It is important to understand why a playwright chooses a particular title for their work. For Nancy Harris that title word is ‘beacon.’ In addition to the title, the word appears only three other times in the script. In her first private conversation with Beiv, Bonnie (Ayana Workman) asks about the “big white monument” she saw on the ferry when she recently arrived from America with Beiv’s estranged son Colm (Zach Appleman). Not only is Colm not looking forward to spending time with his mother: he is also worried that Bonnie might discover that discover that Donal (Sean Bell) who is now Beiv’s contractor, was his former lover. If any four interrelated persons needed a beacon, this quadrad qualifies.

Nancy Harris explores this theme in depth and these somewhat misplaced and misunderstood characters attempt to discover how they relate to one another in the present, often unable to disengage from their past experiences and conflicts with one another, or to discover how a new “family member” (Bonnie) and her “new friend” Ray (David Mattar Merlen) can so easily disrupt the delicate and dysfunctional family system. Of the four, Colm seems least able to come to terms with his past and his present. Characters run away, characters get lost, characters return, and characters are found.

As these characters connect, family secrets are revealed, mysteries solved, and past lives rent asunder by the power of the truth. No one emerges completely unscathed, and their future lives are in flux as their former lives were in disarray.

Marc Atkinson Borrull directs with a sensitive hand allowing the characters to develop as they search for meaning amid mystery, prevarication, and love lost and found. At times the action seems implausible: in the longer run of the narrative this implausibility begins to seem less problematic and more a function of the playwright’s style.

The action is centered around Alexis Gillmore (a bold and determined Nick Adams), and Kitty Galloway (an outrageous Alaska Thunderf*ck), lovers in a relationship that came to a bitter end. Their dream to open a drag club together has vanished, so they each open their own rival club across the street from each other. The “Fish Tank,” owned by Alexis is in trouble with the IRS because Taxes have not been paid for the past three years. Enter Tom Hutchinson (a sincere Joey McIntyre), the estranged brother of Alexis, who is a single dad with a son Brendan (a precocious Yair Keydar) and is also an accountant. The news gets out, and it doesn’t take long for Kitty to take advantage of the situation. All is going well until Kitty’s rent is raised and she too is in dire straits. Add to this chaos the budding romance between Tom and Dixie Coxworth (an honest and loving Liisi La Fontaine) a female drag performer, and Brendan’s slow, self-realization of becoming a budding drag queen. Of course, as in most musical theater comedies, all ends well.

Director and Choreographer Spencer Liff moves the action along at a quick clip and utilizes every inch of the multi-level, runway stage, including letting cast members wonder about the audience. Costume design by Marco Marco is all that you would expect from the best of drag shows, extravagant, gorgeous and eye popping. Scenic Design by Jason Sherwood is bright and busy, illuminated with a competent Lighting Design by Adam Honore, that creates moods to compliment the action of each scene.

The score, although a bit pedestrian, is pleasant enough on the ear, and has the feel of a good old-fashioned musical, albeit contained in a modern-day package, tied with a big, bright “gay” bow. The cast is great and the vocals, although not the best on the New York stage, are adequate with a few stand-out numbers. One of those being Brendan’s solo number “I’m Just Brendan,” which brings down the house for several reasons. To quote W.C. Fields, “Never work with children or animals.”  This may not be the best musical now on the boards, but for a wonderful, fun, entertaining night at the theatre, it is top rate. It probably does what it is meant to do, which is to make its audience leave the theatre feeling good with a smile on their faces.

Also missing was any exploration of the tragedy in Tammy Faye’s life with Jim Bakker (Christian Borle) or any clues to the decline into the delusional behavior of a person of faith who truly believed in the power of that faith which brought her ministry to an end. After the colon cancer diagnosis, and at the end of the show’s first song, the audience sees Tammy return to her younger self in the 1970s. She is deeply concerned about the afterlife, singing “Will I be forgiven/Heavy is the weight of my shame/Will you make me answer for my name.” Yet nowhere in the musical does the audience see Tammy deeply repentant. Nowhere do we see this characterization of Tammy Faye seeking forgiveness or longing for redemption and release.

Also absent is the motivation for what Tammy chooses to do throughout her life. Why does she Marry Jim Bakker? Why does she go along with the domed-to-fail Heritage USA scheme? What in Tammy’s past drives her to be unconditionally and non-judgmentally loving? Why doesn’t the musical explore Tammy’s ministry with the LGBTQ community during that community’s tragic history?

What is present in abundance is the homophobic and sexist rants from the white cisgender evangelists Jerry Falwell (Michael Cerveris), Jimmy Swaggert (Ian Lassiter), Oral Roberts (Daniel Torres), and Pat Robertson (Andy Taylor) who do everything in their earthly power to assure Tammy’s failure.

“Tammy Faye” fails to celebrate Tammy Faye. Why the creators and producers decided to open a musical that succeeds in diminishing the presence of an iconic figure in televangelism remains a mystery. One wonders if somehow Tammy’s soulful presence, which might hover in the wings of the Palace Theatre, has anything to do with curtain delays, set problems, repeated false fire alarms, backstage open mics, and tripping actors? That is probably too much magical thinking. But then again, as Hamlet professes, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”

The two main catalysts that inspire Mr. Finnigan’s monologue are the horrendous wildfires that spread through Southeast Australia in 2019, and his hospitalized father, who asked him to write a paper, outlining the six major points that mankind must observe, to ensure a safe and sound future. His father was a world class rock climber who suffered tragic injuries from an accident while climbing, that could be attributed to climate change. This ended his career, so he moved his family from Great Britain to Australia where he became a climate scientist. This weaves together with the constant texts from his best friend, who is trapped amid the wildfires, where he is on vacation with his wife and three children, who are all under ten years old. The script was written in real time during these events, during the last seventy-two hours of New Years Eve 2019.

Mr. Finnigan is a compelling and charismatic teacher, who also happens to be a fine actor. He can deliver factual information, while navigating deep emotional turmoil, without missing a beat. Skillfully, he convinces the audience that he is equally passionate about climate change, the safety of his best friend and the outcome of his father’s hospitalization for a serious spinal infection, simultaneously. One of the most important facts that is made during this seventy-minute performance is that the danger of climate change is not coming, but it is already here. The damage has occurred, and if you are attending this performance to hear about a solution, you will be disappointed. Mr. Finnigan himself only manages to break down his father’s notes into four points, leaving the last two blank on the large brown paper he has been scribbling on throughout the show. Perhaps the situation is overwhelming, the outcome too devastating, or there is a revelation that one voice cannot conquer the problem. However, without a spoiler alert, the audience will leave the theatre satisfied, hopefully a bit more informed, and provoked to engage in conversation.

Director Annette Mees keeps Mr. Finnigan on task and moves the script along at a brisk pace. She balances the weight of emotional drama and factual lecture carefully keeping the performance interesting and the audience interested. The black box stage, limited props, and clear video design by Hayley Egan, enhance the focus of the subject without intrusion. This is a different type of theatre worth investigating and you will be welcomed by a warm and genial host.

Currently running at Circle in the Square, Sam Gold’s production of “Romeo + Juliet” is not “running from Shakespeare during times of political division or uncertainty.” Instead, the director of Shakespeare’s “King Lear” at the Cort in 2019 starring Glenda Jackson as Lear embraces the challenges to stage the Bard’s tragedy in America’s current divisive political climate and the unrest and uncertainly prevalent in its voting populace. Furthermore, Sam Gold’s staging exposes what Lichtenberg describes as the use of “power at the expense of others” as a recurring theme in the tragedies, comedies, and histories of William Shakespeare.

There is no need to summarize the characters of “The Timeless Tale of Love and Tragedy,” their recognizable conflicts, and the tragic plot that it drives forward. To do so would be unnecessary for the audience members familiar with the play and a disservice to the amazing and welcomed number of youths filling the seats of the theater and searching for some recognition of their age of discontent that for many results in anxiety, long-term depression, violent behavior, and even suicide.

Sam Gold’s direction is multi-layered figuratively and literally. Gold dives deep into “Romeo + Juliet’s” exploration of gender fluidity and the ambiguities of desire. He explores the depth of teen angst which is timeless and the hope that youth yearn for in every generation. The youth in this production are the teens we experience in the present. They “take us on a wild wild and show us their wild child.” They “say yes to this, big mess a bliss, when it hits” (original music by Jack Antonoff). They tire of their feuds which mirror the longstanding feuds between their Montague and Capulet” dysfunctional families. They know they must carry knives to protect themselves in their urban landscape and they have found the apothecaries that offer a balm for their discontent and the violence that surrounds them.

Kit Connor and Rachel Zegler are the young, driven and “star-crossed lovers” in this “Romeo + Juliet.” The ongoing feud between their Verona families the Montagues and the Capulets has created two characters searching for meaning as their non-traditional love affair defines their uncertain futures. They are strong and stunning together, in their own space, and in their character’s living, their character’s dying, and their character’s life beyond death. Their performances could well be one template for future incarnations of the play.

The remaining members of the stunning cast are Gabby Beans (Mercutio/The Friar/Prince), Daniel Bravo Hernández (Abraham/Friar John), Jasai Chase-Owens (Gregory/Servingman), Tommy Dorfman (Tybalt/The Nurse), Nihar Duvvuri (Balthazar), Sola Fadiran (Capulet/Lady Capulet), Taheen Modak (Benvolio/Apothecary), and Gían Pérez (Samson/Paris/Peter) give authentic and believable performances which resonate with every member of the audience. Their gender fluidity, their vulnerability, their violence, and their transparency embody the same characteristics in the tragedy itself. Bravissimo to this generous and energetic ensemble cast.

Scenic Design by dots, costume design by Enver Chakartash, lighting design Isabella Byrd, sound design Cody Spencer, and hair and wig design by Robert Pickens and Katie Gell successfully complete Sam Gold’s brave and refreshing staging of “Romeo + Juliet.”

Sam Gold uses every layer, every space, and every nook-and cranny in the theater to stage this “Romeo + Juliet.” From the multi-level theatre-in-round stage, from platforms, from the aisles, and from the catwalks, the characters echo their fears, their love for one another, their deep and abiding angst, and their still unbridled hope for the future. Romeo’s song is the song of our disaffected and disconnected teens. He sings to Juliet, “Do you have doubts? / I cursed your name. / It brought me pain and now / Without you I don’t know how to be.” These lyrics by Jack Antonoff reflect both the despair and the hope of a generation of teens seeking agency and self-discovery unfettered by their forebears or their views of the word.

This is a “Romeo + Juliet” that transcends time and space and fixes William Shakespeare (to whom the cast gives a shout-out mid-performance) as the Bard for the Ages.

The plot revolves around the controversy that came about when the Welsh actor Jonathan Pryce is cast in the role of an Asian character in “Miss Saigon” when it transfers to Broadway from London. Mr. Hwang was very active in leading the protest to stop this from happening, condemning the use of makeup to create a “yellow face.” In response to the controversy Mr. Hwang wrote a play titled “Face Value” which involved the casting of a white actor in a leading Asian role, who starts to believe he is an Asian emperor because of his Method acting. The play was one of the biggest flops on Broadway, playing only eight previews and never making it to opening night.

“Yellow Face” contains a fictional account of the casting of “Face Value” where Mr. Hwang casts a white actor in the leading Asian role. He then realizes his mistake and tries to convince the actor that he has Asian lineage, which worked, and the play was a success. Then the white actor starts being cast in every major Asian role offered, and everything goes haywire, especially when the truth leaks out. Then the plot takes a turn to Mr. Hwang’s personal life, when he agrees to sit on the board of his father’s bank to gain some income. The bank is linked to a Chinese institution that is depositing large sums of money into the bank, and is investigated by the FBI, causing a suspicion that it was racially motivated. All matters conclude but many of the questions that have been put forth have really been answered.

Perhaps the purpose of the play is to provoke conversation about racial casting rather than suggest a solution. So much has changed since the Miss Saigon controversy, and so much has stayed the same. A perfect example of diverse casting is put forth in this production. Four actors, male and female, different ages, play several roles that purposely conflict with their gender, age and ethnicity, putting forth the question of whether it is now acceptable to cast any actor in any role. The lines seem to be blurred in this dense yet powerful script that is hilarious.

The cast led by Daniel Dae Kim playing DHH is a remarkable ensemble with impeccable timing and great comedic sense. Ryan Eggold makes an impressive Broadway debut playing Marcus, the actor cast in the Asian role. Direction by Leigh Silverman keeps the action moving and a fast pace and avoids the pitfall of being heavy handed with the controversial subject matter. The set design by Arnulfo Moldanado is versatile and serves the many different locations well with seamless transition. Mr. Hwang’s script is dense and layered without a lot of filling. It is truly up to each audience member to take away as big a piece of the cake they think they can digest. “Yellow Face” is a great evening of good theatre but what may be the icing on the cake, is the conversations it may introduce afterwards.

The plot centers around two unlikely roommates who are gradually revealed to be very dark and desperate individuals making an unusual “odd couple.” Robyn (a complex Patti LuPone) is looking for a change, a chance to start over. So, she finds a room to rent in Iowa City and is moving there from the Bronx. Her new landlady and roommate is Sharon, (a pliable Mia Farrow), who appears to be a simple and naive country soul. Robyn is Gay, a vegan, and grows her own “medicinal” marijuana. Sharon is a hearty meat and potato fan, belongs to a neighborhood book club, doesn’t get out much, and has a son who is a fashion designer living in Park Slope. She assures Robyn that he is not a homosexual. Robyn has an estranged daughter we know nothing about. As these two actors peel away the layers of their characters to the core, they manage to form an unusual bond that is both welcomed and strained. They both need what the other cannot or refuses to provide, so there is no winner in this tug of war. Sparks fly, fuses burn slowly, and bombshells are constantly dropped, but all would be spoiler alerts. What may come to mind is that they are not fighting each other on the front line but rather prisoners of a past life they are trying to escape.

Both actors are at the top of their game, trying to overcome the shortcomings of a weak and implausible script. Ms. LuPone surrounds herself with a tuff exterior, then slowly reveals her flaws, insecurities and vulnerability. She can open, let you in, then shut you out before you discover who she really is. She is in complete control of her character’s emotions. Ms. Farrow works the opposite, completely transparent, putting everything on the table in full view. She then begins to dig deep to discover herself along with the audience. Her character becomes a self-realization taking every opportunity to experience the danger and excitement that might result from her actions. Their performances are a master class in the craft and a testament to their talent.

Director Jack O’Brien guides these two actors through an emotional maze with ease, using every inch of the beautiful and functional set designed by Bob Crowley, which captures the wide-open country space of Iowa. Lighting design by Natasha Katz beautifully captures the change of time and punctuates subtle mood changes with accuracy. It is worth a visit to the Booth Theatre to catch a glimpse of these two actors navigating complex characters and creating some dazzling magic on the Broadway stage.

“Vladimir” focuses on the enduring themes of love and relationships, the dichotomy of freedom and oppression, and the struggle between good and evil. Erika Sheffer also explores how truth and the power of the pen interface with those enduring themes.

After Putin comes to power in Russia, things change for the Russian people. Wisely, the playwright here chooses to focus on two incidents that change how she and three others understand Putin and the power he wields globally. The first incident is the narrative’s protagonist Raya’s (a forceful and Francesca Faridany) encounter with Chovka (a broken and hopeless Erin Darke) in Ukraine. The second incident is her discovery of tax fraud committed at the highest level of the Russian government.

Chovka describes in haunting detail the human rights abuses by the Russian military in Chechnya. Raya has written about these abuses; however, she urges Chovka to tell her story publicly. Yevgeny (a calm but dedicated David Rosenberg) is willing to risk losing his life by using information from his government contacts to support Raya’s assertion of high crimes and misdemeanors at the Kremlin.

Raya’s close friend Kostya (a riveting and conflicted) Norbert Leo Butz) remains skeptical if Raya’s suspicions and warns her of the dangers of continuing to “poke the bear.” As evidence accumulates, he joins Raya in her insistence that exposing Putin is the only hope for Russia’s future as a nation and as a people. Despite death threats, imprisonment, and the risk of losing everything, the characters and their conflicts drive a believable plot whose themes encourage heightened awareness of the misuse of power, the importance of rage, and the need for compassion.

Daniel Sullivan directs “Vladimir” with sensitivity and awareness of the dangers of the maudlin. The creative team deftly sets the stage for the forward movement of the play.

In New York City, as she contemplates the dangers of returning to Russia, Raya addresses the audience at the end of the play and contemplates Vladimir Putin’s unchecked power in this pivotal monologue:

“Sorry, I am now traveling for few weeks, talking about what’s happening in my country, and eh, I’m supposed to go back tomorrow. I have ticket, flight from JFK, and everyone asking, my friends, my agent, people like you in audience, they ask: Are you afraid to go back? And they don’t say of who. They don’t use his name. Only, how can you go back? Aren’t you afraid? And it make me so… mad, that one man should have such power. One. Small. Not great intellectual, not insightful, only talent is finding ugliness and knowing how to use it. And yet this little man take up so much space. And I’m thinking . . . I don’t want to give this man such power. He does not deserve such power. And maybe it’s nothing what I’m doing, it is simple act by simple person.”

Erika Sheffer has sounded a terrifying alarm with “Vladimir.” There is no need to name names, or point fingers, or even go the political route. There are currently far too many men (yes, all non-apologetic cisgender males) across the planet. They come in a variety of ages, sizes, shapes, colors, and power strategies. But they all have the unique talent of “finding ugliness and knowing how to use it.” Our only antidote to this poison is ourselves and finding as Raya does, that one thing, that one act – simple as it is – that might save democracy and the planet from irreversible harm.

Lonergan’s narrative begins with a stay with his assistant Jimmy (a needy and oddly codependent Keith Nobbs) in an opulent hotel suite in Kansas City where is grappling with a new realization: “I been empty inside. I been dead inside for years, and Mama’s passin’ away has woke me up and I don’t like it.” Jimmy suggests a “A good rubdown and a hot bath” and schedules a massage for Strings with the hotel massage therapist. Upon Nancy’s (an overbearing, annoying, and selfish Heather Burnes) arrival with her portable table, towels, and sheets. Strings encounters his first roadblock to achieving that mindfulness he desires.

Nancy reveals herself as a manipulating and overbearing opportunist before she even gets Strings on the table; however, Strings fails to see Nancy’s long-range plan and falls completely under her spell. After that unexpected tryst, Strings visits his half-brother Duke (a laidback, overburdened, and accepting CJ Wilson) where he again rehearses his plans for a new life: working at the local feed store. The next stop in Beaumont, Tennessee is to visit his mother at Crockett’s Funeral Home where he meets his second cousin twice removed Essie (a gentle, somewhat broken, and perceptive Adelaide Clemens).

Although Strings seems not to remember much about Essie since he left Beaumont, she has continued to attempt to keep in touch with him over the years. Given Strings’ self-absorption and his attraction to young women, his recent tryst with Nancy seems to fade into his new “attachment” to Essie and a tryst with this distant relative. Just as mindfulness begins to take hold, Nancy reprograms Strings to believe she is the best choice in women to bring him happiness.

This Yin/Yang cycle continues throughout the narrative with not much assistance from assistant Jimmy who is a master at co-dependence. Strings’ journey is reminiscent of both recovery from addiction and the process of bereavement: both have more dynamics in common than one might imagine. Full recovery and acceptance come after several events, including his purchase of the feed store with his brother Duke, exorcising Nancy from his life, reuniting with his birth father Mitch (a gentle-spirited, redemptive, and multi-layered Frank Wood), and facing the financial burden from the pending lawsuits from his music industry and film industry producers.

How this late dramatic climax leads to a successful resolution is difficult to share without multiple spoiler alerts. It is enough to say that Strings McCrane emerges as a self-aware individual capable of mindfulness and open to a future that just might include that second cousin twice removed. Kudos to Adam Driver, Keith Nobbs, Heather Burns, CJ Wilson, Adelaide Clemens, and Frank Wood who deliver outstanding ensemble performances rich with authenticity and believability. Adam Driver rounds out this original cast with fresh character perspective, appropriate humor, and redemptive nuance.

Neil Pepe directs “Hold on to Me” with exquisite attention to detail and he allows the energy between the cast to inform his decisions. Walt Spangler’s rotating set reveals a series of stunning locations deftly showcased by Tyler Micoleau’s lighting design, David Van Tiegham’s sound design, and Suttirat Larlarb’s and Lizzie Donelan’s costume design.

Ken Lonergan conquers the themes of grief, guilt, and emotional complexity in “Hold on to Me Darling, which might suggest a deep understanding of such experiences in his own life. This revival of the play was well worth waiting for. Playwright Lonergan’s craft is a gift that seems to keep on giving.

The story begins with Stacey (an animated Marla Mindelle) who has a degree in musical theatre but cannot land a role, deciding to give it up and move to San Francisco with Keith (a subdued Alex Moffat who is totally underused), her very rich boyfriend. Falling asleep drunk, she wakes up in a dream, or in this case it might be a nightmare, where see is caught in a 1940’s musical in the town of Bareback, Idaho, and can’t escape. Not Oz, but Idaho, “Oh my!” There she befriends three of the townsfolk who might also be caught in a miserable place where they do not fit in. There is Flora (a vibrant Natalie Walker), who loves men and has quite the reputation of being a bit loose and insatiable. Next is Clarence (a polished Paris Nix), the token Black man and musical director in town, who people adore, especially when he belts out a gospel song. Finally, there is Bert (a pleasant and likable Constantine Rousouli), an outcast who is a repressed homosexual. As can be expected these three characters are not too well received by the townspeople, so they become more than willing to help Stacey find her way home, hoping they can also find a better place. Starting to sound familiar? Well, that is only the beginning, as the spoofs and send ups of musical theatre and everything else gay culture supposedly represents, starts to barrage the audience.

The cast is absolutely one of the most talented now appearing on a New York stage and are all in on the fun, not missing any opportunity to punctuate the broad and absurd comedy. Ms. Mindelle is a powerhouse with a big Broadway voice, great comedic timing and knows how to deliver her own material. Ms. Walker creates a super animated Flora who creates a larger-than-life character. Mr. Rousouli takes his star turn doing justice to a dance solo spoofing “The Music and the Mirror”.  Finally, Mr. Nix brings down the house with a strong and powerful gospel number complete with back up choir singers.

The show has some excellent moments but althe offensives share of groaners, with references and jokes that go a bit too far and border on offensive. The problem is sometimes the timeline. It seems that the 1940’s is fine, but some references characterize gay stereotypes from the 90’s, which does not necessarily represent the LBGTQ+ community of present day. Also, the extensive repetitive references to The Housewives series becomes a little boring after a while. Wrapping up the ending on a more serious note, with a message of “be careful what you wish for” or realizing that the life you thought would be easy and glamorous is very hard work and actually a difficult job, slightly undermines the absurdity of the previous ninety minutes. Seeing the response from the audience and a standing ovation, this show, like “Titanique” has certainly found its target audience, and will become a cult favorite securing a long run at the Orpheum Theatre.