Dance

Off-Broadway Review: The New Group’s “Babe” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater (Through Sunday, December 22, 2024)

Abby (Marisa Tomei) has co-produced records with Gus (Arliss Howard) for thirty-two years. She had been his right hand, but her name never appears on the album as co-producer. She finds talent. Gus takes the credit. Recognition is not the only problem. Gus is a misogynist and a prime example of toxic masculinity in the workplace and elsewhere. Abby colludes…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Blood Quilt” at Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitze E. Newhouse Theater (Through Sunday, December 29, 2024)

Families of any number, age, or culture often meet for special occasions, some more special than others. Depending on the mix of those above descriptors, these get-togethers result in quite different outcomes ranging from collegial to catastrophic. These gatherings can be around any number of holidays or around some specific tradition. Those celebrating a specific tradition are often annual events….

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Off-Broadway Review: “Shit. Meet. Fan.” at MCC Theater’s New Mills Theater (Through Sunday, December 15, 2024)

As the characters are pressured into having their dirty laundry aired in the new play “Shit. Meet. Fan.” which is now in an extended run at MCC Theater, the list of reasons why the show does not work becomes longer than the clothesline. The cast may be the one reason the show is worth seeing, but that is not enough…

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Off-Broadway/Dance Review: “Ain’t Done Bad” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Irene Diamond Stage (Closed Sunday, September 1, 2024)

Jakob Karr’s “Ain’t Done Bad,” currently running at the Irene Diamond Stage, portrays the familiar story of a young LGBTQ man (Jakob Karr) attempting to grapple with his sexual identity in an abusive home atmosphere. His mother (Megumi Iwama) is supportive but his father (Adrian Lee), who is verbally and psychologically abusive to the son’s brother (Ian Spring), mostly keeps…

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Broadway Review: “Water for Elephants” at the Imperial Theatre (Closes on Sunday, December 8, 2024)

April 4, 2024 | book review, Broadway, Dance, Music, the ally, water for > | "Water for Elephants", Alexandra Gaelle Royer, Antoine Boissereau, Asa Somers, Brandon Block, Broadway, Caroline Kane, casting by Tara Rubin Casting, Charles South, choreography by Jesse Robb and Shana Carroll, circus design by Shana Carroll, Cirque du Soleil, costume design by David Israel Reynoso, Dance, David Roberts, fight direction by Cha Ramos, Gabriel Olivera de Paula Costa, Grant Gustin, Gregg Edelman, hair & makeup design by Luc Verschuren for Campbell Young Associates, Harley McLeish, Isabella Luisa Diaz, Isabelle McCalla, Jessica Stone, Joe De Paul, Keaton Hentoff-Killian, Ken Wulf Clark, lighting design by Bradley King, Marissa Rosen, Matthew Murphy, Matthew Varvar, Michael Mendez, Michelle West, music direction by Elizabeth Doran, music supervision and arrangements by Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Benedict Braxton-Smith, musical, New York Theatre Reviews, Nicolas Jelmoni, orchestrations by Daryl Waters Benedict Braxton-Smith and August Eriksmoen, Paul Alexander Nolan, Paul Castree, Pig Pen Theatre Co., production stage management by Timothy R. Semon, projections by David Bengali, puppetry design by Ray Wetmore JR Goodman and Camille Labarre, Rachael Boyd, Rick Elice, Samantha Gershman, Samuel Renaud, Sara Gettelfinger, Sara Gruen, scenic design by Takeshi Kata, Sean Stack, Sound Design by Walter Trarbach, Stan Brown, Taylor Colleton, Theatre Reviews, Theatre Reviews Limited, Wade McCollum

When does “life” begin? Depending upon one’s religious beliefs, or scientific beliefs, or social media threads, the answer to the question is different. Does “life” begin at conception; in utero; at birth; in childhood; in adolescence; in old age; in death; or after death? Seen through the eyes of his older self in “Water for Elephants” (currently on at the…

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Musical and Dance Review: “Notre Dame de Paris” at the David H. Koch Theater (Closed Sunday, July 16, 2023)

July 2, 2023 | Dance, do this one thing for me, Music > | Alessandra Berti, Alessia Papale, Anaïs Replumaz, Andrea Neyroz, Angelo Del Vecchio as Quasimodo, Antonio Balsamo, Arek Szynal and Ivan Urbano. The production’s breakers are Alex Besnier and Tiger. The dance ensemble features Lorenzo Arnouts, Daniel Lavoie as Frollo, David H. Koch Theater, Elhaida Dani as Esmeralda, Eric Jetner for Phoebus/Gringoire, Gabriel Nabo, Gian Marco Schiaretti as Gringoire, Gilles Maheu, Giulia Barbone, Giuseppe Marino, Ivan Trimarchi, Jaime Bono for Esmeralda/Fleur-de-Lys, Jay as Clopin, Jérémy Amelin as Phoebus, Jonathan Gajdane, Joseph Verlezza, Lincoln Center Theater, Luc Plamondon, Marina Barbone, Martino Müller, Mike Lee for Clopin, Nathan Jones, Philippe Tremblay for Quasimodo, Richard Cocciante, Roberta Zegretti, Rodolphe Duquesne, Solal for Frollo, Sonia Picone, Theatre Reviews, Theatre Reviews Limited, Vaia Venetis, Valentin Piers, Wilfried Bernard

“Notre Dame de Paris” is based on the novel by Victor Hugo and is adapted by author Luc Plamondon with music composed by Richard Cocciante. The musical and dance piece is billed as a musical spectacle and this current production at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater lives up to that righteous claim. Containing fifty-one musical numbers and little spoken…

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Broadway Review: “Bob Fosse’s Dancin'” at the Music Box Theatre (Closed May 14, 2023)

There are two questions you should probably ask yourself when deciding to attend a performance of the revival of “Dancin” which was originally produced in 1978, when it was nominated for seven TONY awards. First, do you like the choreography of Bob Fosse and second, do you like dance? The first is actually not as important as the second, which…

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Dance/Book News: “Movement at the Still Point: An Evening of Dance” One Night Only at the Joyce Theater Celebrates Release of Mark Mann’s New Book “Movement at the Still Point: An Ode to Dance” (Monday, April 10, 2023)

April 2, 2023 | a man of, chester, Dance, News, on that day, public theater, this land is made, water for > | “Movement at the Still Point: An Evening of Dance”, “Movement at the Still Point: An Ode to Dance”, American Ballet Theatre, and Curtis Holland, Argentine Tango dancers Dardo Galletto and Alonso Guzman, ballet, Barack Obama, Bradley Cooper, Broadway, Broadway’s Skye Mattox, choreographer and Princess Grace Award recipient Rena Butler, contemporary, David Guzman, David Roberts, former Merce Cunningham dancer Gus Solomons Jr., Gibney Company’s Artistic Associate Jie-Hung Connie Shiau, Hip-Hop, Jennifer Anniston, Joseph Verlezza, Karla Garcia, Margot Robbie, Martha Graham Dance Company, Martha Graham Dance Company principal’s Lloyd Knight and Xin Ying and former principal and Artistic Director Terese Capucilli, Megan LeCrone and Georgina Pazcoguin, modern, Morgan Marcell, musical theater, New York City Ballet’s Sara Mearns, Rhianna, Ricardo Zayas, Ryan Vandenboom, tango, tap, Tap artist Evan Ruggiero, The Joyce Theater, the legendary dancer and actress Carmen de Lavallade, Theatre Reviews Limited, vogue dancers Amadeo "Remy" Mangano and Ousmane “Omari” Wiles, York City Ballet

World-renowned celebrity portrait photographer Mark Mann celebrates the release of his new coffee table book Movement at the Still Point: An Ode to Dance with a one night only star-studded evening of dance at the Joyce Theater, Monday, April 10, 2023. Celebrating the power of expression, in movement and stillness, Movement at the Still Point: An Evening of Dance offers a multi-disciplinary and multi-generational program of…

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Broadway Review: “Bad Cinderella” at the Imperial Theatre (Currently On)

March 28, 2023 | bad cinder, bad cinderella, Broadway, Dance, LGBTQ+ > | Aléna Watters, Alyssa Carol, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Angel Lozada, Ben Lanham, Cameron Loyal, Carolee Carmello, Chloe Nadon-Enriquez, Christian Probst, Christina Acosta Robinson, Dave Schoonover, David Roberts, David Zippel, Emerald Fennel, Evan Zimmerman, Gabriela Tylesova (Scenic and Costume Design), Gary Cooper, Grace McLean, J Savage, Jordan Dobson, Josh Drake, Julio Rey, Kaleigh Cronin, Larkin Reilly, Lauren Boyd, Laurence Connor, Lily Rose, Linedy Genao, Luc Verschueren (Hair and Wig Design), Lucas Thompson, Mariah Lyttle, Michael Baerga, Michael Milkanin, Morgan Higgins, Paige Smallwood, Raymond Baynard, Robin Masella, Sami Gayle, Sarah Meahl, Savy Jackson, Theatre Reviews Limited, Tony Award nominee Bruno Poet (Lighting Design), Tony Award-winner Gareth Owen (Sound Design), Tregoney Shepherd, Tristen Buettel

Most, if not all, of my colleagues did not like “Bad Cinderella.” However, the performance I recently attended was sold out and that often undervalued pundit known as “the audience” could not have been more appreciative of what they experienced on the stage of the Imperial Theatre. It is important for us theatre critics to remember that often unheralded phenomenon…

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Broadway Review: “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at the Lunt-Fontane Theatre (Currently On)

March 27, 2023 | Broadway, Dance, Music, sweeney todd > | "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street", Alex Lacamoire, Alicia Kaori, Annaleigh Ashford, Baseline Theatrical, Christopher Bond, Cody Renard Richard, Costume Design by Emilio Sosa, Daniel Torres, DeLaney Westfall, Dwayne Cooper, Evan Zimmerman, Felix Torrez-Ponce, Galyana Castillo, Gaten Matarazzo, Hennessy Winkler, Hugh Wheeler, J. Jared Janas, Jamie Jackson, Jeanna de Waal, Jeremy Chernick, John Rapson, Jonathan Christopher, Jordan Fisher, Joseph Verlezza, Josh Groban, Kristie Dale Sanders, Kyrie Courter, Lexi Rabadi, lighting design by Natasha Katz, Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Maria Bilbao, Megan Ort, Mia Pinero, Michael Kuhn, Nathan Salstone, Nicholas Christopher, Patricia Phillips, Paul-Jordan Jansen, Raymond J. Lee, Ruthie Ann Miles, Samantha Pollino, set design by Mimi Lien, sound design by Nevin Steinberg, Stephen Sondheim, Stephen Tewksbury, Steven Hoggett, Taeler Cyrus, The Telsey Office, Theatre Reviews Limited, Thomas Kail, Timothy Hughes

Perhaps one of the best reasons to attend the present revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” is to hear the exceptional score by the late Stephen Sondheim, gloriously presented by a twenty-six-piece orchestra, which resounds through the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, echoing a menagerie of emotional themes. There is a Brecht-Weil semblance, as a populace from London’s underbelly…

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