pershing square

Off-Broadway Review: The New Group’s “Evanston Salt Costs Climbing” at Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre (Closed Sunday, December 18, 2022)

If Will Arbery’s “Evanston Salt Costs Climbing were an absurdist play, its non-sense narrative might make some sense. However, this is not a “Waiting for Godot” for post-pandemic Evanston, Illinois, or a pre-recession America. Peter (a foul-mouthed and depressive Jeb Kreager) and Basil’s (an equally foul-mouthed but agreeable Ken Leung) world borders on meaningless and the play’s characters are experiencing…

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Off-Broadway Review: The New Group’s “Black No More” at The Pershing Square Signature Center (Closed Sunday, February 27, 2022)

February 15, 2022 | black no, Off-Broadway, pass over, pershing square, water for > | "Black No More", Akron Watson, Angela M. Sauers, Anthony Tidd, Antonio Brown, Brandon Victor Dixon, Daryl Waters, Derek McLane, Edward Watts, Elijah A. Carter, Emily Fischer, Ephraim Sykes, Gaelen Gilliland, Howard McGillin, James Poyser, Jeff Croiter, Jennifer Damiano, John Ridley, Leanne Antonio, Lillias White, Malaiyka Reid, Mars Rucker, Mary Page Nance, Monique Carboni, Nevin Steinberg, Nicholas Ranauro, Nicole Iovino, Nikiya Mathis, Nyla Watson, Oneika Phillips, Oween Jean, Pershing Square Signature Center, Polanco Jones Jr., Rhaamell Burke-Missouri, Ryan Fitzgerald, Sarah Meahl, Scott Elliott, Tamika Lawrence, Tariq Trotter, Telsey + Company, The New Group, Theo Stockman, Tracy Shayne, Valerie A. Peterson, Zachary Daniel Jones, Zane Mark

A clue in in the “New York Times” crossword puzzle on Tuesday, February 15th was “Prefix with futurism.” The correct answer: ‘Afrofuturism,’ defined as “a cultural aesthetic that combines science-fiction, history and fantasy to explore the African-American experience and aims to connect those from the black diaspora with their forgotten African ancestry.” In 1931, George S. Schuyler explores the Afrofuturism literary…

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Off-Broadway Review: The New Group’s “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice” in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center

The question that remains in my mind is why anyone would attempt to create a musical based on the dated 1969 motion picture “BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE?” Granted the meant to be comedy written by Paul Mazursky and Larry Tucker for the big screen ventured into uncharted territory with infidelity, the sexual revolution and wife swapping making…

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Off-Broadway Review: The New Group’s “one in two” in the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center

The title of Donja R. Love’s play “one in two,” currently running in The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, is reflective of the alarming 2016 study released by the CDC, which projected that “one in two Black gay and bisexual men will be diagnosed with HIV in their lifetime.” Trapped in a stark white…

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Off-Broadway Review: Final Thoughts on the Engaging “Rinse, Repeat” at the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at the Pershing Square Signature Center

Performances of a new off-Broadway play begin with previews, advance through opening night and reviews, and settle into a run of some indeterminate length depending on original projections of success and extensions, finally closing leaving the play’s actors and creative team in the beginnings of yet another post-closing bereavement process. But what of the play itself? Did the run of…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Octet” in the Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts in Dave Malloy’s a cappela musical “Octet” currently playing in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center. A group of eight “addicts” meets regularly (summoned by the mysterious Saul) to share the dynamics of their various addictions, hoping to achieve the recovery attainable through the support…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Happy Talk” at the New Group at Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre

May 16, 2019 | Off-Broadway, pershing square > | "Happy Talk", Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, Clint Ramos, Daniel Oreskes, Derek McLane, Jeff Croiter, Jesse Eisenberg, Marin Ireland, Michael Bodeen, Monique Carboni, Nico Santos, Pershing Square Signature Center, Rob Milburn, Scott Elliott, Susan Saradon, Tedra Millan, The New Group

Happy talk – the type of verbal communication, replete with counterfeit smiles, that too often serves as a replacement for authentic connection between individuals – cascades across the stage at the New Group’s world premiere of Jesse Eisenberg’s “Happy Talk” at the New Group at Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre. Lorraine (a broken and dangerous Susan…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Irene Diamond Stage

In this revival of “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Irene Diamond Stage, Will Eno steps over, under, and in between the resting places – and the writing desks – of the literary canon’s most prominent surrealist writers of the past and present. Eno seems to stop there to chat, listen, tremble (who wouldn’t), and…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Be More Chill” at The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center

It is difficult to separate “Be More Chill,” currently running The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center, from the hype surrounding what has become a teenage cult musical since its 2015 run at the Two River Theater in Red Bank, New Jersey. This hype has been heightened by a cast recording and an extensive marketing campaign. What…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Peace for Mary Frances” at the New Group at Pershing Square Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre

There are many victims in the new family drama penned by Lily Thorne, but perhaps the audience is the most unfortunate casualty, having to suffer through this slow, protracted, insipid production for over two-and-a-half hours and wishing that “Peace for Mary Frances” would have come much sooner. The structure of the play is problematic: the series of short scenes ranging…

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