Monique Carboni

Off-Broadway Review: “The Seven Year Disappear” at the Pershing Signature Center (Through Sunday, March 31, 2024)

As patrons enter the performance of Jordan Seavey’s “The Seven Year Disappear” at The Pershing Square Signature Center, they see Miriam (Cynthia Nixon) sitting across from her thirty-something son Naphtali (Taylor Trensch). The two are motionless and intently staring at one another in the style of Yugoslav performance artist Marina Abramović facing off with a MoMA patron in the famed…

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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 “Cyrano” at the Daryl Roth Theatre

Edmond Rostrand’s play “Cyrano de Bergerac,” written in verse in 1897 is one of, if not the most tragic love story of all time. It introduced the word ‘panache’ into the English language and Cyrano himself remarks about his own “panache” in the play. This of course refers to his skillful swordplay, exquisite poetry, adroit musicianship and finally the hallmark…

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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: “Sunday” at Atlantic Therater Company’s Linda Gross Theater

Jack Thorne’s “Sunday,” currently running at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater, seems to elicit one of two responses: disappointment or robust enthusiasm. A group of Gen Z friends gather in a New York City apartment for one of what has become Sunday Book Club gatherings. This Sunday’s meeting is at Marie’s (a somewhat broken and conflicted Sadie Scott) and…

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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: Founder Project’s “First Love” at Cherry Lane Theatre

June 17, 2018 | Off-Broadway > | "First Love", Angelina Fiordellisi, Charles Mee, Cherry Lane Theatre, Christian Frederickson, Edward Pierce, Ferlinghetti, Founder’s Project, Ginsberg, Kim Weild, Michael O'Keefe, Monique Carboni, Nicole Kuker, Paul Miller, Taylor Harvey, Theresa Squire

With a nod to magical realism, Edward Albee’s “Zoo Story,” and a splash of the surreal – specifically the world of René François Ghislain Magrritte – Charles Mee provides a mostly realistic narrative about the experiences of an older couple who fall in love for the first time. Currently running at Cherry Lane Theatre, Mr. Mee’s “First Love” is a…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Jerry Springer – The Opera” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre

March 27, 2018 | history, Off-Broadway, pershing square > | "Jerry Springer - The Opera", John Rando, Monique Carboni, Pershing Square Signature Center, Richard Thomas, Stewart Lee, The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre

When one thinks of the Jerry Springer Show (past and present), one might not think of ‘opera.’ However, in 2000, the seeds of that exact concept were planted by Richard Thomas at London’s Battersea Arts Centre with his “Tourette’s Diva” and in 2001 with his “How to Write an Opera About Jerry Springer” at the same venue. The success of…

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