The latest production in Gingold Theatrical Group’s signature dedication to the canon of Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw is Pygmalion, adapted and directed by the company’s founding artistic director and leading Shaw expert David Staller. One of Shaw’s most popular plays – written in 1912, debuted in Vienna in 1913, and inspired by the ancient Greek myth of the eponymous figure, who, alone and disenchanted with the faults of people, fell in love with the sculpture of a beautiful woman he created and whose wish that she would come to life was granted by Aphrodite – takes the themes of transformation, love, and identity, and resets them in early 20^th-century London, where phonetics professor Henry Higgins makes a bet with linguist Colonel Pickering, who has a mutual interest in the sound and structure of language and a respect for Higgins’ work, that he could pass off Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle as a duchess by instructing her for six months on how to speak properly.

While most fans are familiar with My Fair Lady, Shaw’s own 1938 screen adaptation of the play, on which the 1956 musical stage version was based, Staller returns to the script of the original pre-WWI comedy of manners combined with Shaw’s expressed intent in the notes of his drafts for the Oscar-winning movie, to frame it in the device (rejected by the film’s producers) of Greek goddesses looking down from the clouds, recounting the ancient myth, how it relates to the story of Henry Higgins, and explaining that it serves as a reminder not to hide or to distance oneself from life and love. It all takes place on a stationary set inspired by the drawings of artist Al Hirschfeld, a longtime friend of Staller, who shared a passion for Shaw, captured images of the playwright and his work over many years, and had hoped to design a production of Pygmalion – a wish that never came to fruition during his lifetime but is now represented in Gingold’s delightful set (by Lindsay Genevieve Fuori, as if drawn by the late artist, in partnership with the Al Hirschfeld Foundation) of an ancient temple with a backdrop of clouds and a winged portrait of Shaw behind the pediment, overseeing the action below.

Under the fluid direction of Staller, the scenes move back and forth between the two goddesses and two gods, enhanced with shifts in lighting (by Jamie Roderick) and the sound of thunder (by Julian Evans), directly addressing the audience, introducing the mythological tale and its message, and noting that they laugh at people – a lot! – thereby setting the cheeky tone of the show, and enactments of the fortuitous encounter of Higgins, Pickering, and Eliza, the resulting instructions to improve her speech and demeanor (here cleverly done through a fast-paced segment of voiceovers by the actors, while miming their proper talking, walking, sitting, and dancing over the initial three months), her introduction to Higgins’ well-bred mother and her friends, with stiff adherence to what she was taught, then unexpected “new small talk” about her actual family background, reversion to her native Cockney slang, and inappropriate expletive, and three months later, her more polished appearance at a formal garden party, at which it became clear that Higgins won his bet, and after which the questions arises: Now what?

A thoroughly engaging six-person cast, four playing multiple roles of both deities and humans, masterfully delivers the distinctive personalities and social classes, contrasting accents and demeanors, witty observations about human nature, the stressful constraints of society’s strictures (including the then shocking use of the word “bloody,” which, a divinity tells us, nearly resulted in the early censorship of the play), and Shaw’s feminist characterization of strong and discerning women with their own thoughts and feelings, despite the directives of the men. Each and every performance is a standout, yet completely in tune with the others and the pitch of Staller’s perfectly honed vision.

Synnøve Karlsen stars as the poor and underprivileged Eliza, with a spot-on Cockney accent and a feisty attitude, who soon metamorphoses into the lady Higgins molded, with hilarious comic timing in her slip-ups, explosive anger and profound pain at being cast aside by him, without a word of acknowledgment or praise for her, after accomplishing what he set out to do, and assertive self-assurance in deciding for herself what her future will hold, leaving us wondering if it will be with or without her mentor, not wanting his love but his respect and caring. Mark Evans embodies the problematic and hypocritical Higgins, who, though of a more prosperous descent and professionally knowledgeable about how to be well-spoken, is lacking in self-awareness and social decorum, prone to cursing and behaving improperly (e.g., sitting backwards on a chair with legs spread wide in front of guests at his mother’s tea time), losing his temper and hurling hurtful insults at Eliza (famously calling her “a squashed cabbage leaf”), generally lacking in empathy and sensitivity, and seeing her merely as one of his intellectual accomplishments, not as a human being. Will he in turn learn from her, as the gods intend? And in his role as Colonel Pickering, Carson Elrod (who also appears as one of the gods) is a kinder, more considerate, and more gentlemanly patron to Eliza and counterpoint to Higgins, who, though not without an occasional error (he, too, neglects to congratulate her on her accomplishment, not just the men’s), and inspires her self-worth by calling her “Miss Doolittle,” for which she expresses her recognition and gratitude.

Rounding out the outstanding (and brilliantly directed) cast are Teresa Avia Lim, Lizan Mitchell, and Matt Wolpe as the deities (along with Elrod), who provide the context of the story and lessons to be learned with godly knowledge and humorous barbs at human behavior. Each also portrays two of the supporting characters, clearly distinguishing their personalities and bearings, and bringing the laughs: Lim as Clara Eynsford-Hill, the friend of Higgins’ mother, who enjoys and emulates Eliza’s aforementioned “new small talk,” and later as the modest and dutiful maid Mary; Wolpe as Clara’s brother Freddy, who is smitten with Eliza and hopes for a relationship with her, and as Alfred Doolittle, Eliza’s father, who represents a member of the “undeserving poor” and a low-class haggler, selling his daughter to Higgins for five pounds, until a surprise inheritance, triggered by a letter from the professor to his unknown benefactor, changes him into an over-dressed lecturer on moral reform, who is “ruined” by the anxiety and pressure caused by middle-class expectations of respectability and appearance; and the uproarious powerhouse Mitchell, doubling in her mortal roles as Higgins’ housekeeper Mrs. Pearce, who cleans and dresses and watches out for Eliza, and Mrs. Higgins, Henry’s discerning mother who sees his flaws and addresses them, and takes in Eliza after she leaves his house, recognizing her worth and emergence as an independent woman. The performances are enhanced by character- and class-defining costumes (by Tracy Christensen) and telling props (by Seth Tyler Black).

Whether you’re a longtime afficionado of Shaw’s socially insightful and comically critical work or are experiencing his masterpiece Pygmalion for the first time, Gingold’s stellar production is a must-see for its authentic adherence to the intentions of the playwright, its superb direction and performances, and its unique design, paying homage to a famed artist who was one of Shaw’s biggest fans. Don’t miss it.

Running Time: Approximately two hours, including an intermission.

Pygmalion plays through Saturday, November 22, 2025, at Gingold Theatrical Group, performing at Theatre Row, Theatre 5, 410 W 42^nd Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $36.50-92.50, including fees), go online.

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Established in 1978, NYC’s West Bank Cafe, located on West 42^nd Street, has been a favorite hangout for the theater community and theater-goers, known for its quality food, including its legendary risotto balls. In the early ‘80s, The Downstairs Theatre was opened, featuring nightly events and staged plays, and attracting such luminaries as playwrights Aaron Sorkin, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller, and emerging stars like Tony Shalhoub, Nathan Lane, Holly Hunter, and Mark Linn-Baker. After the loss of Tony-nominated actress and singer Laurie Beechman in 1998, the underground hotspot was renamed in her honor, and The Laurie Beechman Theatre became one on the city’s premiere cabaret venues, presenting everyone from Broadway’s André De Shields, Donna McKechnie, and Joe Iconis, to pop-rockers Ariana Grande, Cyndi Lauper, and The Who, and comedian Joan Rivers, who played more than 200 sets there, including her final performance.

In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit New York and forced everyone to shelter in place and live venues to go on hiatus, producers, directors, and impresarios Michael and Tom D’Angora spearheaded a series of star-studded fundraising livestream events to prevent the WBC and The Beechman from shuttering permanently. The successful campaign kept it open, until owner Steve Olsen, then 70, announced in July of 2024, that it would close in August, “due to the high cost of conducting business and the continuing fallout from the pandemic.” That’s when the D’Angoras stepped in once again and saved the day by becoming its new proprietors, revamping the building, updating the menu, adding the popular all-day happy hour at the bar, and curating the array of shows downstairs.  

I spoke with Tom and Michael about their journey with the venue and the events we can see there.

What is it about the West Bank Cafe that urged you to save it and to become its new proprietors?

Tom: We live across the street and ate here, as customers, all the time. When I was producing NEWSical across the street at Theatre Row, we had a million cast parties here. We even had our wedding rehearsal dinner in The Beechman! So the place was always special to us, and we knew how much it meant to the entire community.

Michael: Having lived in NYC for the last 25 years, we’ve watched a lot of popular mom and pop restaurants, theater hangouts, and legendary venues become high-rise buildings, banks, Duane Reades, etc. We were part of a large effort a few years ago to save the historic Cafe Edison, and we weren’t about to lose another favorite haunt of ours.  

Tom: We have always lived by the theory that we might not be able to put out the entire forest fire, but we can at least save one tree. So, this was our tree to save. 

Michael: When we were helping the original owner, Steve, by updating the business model for a post-Covid NYC, we saw that, sure, there was a lot of work that needed to be done, but also a lot of exciting potential. After a lot of deep thoughts and hard conversations, Steve decided he was ready to call it a day, and we are honored that we’ve been trusted to carry this incredible venue that he created into a new chapter.

What’s the significance of the hat on the WBC logo?

Michael: Steve was buddies with the artist Tom Slaughter who created the fedora as the logo for the venue. Slaughter then went on to become a very well-known artist. Over time, the fedora became Tom Slaughter’s calling card, or tag, sort of like Keith Haring’s “Radiant Baby.”

Tom: It’s fun because every now and again you’ll spot one of his fedora paintings somewhere, like in the background of an interview we saw with Liza Minnelli filmed at her house. Just a Tom Slaughter “Fedora” in the background.

Can you describe the vibe upstairs and downstairs?

Tom: Upstairs is essentially Broadway’s Cheers.  It’s timeless, a little chic, but also easy, unpretentious, and a neighborhood hangout. You’ll see celebs dining next to tourists. You’ll see people dressed to the nines dining next to backstage crew members unwinding after a long day at the theater. Everyone is treated like family here, and if you work in theater or entertainment, the chances of you bumping into someone you know is, like, 99%. It feels like home when you are at The West Bank Cafe and that is a vibe.

Michael: Downstairs is The Laurie Beechman Theatre, and it was recently renovated by David Rockwell’s AMAZING team.

Tom: Or, as we call it, re-glammed – because it’s GLAM. It feels like a secret little supper club straight out of the early ‘80s on 42^nd Street. 

Michael: What’s fun is that the vibe is always changing. One night we might have a really classy jazz act on stage or a Broadway diva belting her face off, and the vibes are sophisticated and upscale. The next night, we might move all the tables out and the room turned into a ’90s-themed dance party. And the next night it’s a rock show and the vibes are sexy and rock star, or you may even see the world premiere of a new play or musical. You can dress her up or dress her down, but no matter what, the vibe is always about fun.  

Tom: I don’t know how to perfectly describe “the vibes” of either space, but I’m proud that we’ve received a lot of great compliments on our good vibes!

How do you decide which shows to book at The Beechman and what are some of the genres and performances that we can look forward to seeing there?

Michael: The Beechman has a really eclectic history and we wanted to reflect that in our current programming. The first 20 years it was a home for play development, and in the past few months we’ve presented new works from legends like Douglas Carter Beane and hot up-and-comers like Kevin Zak and Sara Chase. Joan Rivers famously did 200+ sets here, and we’ve brought stand-up back with icons like Judy Gold and social media superstars like Heartthrob Anderson and Mitch Wood. There’s drag, there’s cabaret, there’s Broadway stars. We are open to booking it all and want to honor all forms of entertainment. This venue was created as a place for people to explore, experiment, fail (which is sometimes important in the arts – learn what DOESN’T work), take big swings, and have fun.  

Tom: We love creative people and want them to feel like this is their home.  We want them to feel like celebrated superstars every time they step on that iconic stage where so many legends have performed. 

Michael: What genre WON’T you find on The Beechman stage might be an easier question to answer! 

Tom: We are incredibly excited to welcome Lorna Luft to The Beechman in November and Andrea McArdle’s monthly residency is quickly becoming one of the most iconic evenings in NYC, so we always look forward to her monthly show. Definitely check out the website for the full November lineup.

Many thanks, Tom and Michael, for sharing your love of the WBC and The Beechman with our readers, and for keeping the iconic restaurant and theater alive!

The Laurie Beechman Theatre is located downstairs in the West Bank Cafe, 407 W 42^nd Street, NYC. For the upcoming schedule and tickets (including fees, plus a $25 per person food/beverage minimum), go online.

The post Proprietors Michael and Tom D’Angora discuss the revival of NYC’s West Bank Cafe and The Laurie Beechman Theatre appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

Among the latest music releases from the NYC stage and its artists are two original Off-Broadway cast albums, the debut recording of The Broadway Ensemble, a collective of musical theater stars founded earlier this year, covering songs of a chart-topping pop-rock singer-songwriter, and a concept album of the touring musical-theater adaptation of a popular 1988 movie rom-com.

We Live in Cairo: Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording – Following its extended engagement last year at New York Theatre Workshop, Center Stage Records has released, in streaming and digital formats, the album of the multi-award-nominated musical, twelve years in the making, about the youth movement in Egypt during the 2011 Arab Spring, with book, music, and lyrics by The Lazours. 

The recording, produced by two-time Grammy and two-time Tony Award winner Charlie Rosen, with orchestrations by two-time Tony Award winner Michael Starobin, features performances by Ali Louis Bourzgui (Tommy; The Lost Boys), Nadina Hassan (Mean Girls), Michael Karadsheh (The Ally), Drew Elhamalawy (The Queen of Versailles), Rotana Tarabzouni (Alien of Extraordinary Ability), and John El-Jor, who was nominated for a 2024 Drama Desk Award for his performance in the acclaimed Off-Broadway production. 

You can stream or download the album here, and a new video with exclusive studio footage of El-Jor’s lead vocal on the song “The Benevolent Regime of King Farouk II” is now available on YouTube. 

Welcome to The Big Dipper – The original Off-Broadway production, with music and lyrics by Jimmy Roberts (known for composing the score to the award-winning I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) and book by Catherine Filloux and John Daggett (who also contributed additional lyrics), first premiered with The York Theatre Company at The Theatre at St. Jean’s in November 2024. Set in an historic inn near Niagara Falls, in Bigelow, New York, it tells the uplifting story of a woman struggling to keep her family’s beloved Big Dipper Inn from closing, when a massive blizzard strands two mismatched groups of travelers together there and changes their lives forever.

Now available for streaming here through StarVista Music, the 15-track album, recorded and mixed in New York at Audioworks by Julian Evans, features orchestrations by Doug Katsaros, a four-person band conducted by pianist Beth Falcone, and performances by Debra Walton, Christian Magby, Michael Yeshion, Tony nominee Robert Cuccioli (Jekyll & Hyde), Mia Pinero, Jayae Riley, Jr., Jennifer Byrne, Darius Harper, Pablo Torres, and Jillian Louis.

The Billy Joel Project – Yellow Sound Label has released, in streaming and digital formats and a physical CD edition, the debut album of The Broadway Ensemble, an eleven-member cast with a combined 48 Broadway credits, founded in 2025 by Grammy-nominated record producer Phil Geoffrey Bond (the force behind the Grammy Award-nominated album series Sondheim Unplugged), to bring Broadway’s artistry to contemporary hits by major singer/songwriters of our time, and, in so doing, to reach a larger audience.

While honoring the original versions of such beloved Billy Joel classics as “Angry Young Man,” “Only the Good Die Young,” “She’s Always a Woman,” “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” and “New York State of Mind,” the premiere 24-track album offers new interpretations of his songs through the vocal talents of musical-theater artists Farah Alvin (Drama Desk nominee, The Marvelous Wonderettes), Nicholas Edwards (& Juliet; Frozen), John Treacy Egan (The Producers; The Little Mermaid), Annie Golden (Assassins), Aaron Ramey (The Visit; The Bridges of Madison County), Nicholas Rodriguez (Company; The Sound of Music), Courter Simmons (Jersey Boys), Rachel Ulanet (Beauty and the Beast; LoveMusik), Donna Vivino (Wicked; Hell’s Kitchen), Michael Winther (Flying Over Sunset; Songs from an Unmade Bed), and ten-time MAC Award winner Lina Koutrakos, supported by an outstanding orchestra of Broadway pit musicians, with music direction by Jeremy Robin Lyons (Anastasia).

Mystic Pizza: A New Musical – Based on the 1988 MGM motion picture rom-com starring Julia Roberts, written by Sandy Rustin, with story and characters by Amy Holden Jones, the concept recording of the new stage musical adaptation is now available in digital and streaming formats from Joy Machine Records, produced by the show’s Grammy-nominated arranger and orchestrator Carmel Dean (Broadway’s The Notebook, Funny Girl, If/Then, Hands on a Hardbody, American Idiot, The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Brian Usifer for Joy Machine, and Michael Barra for Lively McCabe Entertainment, a global theatrical development, acquisition, and management company founded in 2017, best known for Joe Iconis’s Punk Rock Girl! and Clue: A New Comedy, which is currently touring the US.

The musical, following the journey of three women working in a small-town pizza place, played critically acclaimed regional productions (most recently this past February at NJ’s Paper Mill Playhouse), and is currently booking a national tour to begin in the Fall of 2026. The album, mixed by Derik Lee and edited by Ian Kagey, features its 25 megahits of the ‘80s and ‘90s, originally recorded by Melissa Etheridge, Cyndi Lauper, John Cougar Mellencamp, Debbie Gibson, Wilson Phillips, The Bangles, Belinda Carlisle, Rick Astley, Bryan Adams, and many others, from “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” to “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” with vocals by Krystina Alabado, Alaina Anderson, Chachi Delgado, Ben Fankhauser, Jennifer Fouché, Mia Gerachis, Deánna Giulietti, F. Michael Haynie, James Hindman, Michael James, April Josephine, Vincent Michael, Adriana Negrón, Louis Pardo, Alyssa M. Simmons, Jake Swain, Zephaniah Wages, and Rachel Kae Wirtz, accompanied by music director Kristin Stowell (keyboard), Jason May (keyboard and sax), Max Caine and Jared Cannata (guitars and sax), David White (bass), and Peter Saleh (drums and percussion). To listen to it now, click here. 

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Theater-lovers everywhere can keep up with their reading with a selection of four publications offering a range of topics for all ages and interests, from a child’s introduction to a Shakespeare classic and a little-known endeavor of a musical theater legend to the collected works of a Black playwright and the long saga of blackface minstrelsy in America.

Macbeth: A Potions Primer – Introduce toddlers to the world and language of Shakespeare with a colorful illustrated children’s book on the famous witches from Macbeth, their frenzied dancing, and the potion they concoct in a fiery cauldron. Along with the short, simple, and easily understandable excerpts from The Bard’s original text, the book also includes a glossary identifying the herbs and plants of the potion’s ingredients with the names they were known by in Shakespeare’s time (e.g., eye of newt was the nickname for mustard seed; toe of frog signified a buttercup).

Part of the BabyLit series, designed for ages three and under, these Little Master Shakespeare books are a must for every nursery library to get kids excited about classic literature and plays.

Jennifer Adams, with art by Alison Oliver, Macbeth: A Potions Primer (Kaysville, UT: Gibbs Smith, BabyLit, 2025), mix paper, 22 pages, ISBN-13: 978-1-4236-6868-7, $11.99.

Matching Minds with Sondheim – Few people are aware of the fact that before the legendary Stephen Sondheim became an award-winning musical theater composer and lyricist, he was a creator and designer of puzzles, games, and treasure hunts, which continued to occupy him over 80 years. The new book by gaming expert Barry Joseph, with forewords by former Games magazine editor Will Shortz and producer, performer, and author Ted Chapin, takes a look at this largely unknown aspect of Sondheim’s career through archival research, interviews with his celebrated friends and colleagues from the theater community, analyses by other puzzle professionals from around the world, and an exploration of what he self-described as his “puzzler’s mind,” to help fans understand the man, his work, and his desire to deliver “moments of clarity and connection.”

In addition to the playful and illuminating text, with each chapter beginning with a “Cast of Characters” referenced in his ludological biography, the tome is filled with illustrations of rare designs never before seen by the public, which challenge readers to match minds with the great master by attempting to solve his cryptic puzzles and bring his parlor games into their own homes, with detailed instructions on how to do it in authentic Sondheimian style.

Barry Joseph, Matching Minds with Sondheim (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2025), hardcover, 353 pages, ISBN 978-1-4930-8583-5, $35.00.

The Struggle Continues – Award-winning playwright, director, performer, and educator Robbie McCauley (1942-2021) was an active presence in American avant-garde theater since the 1970s, internationally acclaimed for her boundary-breaking work on the experiences of Black women and their impact on global culture. Her uncompromising, thought-provoking, and uplifting plays have focused on the truth about race and racism in our country, while breaking down the fourth wall between performer and spectator, in an attempt to facilitate dialogues that address the ongoing struggle.  

The present volume includes essays by McCauley offering thoughts on her career and community projects (among them, the complete text of Mississippi Freedom), the full scripts of four of her plays (Sally’s Rape, Indian Blood, Sugar, and Jazz ’n Class), with introductions to each by specialists in the field, and reflections on her legacy by leading writers and academics deeply affected by her, in what combines an anthology of her work with a tribute to her transformative contributions.

Robbie McCauley, The Struggle Continues, edited by Alisa Solomon, Elin Diamond, and Cynthia Carr (New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2025), paperback, 314 pages, ISBN 978-1-55936-974-9, $22.95.

Darkology – For her upcoming volume, to be released in March of 2026, American cultural historian Rhae Lynn Barnes undertook 20 years of exhaustive research and extensive travel throughout the US to expose the often suppressed and deliberately expunged documentation of the development, evolution, and proliferation of the genre of blackface minstrelsy, in which, for nearly two centuries of racial derision and degrading stereotypes, white performers caricatured Black slaves as a form of entertainment.

The searing, comprehensive study traces its roots and the origins of Jim Crow back to the 1830s, both on stage and in print, its increasingly lucrative popularity in a white supremacist capitalist culture, its reclamation and proliferation on the silver screen and in music in the 1930s, its unsettling endorsement by the US government and introduction to Japan in WWII, and its survival into the 1970s, despite the mid-century backlash, protests, and lawsuits led by the NAACP. It’s a shocking lesson in American history that should be read and must be acknowledged.

Rhae Lynn Barnes, Darkology (Liveright Publishing Corporation, March 2026), hardcover, 576 pages, ISBN 9781631496349, $39.99.

The post New books on the theater, its history, and artists appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

When Serge, a well-to-do divorced dermatologist, buys a minimalist all-white painting by an esteemed artist for the exorbitant market price of $300,000, it spurs a fierce disagreement, and then a raging battle, with his long-time friends Marc, an aeronautics engineer and aesthete, and Yvan, the joker of the group, who works in a stationery business owned by his fiancée’s family, in the Broadway revival of Yasmina Reza’s 1994 multi-award-winning comedy Art, translated from the French by Christopher Hampton, and now playing a limited engagement into December at the Music Box Theatre. Brilliantly directed by Scott Ellis and consummately performed by stage and screen stars Bobby Cannavale, James Corden, and Neil Patrick Harris, the laugh-out-loud three-hander takes a razor-sharp look at conflicting aesthetics, seething resentments, personal insecurities, and explosive egos that threaten to bring an end to the men’s 25-year bond.

The show moves back and forth between fully illuminated conversations and confrontations in the tastefully appointed monochromatic apartments of the three, distinguished only by the different paintings (Marc’s naturalistic landscape with an historic castle, seen through a trompe l’oeil window; Yvan’s colorful Neo-Pop dog portrait) hanging in the center of the back wall (telling stationary set design by David Rockwell), and revealing monologues by the individual characters, standing in the spotlight on the darkened downstage and directly addressing the audience (lighting by Jen Schriever), to explain their attitudes and feelings about each other and themselves, their expectations of one another, and the artwork(s) in question.

From Marc’s snarky deprecating laugh and honest, unrestrained reaction to Serge’s purchase (“It’s a piece of white shit”), to Serge’s offended response and simmering anger, to Yvan’s failing attempt to serve as peacemaker, compromising his own thoughts to see the points of both sides, each of the masterful comedic performances embodies the increasingly incompatible personalities, embraces their opposing opinions, and delivers the over-the-top sidesplitting hysterics through their heated voices, readily legible body language and facial expressions, speechless looks and extended moments of silence that speak louder than words. Their styles of clothing, though all in a similar toned-down palette (costumes by Linda Cho), further differentiate between them, their socio-economic status, and how they choose to present themselves.

It all comes to a head with Yvan’s arrival 45 minutes late for a men’s night out at the movies and his long-winded, rapid-fire, exasperated explanation of why, which leads to more previously suppressed insults about the women in his and Marc’s lives, Serge yelling “I AM NOT . . .,” then toning down his obviously false declaration, “I am not upset,” and an ultimate showdown between Marc and Serge over the white painting, unwittingly enabled by Yvan, who, at an earlier point in the fast-paced show (with interstitial blackouts and original music by Kid Harpoon), had been frantically searching on his hands and knees for the top to his felt-tip pen.  

Will their developing situations, evolving tastes, and surfacing tempers bring an end to their decades-long friendship? Or will they recognize the true value of their intertwined past and be able to put their present antipathy aside, while wordlessly – and uproariously – sharing a bowl of olives?

The current production is the first Broadway revival of Art since its Tony-winning premiere in 1988 (though it’s been presented worldwide in more than 30 languages), and it’s well worth the wait. The writing, translation, and direction are spot-on hilarious and the pitch-perfect acting is a nonpareil masterclass in comic timing. Everything about it, and everyone in it, is deserving of awards this season, so if you need an evening of good laughs at the absurdities of human behavior (and who doesn’t?), don’t miss it!

Running Time: Approximately 90 minutes, without intermission.

Art plays through Sunday, December 21, 2025, at the Music Box Theatre, 239 W 45^th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $114-621, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.

The post Razor-sharp laugh-out-loud exploration of aesthetics, insecurities, and friendship in ‘Art’ at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

Internationally renowned for his acclaimed portrayal of The Four Seasons’ lead singer Frankie Valli in the quintessential jukebox musical Jersey Boys on Broadway (now celebrating the 20^th anniversary of its, and his, 2005 premiere) and in the 2014 Warner Bros. film adaptation directed by Clint Eastwood, Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Theater World Award winner John Lloyd Young (the only star in history to win all four awards for their Broadway debut) made a stellar return to NYC’s 54 Below with a brand-new set of sixteen of his personal favorites, highlighting his extraordinary vocal range, flawless falsetto and breath control, emotional expressiveness, and easy rapport with the audience.

Backed by a top-notch four-piece band (Sean Harkness on guitar, Derek Nievergelt on bass, Mark McLean on drums, and Music Director Ron Abel on piano), Young took to the stage in a black leather jacket, black jeans, and his signature dark glasses, and immediately launched into the 2024 pop-rock hit “Too Sweet,” exploring love between two very different people, and then, seated on a stool, removed his shades and sang the aching 1931 ballad “Nevertheless” – both brimming with feeling, as heard in his voice and read on his face – after which he addressed the packed house and spoke of his return to the venue, “the heart of Broadway,” and his fond memories of times in midtown Manhattan.

The following selections were grouped by theme: “I Have Dreamed” from the Broadway musical The King and I, with emotive passages of vibrato; Don Gibson’s 1955 country ballad “Sweet Dreams” of unrequited love, performed with a nod to its authentic stylings; and the evocative heartbreak of “In Dreams” by mid-century pop singer-songwriter Roy Orbison, who Young noted was his greatest inspiration (and, I might add, who was also known for wearing dark glasses on stage!). That was followed by two more from Orbison – the 1960 hit “Only the Lonely,” one of the highlights of the concert, delivered to perfection by Young with profound pathos, soaring vocals, and his consummate falsetto; and the largely unknown “Say No More,” offering the audience “a discovery moment” and a breathtaking big-note ending.

He then asked who was seeing him at 54 Below for the first time (a rarity among his devoted following) and presented the newbie with a signed copy of his solo CD (joking about the physical format being unrecognizable in 2025), moved around the room, and interacted with the audience to the soulful R&B love song “Show and Tell,” popularized by Al Wilson in 1973. After returning to the stage, he took his seat for a moving version of “Perfidia,” which he sang in Spanish (one of the languages in which he is fluent) and dedicated to his friends in the club’s kitchen staff, followed by his story about teaching The Four Seasons’ 1962 hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry” (“Niñas Grandes No Lloran”) to grammar-school students on a delegates’ trip to Cuba with such luminaries as Usher (Young was an appointed member of Barack Obama’s President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities), which made him the most popular of all with the kids.

Young’s other romantic ballads included “I Only Have Eyes for You,” a seated “falsetto number” with a masterful piano solo by Abel, written in 1934, but best known for The Flamingos’ 1959 doo-wop adaption; “The Air that I Breathe,” which he performed seated in the spotlight on the darkened stage, with touching introspection and yet another absolutely amazing long note; and his upbeat encore of “Maybe I’m Amazed,” Paul McCartney’s 1970 love song of devotion and gratitude.

Of course, no JLY show would be complete without a selection of The Four Seasons’ hits from Jersey Boys (a lesson learned from Patti LuPone, who neglected to include the epic Evita number “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina” in one of her concerts, and got some serious backlash from the audience!). He obliged with not just one, but three, along with one from his many auditions and callbacks for the role of Frankie Valli on Broadway, “Moody’s Mood for Love,” which he “knocked out of the park” after fearing he blew his dance audition for the choreographer, and took it as a sign that he would be cast. He was, and delighted the 54 Below crowd with his unsurpassed falsetto in “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” encouraging the audience to sing along to “cry-y-y.” He also invited a special guest in the house, Tomomi Oto, starring as Frankie Valli in the 2025 Japanese production of Jersey Boys, to join him on stage for a duet on “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” in English and Japanese. And Young closed the show with a rousing up-tempo “Sherry,” getting everyone to stand up, clap, and sing with him – though no one could possibly come close to his unparalleled vocals or strong and pure falsetto, in this joyous celebration of the 20^th anniversary of his sensational Broadway debut.

John Lloyd Young’s live performance will also be streamed in real time on Saturday, October 25, starting at 7 pm, so if you can’t make it in person to 54 Below, you can still watch his closing concert at home. It’s a first-class show by a world-class artist that shouldn’t be missed.

Running Time: Approximately 70 minutes, without intermission.

John Lloyd Young: Live at 54 Below plays through Saturday, October 25, 2025, 7 pm (doors open at 5:30), at 54 Below, 254 W 54^th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $18-156, including fees, plus a $25 food/beverage minimum per person), go online. For tickets to the livestream on October 25, at 7 pm (priced at $29, including fees), click here. Please note that the show is streamed live only and will not be available on demand afterwards.

The post Stirring NYC return of ‘John Lloyd Young: Live at 54 Below’ for five nights with a brand-new set and a closing night livestream appeared first on DC Theater Arts.

As the Founding Artistic Director of NYC’s Gingold Theatrical Group, named for British actress Hermione Gingold (his godmother) and created in 2006 to champion human rights and free speech using the work and humanitarian precepts of Irish playwright (George) Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), David Staller is the first person to have directed all 65 of Shaw’s plays, including his last unfinished work, Why She Would Not, for GTG, with the company’s full Off-Broadway productions of eleven of Shaw’s plays filmed by The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center. Staller also oversees the monthly series Project Shaw, now in its 20^th year, at Symphony Space and New York’s legendary club The Players.

Creating Gingold Theatrical Group was not designed as a career move for Staller; as he put it, although he had never heard of himself, he was never out of work as an actor, director, or writer. He was, in fact, starring in a New York production of Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession opposite Dana Ivey when he and some friends decided to create an activist theatrical organization to “promote peaceful discussion and activism” with the work of GBS as their guide. He has also created academic partnerships with several NY schools, including the Barnard, Columbia, Marymount, The New School, Regis High School, the Broome Street Academy, and SUNY Stony Brook, in addition to GTG’s new play development program Speakers’ Corner, and has personally spent years researching all of Shaw’s published versions of plays and has adapted all of Shaw’s works, often using the playwright’s original hand-written manuscripts, letters, production scripts, notes, and in-person interviews with many of those who knew and worked with him, including Maurice Evans, Robert Morely, Wendy Hiller, Rex Harrison, and Deborah Kerr.

GTG’s latest production, directed by Staller, is Shaw’s most famous play of 1914, Pygmalion, a rollicking comedy set in pre-WWI London that lampoons the rigid British class system of the day with themes of identity, power, transformation, and women’s independence, which inspired Shaw’s 1938 Oscar-winning film adaptation and the 1956 Tony-winning musical My Fair Lady. During a busy week of rehearsals, David made time to answer my questions about the playwright, the show, and his production’s unique design.

How did you come to specialize in the work of Shaw?

David: Exploring the landscape of George Bernard Shaw’s contributions to society has unexpectedly become a sort of life’s work for me. My introduction to Shaw came from my godmother, the acclaimed if eccentric British actress Hermione Gingold, who had revered and even known Shaw. By the time I was ten, we were engaging in a robust correspondence in which she patiently responded to the usual questions children might ask until she finally wrote, “Darling, I love you but you have got to start asking more compelling questions.” This letter was accompanied by a copy of Shaw’s monumental Man and Superman. “Just read it,” she wrote, “Take your time and let me know where it takes you.” I still recall the joy of discovering how accessible and funny the play was, and how it triggered an endless number of new ideas. It was the beginning of my understanding of Shaw’s bold humanitarian precepts, the notion that challenging everything was not only acceptable but was a step toward forging our own unique opinions and points of view. I continued these Shavian exploration by reading all of Shaw’s works, which helped to broaden and deepen my exposure to Shaw’s core principles and ideas.

Central to my basic interest was by learning of Shaw’s early struggles in Dublin, as a troubled and lonely child who never finished school, and that Shaw determined never to allow anyone to diminish him. Shaw’s journey inspired me to face my teen years with an empowering confidence I might otherwise have lacked. By the 1970s, while still a questing teenager, Hermione and I were both living in New York City. Her Manhattan sitting room became a Sunday salon of actors and playwrights who gathered to discuss their fascination with Shaw’s plays and, even more compellingly, Shaw’s overt socio-political activism. Many had actually known and loved the man, sharing Shaw’s deeply rooted commitment to social welfare. At these Sunday afternoon gatherings, the group would allow me to choose a play, from which they’d claim roles to read aloud, and always featured in-depth discussions of the characters and their journey, even stopping in the midst of the readings with animated comments, questions, and observations. Though these little parties generally began at teatime, they’d often careen into cocktail hour with unexpected and robust approaches to performing the plays.

The first play I chose, to general delight, was Pygmalion. Hermione’s agent, the legendary Milton Goldman, called with the lighthearted report that many of his clients were interested in joining the party and he promised to send them over to lend a hand. On the appointed day as the clock tolled three, the doorbell rang and in walked Anita Loos, Lillian Gish, Helen Hayes, Garson Kanin, Ruth Gordon, Marian Seldes, Maureen Stapleton, and Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Just as the roles were being claimed, Laurence Olivier and Joan Plowright waltzed in and gleefully announced that they would take the roles of Higgins and Eliza. Midway through, once the cocktails had arrived and glasses had been sufficiently refilled, the cast decided to enliven the proceedings by reversing their roles to spectacular effect – for example, Olivier as Eliza and Plowright as Higgins. This started a tradition of non-traditional casting in the group. Other readings lured many other luminaries, including Louise Rainer, George Rose, Rex Harrison, Wendy Hiller, Denholm Elliott, Robert Helpmann, Roddy McDowall, Claudette Colbert, Elaine Stritch, and even Myrna Loy. The greatest gift of this, for me, was the lesson provided that there was no right or wrong, no one way to approach any artist’s work, and that Shaw’s plays were a living organism open to any artist’s interpretation. To blow the dust off traditionally Victorian staging of these plays with fresh approaches became one of my greatest joys while working with them. Though I was already a professional in the theater, having danced in the apprentice company of the Joffrey Ballet Company, studied cello with Rostropovich, and performed on Broadway, I had always assumed I’d one day be a part of running an arts organization, guided by Shaw’s belief that artists have a responsibility beyond themselves, that serving the community was part of the gift they were given.

What are the main differences between My Fair Lady and Shaw’s original Pygmalion?

People seem to love to compare these two works, which stand wonderfully on their own independent terms. It helps to remember that the brilliantly crafted musical My Fair Lady is based on Shaw’s Oscar-winning 1938 screenplay for the film and not his play. The musical meticulously follows the film’s structure. Journalists are quick to point out and scoff at the ending of the musical, in which Eliza returns to Higgins for a less ambiguous final fade-out. This is, in fact, one of the three versions of the ending written by Shaw. It wasn’t his first choice, but he didn’t have final say in the film’s creation. All that considered, the most powerful difference between the two are the portrayals of the two major characters. As usually played in the musical, Higgins is a harsh, aloof, judgmental, unkind man of advanced years. As Shaw imagined him, Higgins is a quirky and eccentric 40, deeply passionate and excited about his work. He has, however, used this obsession to hide from him emotional life, being afraid of having to deal with people, women in particular. He’s like a little boy with a tremendously fertile and imaginative brain but has limited social skills. He gives Eliza the tools to become the person she longs to be through education; Eliza teaches Higgins to connect to his own humanity and heart.

Eliza, as Shaw wrote her, is never a victim and very clearly is not looking for “someone’s head restin’ on my knee,” as sung in “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly.” She is no more than 20 and driven to rise in the world that has been closed to her given her socio-political circumstances. She desperately needs the tools to accomplish her dream of becoming “a lady in a flower shop.” She’s not looking for companionship and has absolutely no interest in dancing all night. She strives for the ability to create a life in which she can exist as a self-sustaining independent woman in a determinedly male-dominated society.

Using the title of the play, Pygmalion, as my guide in researching this work, I discovered that Shaw saw the Higgins journey as far more profound than Eliza’s. When we meet Eliza, she is already a fully formed, intensely bright and aware woman. All she needs are the tools of education to proceed. The Pygmalion myth introduces a brilliant sculptor in ancient Greece; afraid of life and connecting with anyone, he pours all of his passions into his work, finally sculpting the “perfect companion” in marble. Praying to the gods to bring her to life, they decided to have fun with him; they granted his wish, realizing that she would have her own will, her own thoughts, her own needs. This, they rightfully assumed, would force him back into the world.

Will your production be set in its original locale and will the cast be assuming English accents?

As Shaw’s Pygmalion is firmly set in London’s pre-WWI world, I’ve always felt the play resonates with its greatest impact by honoring that intent. So, yes, we’ll be telling Shaw’s story set in London, 1912, using all appropriate accents as he dictated.

Can you tell us a little about the set design and how you decided on it?

The brilliant artist, Al Hirschfeld, was a lifelong pal of mine. Our shared passion was George Bernard Shaw. Al relished Shaw’s work and activist humanitarianism, drawing images of Shaw throughout the many years. It was Al’s notion of one day designing a production of Pygmalion that haunted me over the years. So, when we decided to celebrate Gingold Theatrical Group’s 20^th anniversary by presenting this play, the idea of celebrating Shaw through Al’s work became a joyous possibility. As a result, our scenic designer Lindsay Genevieve Fuori has created a set as if drawn by Al. So, we have the honor of partnering with the Al Hirschfeld Foundation, courtesy of their Creative Director David Leopold, to use Al’s work in the production and our key art! It’s a loving tribute to both Hirschfeld and Shaw.

What do you hope people take away from the show?

Shaw wrote this play as a form of self-analysis. As a poor uneducated kid in Dublin who was completely disenfranchised and unwanted, with a speech impediment, he escaped his dreary life at 19, to arrive in London to create a new world for himself. He was, in fact, like his Eliza Doolittle; he desperately needed a mentor, a Henry Higgins. Not finding one, he became his own Higgins. He self-educated, studied everything possible, and created a persona as a protection to feel more confident. He called his persona G.B.S., and eventually the man and the persona became one. This duality explains a great deal about who he was and how he created his works. It’s generally assumed he wrote the play for his beloved actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell, which is not the case. He was an incredibly clever businessman and wisely pursued her, as she was a great star on the London stage at the time. Once she accepted the role, he continued to adapt the play around her and it became a great success. But he created the play as a gift to us, as a reminder not to shut ourselves off from life, to keep our heart open and never to hide, either from the world or from ourselves.

Thank you, David, for giving our readers a sneak peek at Pygmalion. I look forward to seeing it at Theatre Row!

Pygmalion plays October 22-November 22, 2025, at Gingold Theatrical Group, performing at Theatre Row, Theatre 5, 410 W 42^nd Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $36.50-92.50, including fees), go online.

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Now in previews at Off-Broadway’s Daryl Roth Theatre for a limited engagement of the new award-winning political satire 44 The Musical (which played to sold-out houses and critical acclaim in LA and Chicago), actor, singer, voiceover artist, voice teacher, and performance coach Jenna Pastuszek is delivering the laughs and the songs in the role of former First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The parodic show takes an irreverent look at the life, times, and administration of America’s 44^th President Barack Obama, with book, music, and lyrics by Eli Bauman, a former Obama campaign staffer in Las Vegas, as Joe Biden, who served as Obama’s Vice President from 2009-17, “kinda sorta remembers it.”  

The roster of lampooned real-life characters includes everyone from Michelle Obama to Sarah Palin, Mitch McConnell, Lindsey Graham, and Ted Cruz, performing a melting pot of original song and dance stylings of the era, backed by the House of Vibe band (here called “The Andrew Jackson Five”), and telling stories you can’t read in banned history books, with something to offend everyone, no matter which party or politicians you support.

Jenna answered my questions about the show before its official opening, cleverly set for November 11, a week after Election Day, when we might all need some no-holds-barred humor.

Can you tell us about the format and setting of the show?

Jenna: The setting of the show is 2008 – the year of the launch of the iPhone, the release of the Twilight Series, the debut of Sasha Fierce, and, oh yeah, just a little global financial crisis. It brings us back to better (more hopeful) times and possibly also reminds us that American politics have always been a sh*tshow. What’s beautiful about the show is that no matter where you fall on the political spectrum, you will laugh out loud at the absurdity of the cast of characters we find ourselves represented by. 

How did you prepare for your role as Hillary Clinton?

I’ve been working on this show off and on over the past four years, and I’ve been lucky enough to get to play both Sarah Palin and Hillary, and also cover the two women who originated these roles (Jane Papageorge and Kelley Dorney). I’ve prepared for the 44 version of Hillary by watching and learning from Kelley and then layering in my own comedic flair. I also enjoyed listening to Hillary’s podcast You and Me Both (I highly recommend the Barbra Streisand episode). 

Do you have a favorite song or line that you most enjoy performing?

Since Day 1 of the 29-hour reading of 44 I did in November 2021, I’ve gone to bed singing “He’s Motherf*cking Obama.” I promise if you come see the show, you’ll go to bed singing it too. It’s incredibly catchy! 

What’s the most memorable reaction you’ve gotten so far?

We’ve done the show in LA, Chicago, Philly, and now NYC, and it’s amazing how differently each city reacts to the show and our cast of characters. My most memorable reaction has to be Dionne Warwick’s – she shook my hand and told me she very much enjoyed my Hillary, and I haven’t been the same since. 

What do you hope audiences take away from the show?

As our director Eli says at the beginning of each show, I hope people can take away the belief that we can exist in the spirit of togetherness and finding and sharing joy. Musical theater should be fun. Coming to the theater should be a cathartic experience, and right now, we all need a good laugh more than ever. 

Many thanks, Jenna, for sharing your insights with our readers; I look forward to seeing the show!

Running Time: Approximately two hours and 15 minutes, including an intermission.

44 The Musical plays through December 7, 2025, at the Daryl Roth Theatre, 101 E 15^th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $93-202.50, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.  

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Fresh off his 2025 Tony win as Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as HYH in David Henry Hwang’s Yellow Face (which also earned him an Outer Critics Circle Award), there’s no end in sight for Francis Jue‘s proverbial fifteen minutes of fame; it’s been exponentially increasing since he participated in the high-school drama program at St. Ignatius College Preparatory in his native San Francisco, received his BA at Yale University, and first appeared in NYC in 1984, in the Broadway production of Pacific Overtures (to which he returned in the 2004 Broadway revival). 

Among Jue’s other innumerable credits are Broadway’s M. Butterfly (1989) and Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002), in which he created the role of Bun Foo, Off-Broadway’s Cambodian Rock Band (2020, Lucille Lortel Award), Twilight: Los Angeles 1992, Good Enemy, Soft Power (2019, Outer Critics Circle Award), and Wild Goose Dreams (2018 Obie Award), and nominations for three Drama Desk Awards (one in 2008, and two in 2020). In addition to his acclaimed career on the stage, he has appeared on the screen, in both film and television, including the TV series New Amsterdam, Law & Order: SVU, and, most notably, in his recurring role on Madam Secretary (2014-19).

Soon to return Off-Broadway as Cleante in playwright Lucas Hnath’s reimagined version of Molière’s Tartuffe at the New York Theatre Workshop, Francis graciously made some time in his busy schedule to answer our rapid-fire questions about his career, his favorites, and his feelings, both on stage and off, so our readers can get to know him a little better professionally and personally.

1. What’s three emotions did you feel when you won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play?

Francis: I blacked out! I had to watch a clip of my acceptance speech to remember what I said! Honestly, I didn’t think I’d win, so I was flummoxed. Then thrilled, because this felt like a win for all the artists – particularly Asian artists – just plugging away and not always getting acknowledged. And then I felt enormous pressure to say something meaningful at the mic.

2. What is it about David Henry Hwang?

David is the proverbial canary in the coal mine. In form and content, David has been leading the way for a long time, and we’re still catching up to what he has been writing. He’s just brilliant, and I feel so lucky to be around him.

3. Which of the characters you’ve played have you found most relatable – HYH in Yellow Face, DHH in Soft Power, Howard in Good Enemy, Duch in Cambodian Rock Band, Song Liling in M. Butterfly, or Bun Foo in Thoroughly Modern Millie?

This is like choosing your favorite child! I love them all for very different reasons. Though I never met the real Henry Y. Hwang, I feel closest to him right now because he’s my most recent role. He makes me feel like I’m spending time with my parents.

4. What do you find most gratifying about having performed in the shows you’ve done?

If in any way I can bring audiences to find humanity in any of my characters, I’ve done my job well. It’s not something I take for granted, since most audiences still don’t see Asians as human.

5. What do you love most about performing live on stage?

Anything can happen!

6. What’s your first creative memory?

I was twelve years old, and my older brother Geoff had been cast as the Prince in a high-school production of The King and I. He asked me to run lines with him, and I began coaching him on how to stand and walk and talk. I’ve had an artistic point of view for a long time . . .

7. Who’s been the biggest inspiration in your career? 

My family. Everything I do is for them.

8. Is there a role or show you’d most like to play in the future?

The next one.

9. Which do you find more challenging – stage or screen?

I think screen is harder for me, because I have so much less control over what audiences will finally see.

10. What three words would you use to describe yourself?

Today, I’d say I’m a student, a journeyman, and an empath. Tomorrow, I might say something else.

11. What do you do for fun when you’re not working?

These days, baking is therapy for me.

12. Do you have a favorite indulgence food or beverage?

Coffee!!

13. What three things do you always have in your refrigerator?

Milk, yogurt, cheese.

14. If you were interviewing yourself, what one question would you ask?

Why can’t you see in yourself what you so easily see in others?

15. What’s the greatest benefit of being famous?

If I ever become famous, I’ll let you know!

Thanks, Francis, for sharing a fast and lively fifteen minutes of your fame with us – not everyone is a Tony-winning Broadway star, so that’s pretty famous! I look forward to seeing you again soon in Tartuffe!

Tartuffe plays November 28, 2025-January 11, 2026, at the New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4^th Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $25-179, plus fees), call (212) 460-5475, go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.

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Following its acclaimed 2024 concert staging with Encores! at New York City Center, the Broadway revival of the 1998 musical epic Ragtime, based on E.L. Doctorow’s 1975 novel of the same name, with a book by Terrence McNally and a Tony-winning score by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (music and lyrics), is now playing a limited engagement at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center. Directed again by Lear DeBessonet (who previously served as artistic director for Encores! and, since July, for Lincoln Center Theater) and starring most of the leads and many featured members of the cast from the NYCC show, the turn-of-the-20^th-century historical fiction weaves together the lives and struggles of three families of different social classes, religions, races and ethnicities, in a mostly sung-through operatic format that highlights the extraordinary vocals and dramatic intensity of the story and the characters’ pursuit of the American Dream. It’s a full-scale two-act production with 36 musical numbers, a large company of 34, and a 28-piece orchestra, conducted by music director James Moore, with original orchestrations by William David Brohn, that delivers the grandeur and magnitude of old Broadway and a theme of racism, anti-Semitism, and xenophobia that continues to resonate in our present divisive time.  

Set in the first decade of the 1900s, the converging plotlines revolve around three distinct groups of people and neighborhoods in New York representing our American melting-pot culture: the upper-class white family, with conflicting attitudes and ideals of the Mother, Father, their Little Boy, his Grandfather, and Mother’s Younger Brother, living a prosperous life of privilege in suburban New Rochelle; Tateh, a poor Jewish immigrant from Latvia, who arrives with his Little Girl on a “rag ship” by way of the Statue of Liberty and struggles with assimilation as a street silhouette artist in the over-crowded and impoverished community of the Lower East Side; and famed Black ragtime pianist Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Harlem, trying to reconnect with his love Sarah and the baby son he didn’t know they had (who were saved and taken in by the compassionate Mother) and to find justice in a society filled with racial tensions, hatred, and violence. Their lives intersect, in a rich and enthralling story filled with hope for a better life and the promise of a new and more accepting younger generation, in a country and a world on the brink of change.

An absolutely phenomenal cast, led by Joshua Henry as Walker, Caissie Levy as Mother, and Brandon Uranowitz as Tateh, embodies the multi-layered personalities, backgrounds, and profound challenges faced by the central protagonists with affecting depth, empathy, and emotion, both in their characterizations and their revealing songs (vocal arrangements by Flaherty) – three of which (“Back to Before” sung by Levy, “Wheels of a Dream” by Henry and Nichelle Lewis in the role of Sarah, and Henry’s eleventh-hour number “Make Them Hear You”) rightfully elicited extended mid-show standing ovations at the performance I attended (and I’m sure at many others). As with the leads, the featured actors embrace the individuals they portray and bring credibility to their situations, attitudes, and interactions: Colin Donnell as the Father, stuck in the dominant white male monied ways of his old genteel upbringing; Nick Barrington as Edgar, the couple’s observant, talkative, and prescient Little Boy, who repeatedly warns about the onslaught of WWI; Ben Levi Ross as Mother’s Younger Brother, a budding revolutionary increasingly dedicated to social reform and justice for Walker; Tom Nelis as Grandfather, a laughably old-time conservative; Tabitha Lawing as Tateh’s Little Girl, kept on a rope leash to ensure her safety; Jacob Keith Watson as Willie Conklin, chief of the New Rochelle volunteer fire department, who hurls racist epithets at Walker in a heavy Irish accent and tries to prevent him from entering their white neighborhood by destroying his car; and Kaleb Johnson and Kane Emmanuel Miller alternating in the role of the young Coalhouse Walker III, who, happily playing with the other two children, leaves us with a sense of optimism.

In addition to the fictional characters, the story includes such real-life figures of the era as anarchist and activist Emma Goldman (Shaina Taub), who inspires with her impassioned speeches; Civil Rights leader, educator, and author Booker T. Washington (John Clay III), who advocates for Black equality through education, advancement, and friendship across races, not violence to solve injustice, and intervenes in the climactic scene in the Morgan Library, taken over by Walker and his men; escape artist and illusionist Harry Houdini (Rodd Cyrus), born in Budapest to a Jewish family; scantily clad and flirtatious Vaudevillian chorus girl Evelyn Nesbit (Anna Grace Barlow); her husband Harry K. Thaw, one of the wealthiest men in America (played by the versatile Watson); architect Stanford White (Billy Cohen), Nesbit’s lover, shot and killed by Thaw, in what became known as “The Crime of the Century” in the media and in her song; Henry Ford (Jason Forbach), industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, which manufactured the Model T owned and driven by Walker; US Navy officer and Arctic explorer Admiral Peary and financier and investment banker J.P. Morgan (both played by John Rapson); and biased judge and politician Charles S. Whitman (also portrayed by Cohen). All are brought to life with fitting demeanors, actions, and beliefs, as recorded in history, by a masterful supporting cast.

Rounding out the excellent ensemble are Nicholas Barrón, Lauren Blackman, Allison Blackwell, Briana Carlson-Goodman, Jordan Chin, Rheaume Crenshaw, Ellie Fishman, Ta’Nika Gibson, David Jennings, Marina Kondo, Morgan Marcell, Kent Overshown, Kayla Pecchioni, Deandre Sevon, and Alan Wiggins, representing the white, immigrant, and Black communities of New York to which the lead characters belong, performing small but significant roles that drive the plot, singing in perfect harmony, and dancing to culture-defining choreography (by Ellenore Scott) in vintage-style costumes (by Linda Cho), and hair and wigs (by Tom Watson), that capture the period and visually distinguish their identities and group heritage (lavish white garb for the wealthy whites, drab ragtag clothing for the immigrants, and vibrant patterned shades of brown for the Black ragtime community).

The stirring and sweeping production is performed on a bare stage with a sparse set (scenic design by David Korins), employing roll-in pieces of architecture and furnishings, and projections (by 59 Studio) that include views of Ellis Island and the American flag, to indicate the locales and events, to allow space for the full company, and to let us focus on the actors in the spotlight (lighting by Adam Honoré and Donald Holder) without distraction. And sound (by Kai Harada) adds reinforcement to the powerhouse vocals and aurally communicates the show’s devastating climax.

Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Ragtime is Broadway at its very finest, a top-notch production of an American classic with stellar performances, direction, and human themes that touch, entertain, and remain relevant, in their clear connection between then and now. Don’t miss it – and be sure to bring tissues for its most heartrending and shocking scenes.

Running Time: Approximately two hours and 50 minutes, including an intermission.

Ragtime plays through Sunday, January 4, 2026, at Lincoln Center Theater, Vivian Beaumont Theater, 208 W 41^st Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $196-321, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.

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Founded in 2018, The Resident Acting Company – a group of collaborating actors rooted in the classics and exploring the possibilities of what they could create by working closely together – is now presenting its inaugural fully staged production, a wild take-off on Shakespeare’s 1595-96 enchanted romantic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream, for a limited engagement at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture. Directed by RAC’s artistic director Bradford Cover, six of the company members take on a total of twenty roles in their over-the-top new version, in which The Mechanicals – the inept amateur acting troupe of workmen from Shakespeare’s original, who perform Ovid’s ancient Greek tale of the ill-fated lovers Pyramus and Thisbe as part of the entertainment at the royal wedding celebration of Theseus and Hippolyta – appear not just in the play-within-a-play subplot, but are in rehearsals to tell Shakespeare’s entire interwoven story of conflicted lovers and mischievous fairies, the court of Athens and a magical forest, in the garage of the Mechanicals’ Peter Quince, who helms the show.  

The cast – Rachel Botchan as Robin Starveling, Hippolyta, Hermia, and Titania; Anique Clements as Peter Quince, Helena, and Peaseblossom; RJ Foster as Tom Snout, Theseus, Demetrius, and Oberon; Carine Montbertrand as Snug, Puck, and Cobweb; Andy Paterson as Francis Flute, Lysander, Mustardseed, and Moth; and Austin Pendleton as Nick Bottom and Egeus – combines masterful deliveries of the Shakespearean text (standout performances by Botchan and Foster) with expert physical comedy and clowning (Montbertrand steals the silly scenes). There are also some clever sight gags (e.g., using a purple feather duster to represent the “love-in-idleness” pansy whose juice was dropped into sleeping eyes to make the characters “madly dote”), and segments of the actors playing makeshift props (by Charlie Cohen) and instruments (original music by PJ Ju), and performing the rustic Bergomask dance, as in Shakespeare (choreography by Grace Ann Baresich), and inviting the audience to clap along.

But the company’s rapid-fire shifts of characters are often confusing (expressed by the faux-exasperated Foster, frantically switching headpieces, having an attack of stage fright, and occasionally losing his temper), as are the many anachronisms of the current setting, like a cushioned outdoor swing and vintage sewing machine (set by Harry Feiner) and props, with Clements as the take-charge Quince holding a modern clipboard and Pendleton as the slow-study Bottom performing script-in-hand (and ad-libbing when he repeatedly had trouble turning the pages on the date I attended), and the illogic of the audience’s presence, interactions, and participation (random members are shown computer printouts of lines they are asked to deliver with a hand mic), in what is supposed to be the (post-modern) Mechanicals’ rehearsal in a garage, not in a theater with seating. 

As with the action and characters, costumes (by Evan Riley) are a mash-up of historicizing, theatrical, and contemporary, sometimes using masks and sometimes funny hats (and, of course, the familiar donkey ears for Puck’s prank of transforming Bottom into an ass), and lighting (by Feiner) and sound (by Ju) distinguish between the scenes of the rehearsal and trigger the out-of-character breaks and segments of direct-address to the audience.

While RAC’s new irreverent vision of A Midsummer Night’s Dream is often amusing, the fractured story and characters can also be hard to follow for those who do not have a thorough knowledge of Shakespeare’s actual play and are expecting to see it. And with a running time of more than an hour and a half, many of the jokes and breaks through the fourth wall begin to feel redundant and in need of editing. But if you want to experience a metatheatrical parody of what goes into putting on a show, this not only takes you into the broken narrative but also behind the scenes, with wacky humor and immersive staging that, as advertised, tells “the whole story” from a present-day acting company’s perspective.

Running Time: Approximately one hour and 40 minutes, without intermission.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream plays through Sunday, November 2, 2025, at The Resident Acting Company, performing at The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, The Frank Shiner Theatre, 18 Bleecker Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $40, plus fees), go online.

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Now in its American premiere for a limited engagement at NYC’s Theatre Row, Crooked Cross – a little-known play by English writer Sally Carson, based on her 1934 book of the same name – made its debut in Birmingham in 1935, was presented in London in 1937, and was not staged again until the current production by Mint Theater Company, in keeping with its mission of creating new life for lost or forgotten plays from the past. Directed and slightly revised by The Mint’s Artistic Director Jonathan Bank, who became aware of the work in February, when he was informed that the novel would be republished in the Spring by the UK’s Persephone Books, the present dramatization has cut nine minor characters and restored some of the dialogue from the original book, but every word in the prescient script – telling the story of the divisive and devastating responses of one ordinary middle-class Bavarian family to the rise of Nazism in 1932-33 Germany – was written by Carson herself.

The narrative opens on Christmas Eve of 1932, in the home of the Kluger family, as they decorate the tree and sing traditional German songs. Lexa’s parents have invited her fiancé Moritz Weissman (a doctor and, like his late mother, a Catholic, with “a Jewish name”) and his father (a professor of Jewish descent) to their holiday dinner. They are joined by her two brothers, the unemployed Helmy (to whom she is closest) and Erich, a pompous and overbearing ski instructor at a resort hotel (and gigolo to the older women staying there), and their friend Otto – all three of the young men becoming increasingly involved in the National Socialist Party (the Nazis), in order to have jobs, a sense of pride, stability, and direction, and a place where they belong.

With the Nazis’ election win in March of 1933, and the burgeoning anti-Semitic sentiment in Germany, it’s not long before Moritz and Professor Weissman are fired from their successful careers and move from their home to a small bare flat, his June wedding to Lexa is postponed since he no longer has the income to support a wife and family, and she is warned by her brothers that she must stop seeing him. But her love for Moritz and desire to be with him are unwavering, so they continue to meet in secret and she writes letters to him when they’re apart, as is soon discovered by the disapproving Erich and disclosed to the concerned Helmy, causing a rift between the previously close-knit siblings and resulting in his later declaration, “First I’m a good Nazi . . . after that I’m your brother.”

There are deeply disturbing scenes of the couple watching fireworks on New Year’s Eve and sighting an illuminated swastika (the “crooked cross” of the title) on high; a dance they attended in mid-April on two floors of a hotel, with only the official members of the Party welcome upstairs and an incident of a young Nazi hurling racist epithets at Moritz downstairs (based on an actual occurrence Carson witnessed while visiting friends in Germany); the face-to-face confrontations of the Krugers, torn apart by their divided alliances; a devastating (but not surprising) climax on Midsummer Night’s Eve, as Moritz and Lexa quietly make their way across Nagelspitz Mountain in the Bavarian Alps, in an attempt to escape what their country has become; and the family’s reaction to it – some unknowing and some fully aware of what transpired.

Carson’s writing and Bank’s direction are clear, slow-paced, and deliberate, allowing the characters to express their feelings towards each other, commitment to their beliefs, rationale for the decisions they make, and disagreements about them, occasionally injecting bits of humor or erupting into bursts of anger, but always relaying a sense of the individual personalities and an explanation of why they’ve chosen to do what they do. Leading the cast and the central love story are Ella Stevens (making her New York debut) as Lexa and Samuel Adams as Moritz, whose enduring devotion and determination to remain together in defiance of the steadily encroaching Nazism drive the narrative and provide a tender and poignant human element the audience can root for in the face of man’s inhumanity to man.

Gavin Michaels as Helmy and Jakob Winter as Erich turn in compelling performances that distinguish between the brothers’ attitudes and motivations and their shifting relationships with Lexa and their parents. Jack Mastrianni’s Otto, their selection for a new love interest for their sister after encouraging her to leave Moritz, is sweetly enamored of her and helpful when she needs him, though she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. Representing the older generation of the family are Liam Craig as Kruger and Katie Firth as Frau Kruger, capturing the gradual change in them, from initially embracing Moritz and his father and withholding their support of the Party, then gradually being drawn in by their sons and the Nazis’ widespread popularity. Professor Weissman, portrayed by Douglas Rees, tries to remain calm through the growing threat and to stay on friendly terms with Helmy, but suffers the ramifications of the rampant anti-Semitism sweeping through Germany. Rounding out the cast is Ben Millspaugh as an unnamed Young Man, who makes a key appearance that advances the plot with significant revelations.

The show’s historicizing artistic design transports us to Bavaria in the 1930s, with the actors dressed in period-style clothing, Nazi uniforms, and authentic Bavarian dress, including dirndls for the women and lederhosen for the men (costumes by Hunter Kaczorowski). A rotating set (by Alexander Woodward) and props (by Chris Fields) transition easily from the warm interior of the Krugers’ home and its vintage gramophone to the starkness of the Weissmans’ apartment, to the hotel bar with a single cocktail table before the closed stage curtain, and projections (by Joey Moro) of the fireworks display and Moritz and Lexi’s escape route through Nagelspitz Mountain are enhanced with changes in lighting (by Christian DeAngelis ) and the ambient sound (by Sean Hagerty) of the exploding fireworks, chanting mobs, and gunshots.

With its socio-political theme of the Nazis’ horrific attempt to make Germany great again through unbridled bigotry and murderous hatred, luring citizens in with the promise of employment, a better economy, and being an important part of it all, Crooked Cross offers an insightful, resonant, and timely warning not to value money and power over humanity or to repeat the history that Sally Carson so clearly saw coming.

Running Time: Approximately two hours, including an intermission.

Crooked Cross plays through Saturday, November 1, 2025, at the Mint Theater Company, performing at Theatre Row, Stage 4, 410 W 42^nd Street, NYC. For tickets (priced at $39-95, including fees), go online, or find discount tickets at TodayTix.

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