hold workshop concerts.

Upon entering it seemed like the entire audience had their phones out snapping pictures of the new space - the banter was almost uniformly positive. All in all, it is a vastly more attractive space than the old one. Some folks even shed tears as they gazed around.

The Moipei Triplets Triumphant Return To Birdland!

Mezzo delivers powerful evening of song highlighting African American composers. On a spectacularly beautiful evening, in a spectacularly beautiful venue (Caramoor's Spanish Pavillion) the birds were singing brightly, children were running around playfully (some continued to do so right through the recital!) and J'Nai Bridges showed clearly why she is the 'it girl' of opera in 2022.