The Approach

Off-Broadway, Play April 13, 2026 Leave a comment

Composed as a round-robin of tête-à-têtes between Cora (Carmen M. Herlihy) and sisters Denise (Kate MacCluggage) and Anna (Danielle Ryan), The Approach explores the fragile mechanics that underpin their relationships. Friends since girlhood, the now middle-aged women have become increasingly entrenched in their own vision of themselves. Three is rarely a magic number, and the inevitable alliances rise and fall as each one attempts to establish some power in the world, at least as far as the other two are concerned.  Over time, some memories have faded; others brightened.  And a notable few are manufactured.  Through their series of seemingly casual chats, we uncover a truer, more honest picture of their personal journeys than any one of them could possibly see.

Often oblique but never opaque, the script provides plenty of luscious reading between the lines.  Playwright Mark O’Rowe’s storytelling technique draws the audience ever closer, which is perfect for this intimate black box space. As directed by Conor Bagley with dialect coaching by Karen Killeen, all three actresses vary the vibrancy and pace the layering of details.  Characters only physically stir to rush off to their next engagement.  

Danielle Ryan and Carmen M. Herlihy in Irish Rep’s 2026 production of The Approach; Photo by Carol Rosegg

The set designed by Daniel Prosky reflects the shades of gray and grittiness that are prominent in the script.  Original music and poetic sounds of warning by Joyce Ciesil form a swaying bridge between conversations.  Given the atmosphere that’s accomplished, Emma Deane’s melodramatic lighting is almost redundant.  Costume design by Stephanie Bahniuk includes Carmen M. Herlihy’s invaluable oversized sweater.

Many of us have filled an emotional void with friends we hold as close as family.  It is not uncommon to manipulate that bond, which is what makes The Approach so uncomfortably relatable. The New York stage premiere continues through May 10 at the W. Scott McLucas Studio Theatre downstairs at The Irish Repertory Theatre, 132 West 22nd Street.  Running time is one hour and ten minutes without an intermission.  Tickets are $60 ($50 for limited view) and available at https://irishrep.org/whats-on/the-approach.  Irish Rep’s GreenSeat program enables patrons under 40 to purchase seats for $25.  Wheelchair seating is available for most performances.  Be aware that there is a permanent pillar in front of seat C2 in the main section and rows AA-CC are to the left of the stage.  

Transcendency Rising

Festival, Off-Broadway April 5, 2026 Leave a comment

Since expanding their initial mission as a theater for the blind, Theater Breaking Through Barriers has become one of America’s few companies for artists with disabilities.  Their current production, Transcendency Rising: Short Plays About Defying Limitation, is a line-up of 10 original works written specifically for them.  The majority are by renowned playwrights while others are penned by TBTB members.  All are staged to also be inclusive of all audience members with large captions projected onto a set comprised of flat surfaces designed for the purpose and scene-setting audio descriptions read out by actress Melanie Portsche.  

The event starts off brightly enough with a section from Buffalos by author and essayist Adam Edmund Linn. With illustrative direction by TBTB’s artistic director Nicholas Viselli and a beguiling performance by a Fareeda Pasha, it is a pretty little watercolor of a monologue.  With a total of six pieces, the first half comes to a climax with Bekah Brunstetter’s Forgotten Corners Of Your Dark, Dark Place.  Bookended by familiar tunes and set in what must be a very progressive community center, the script masterfully combines broad humor with more touchy social commentary.  Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley portrays Gloria, an instructor who would make you uncomfortable even if she was teaching basic algebra.  (Hint: she is not teaching basic algebra.)  Under the direction of Brian Leahy Doyle, Jamie Petrone, Amanda Cortinas, and Emma Shafer collaborate to bring heart to the hastily sketched workshop participants.  (I remembered Petrone from 2016’s The Healing and was thrilled to see so many new entries in her Playbill bio.)

Jennifer Elizabeth Bradley, Emma Shafer, Jamie Petrone, and Amanda Cortinas in Forgotten Corners of Your Dark, Dark Place, one of the short works of Transcendency Rising; photo by Carol Rosegg

Shockingly it is the final piece of Act I, the much touted The Upside Down Man by John Patrick Shanley, that is the show’s low point.  This is not a reflection on director Ivette Dumeng or actors Nelson Avidonand Veronica Cruz, but rather on Shanley’s head-shaking focus on a misogynist breezily dismissing the harm done to Gisèle Pelicot and victims of Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein.  I kept waiting for the twist in his character arc, but it never came and the motivation of his date Serena for remaining at their table wasn’t a punchy enough reward for putting the audience through their exchange.  

Several people used the five minute bio-break that serves as intermission to head for the exit.  That was unfortunate given that the second half opens with a refreshingly original monologue: Redemption by Tony nominee Lyle Kessler.  Directed by Viselli,  Xen Theo portrays Syd, a Jewish man relaying his defense statement to an unseen judge.  Funny and vulnerable by turns, Theo gives a lift to every minute of his scene.  This is followed by a sincere and insightful exploration of caregiving in The Calling written by TBTB member Kathryn Grant and directed by Ann Marie Morelli.  It features Scott Barton as an elegant patient in assisted living.  Carla Brandberg and Enrique Huili portray his aid and an orderly with their own connection.  Portsche provides a voice over the facility’s intercom.

Like most short play festivals, Transcendency Rising is uneven, though the theme of wishing to be seen loosely ties the works together.  Critically, the 145 runtime too often allows the engagement to flag and the energy to dissipate doing a disservice to all involved.  Performances continue through April 11 in Theatre 5 at Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street.  Tickets are $60 and are available at the Theatre Row Box Office or online at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/transcendency-rising/.  The venue is low rise and shallow with 7 rows of 15 seats.  Most of row G is dedicated to wheelchair and companion seating.  

Titus Andronicus

Drama, Off-Broadway, Shakespeare March 30, 2026 Leave a comment

Titus Andronicus was Shakespeare’s first “stab” at tragedy.  Unlike his soon-to-arrive Romeo and Juliet, it has no characters to fully invest in and bears many of the hallmarks of a brilliant and driven playwright who has not yet grasped the subtle art of developing a tragic hero.  The excitement is derived from the adrenaline of brutality, a device not apparent in the rest of his Folio. In fact scholars now think that Act 1 (maybe more) was written contemporaneously with George Peele.

The title character is a brave General in the Roman Army recently returned victorious over the Goths.  In front of his captives including the Goth’s Queen Tamora and her paramour, the Moor Aaron, he orders the Queen’s eldest son to be butchered as a religious sacrifice to honor those lost in battle.  This act of cruelty immediately earns the military leader two calculating enemies and sets off a cycle of chaotic and bloody revenge.

I have recently taken up needle felting.  It’s wonderfully cathartic to stab something beautiful into being.  I imagine Red Bull Theater’s Artistic Director Jesse Berger must have felt a similar tug towards reshaping Titus Andronicus after absorbing current events.  As director, he has used the flatness of the characters to craft an experience akin to a live video game illustrating the purposeless of vengeance and violence.

The period has been updated to a time of business attire, smooth jazz and neon chandeliers.  The escalating blood lust is reflected in all the creative elements from the bright red accessories of Emily Rebholz’s costumes to the torture instrument design of the bows by Anya Kutner.  Sounds orchestrated by Adam Wernick that could be wind or whispers whisk around the pillar-trees by award winning set designer Beowulf Boritt.  These solid white elements are given eery tone with lighting by Jiyoun Chang.

Adam Langdon, Amy Jo Jackson, Jesse Aaronson in Titus Andronicus; photo by Carol Rosegg

Literally frothing at the mouth as Titus Andronicus is the Shakespeare-fluent and magnetically edgy Patrick Page.  But this has always been an ensemble work and Berger’s entire cast deserves a chef’s kiss for their commitment to his giddy vision.  Many moments are positively hilarious, a word rarely applied to this play.  When Matthew Amendt’s Saturninus accepts the Emperor’s crown with a goody-goody-gumdrops of delight you know this is not your great-great-great-great-grandfather’s production.  Likewise the purring of Francesca Faridany’s Tamora who’s slide into death is perfection. Also of note are the smirking Jesse Aaronson and Adam Langdon who skin-crawlingly out “Bro” each other as Tamora’s sadistic sons Chiron and Demetrius.  McKinley Belcher III portrays Aaron in a more classic style as befits his more traditional path to villainy.  Many actors play multiple parts.  A character map and “about” pages are provided to help you keep track of the relationships along with 430 year old spoilers and trigger warnings.  A more complete content advisory is posted on the Red Bull Theater website.

Popular in its day, Titus Andronicus still appeals today in the lurid vein of tabloids and clips on Musk’s X.  Berger’s interpretation smartly puts what could be melodrama through Martin McDonagh’s black comedy grinder to serve up something rip roaringly entertaining.  Performances continue through May 3 at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre (480 West 42nd Street).  Running time is a little over 2 hours including a 15 minute intermission.  There is more legroom though less rake at the entry aisle F.  Aisles are used for entrances, so there are multiple reasons for wanting to keep your arms and legs to yourself.  Tickets start at a welcome $49.  Visit https://www.redbulltheater.com/titus-andronicus-off-broadway to make a purchase or to get more information.

Monte Cristo: A New Musical

Musical, Off-Broadway March 23, 2026 Leave a comment

In The Count of Monte Cristo, an 1846 book by Alexandre Dumas, revenge is a chef’s tasting menu of dishes best served cold.  In Monte Cristo, a new musical by Peter Kellogg and Stephen Weiner, the story is more of a warming dinner served family style with an emphasis on dessert.  2026 would seem the perfect time to become reacquainted with this clever complex tale about the abuse of power, the influence of the rich, and the self-destruction that can accompany vengeance.  With its false facial hair, a backdrop that flaps in the A/C, and a clownish bi-curious detour, this interpretation bears more of a resemblance to Bugs Bunny’s take on the Barber of Seville: pleasing, diverting and just a little silly.

After a short prologue, the piece flashes back to 1815.  A projection announces that Napoleon has been defeated and he is “not happy”.  As in the classic tale, three men, each with his own selfish motive, conspire to get the well-meaning but naive Edmund out of the way.  Fernand wishes to marry Edmund’s fiancé, Mercedes.  Danglars feels he is entitled to Edmund’s impending promotion to captain.  After the pair hatch a plan to make it appear that Edmund is a traitor, their forged letter falls into the hands of the prosecutor, Villefort. He too has a reason to act dishonorably on what he knows to be false information.  The book and lyrics by Peter Kellogg skillfully handle the brooding years between Edmund’s arrest and the rest of the action, with a tone that often swings between gravity and levity.

Sierra Boggess and Adam Jacobs in Monte Cristo; Photo by Shawn Salley

Songwriter Stephen Weiner has put together a lilting but largely forgettable score.  (My plus-one described it as “groundbreaking for 1955.”)  Though opening with the promising “Dangerous Times” there are no big showstoppers.  Fortunately, casting director Andrea Zee  has secured a top flight ensemble who give their all.  At the helm of this ship is the smooth-voiced Adam Jacobs as Edmund.  He approaches act one with smiling good nature and becomes visibly hardened in the second half.  As the innkeeper’s wife, Carconte, Karen Ziemba, is a standout both lyrically and comically.  Kate Fitzgerald has her fun with the vapid Eugénie.  But disappointingly the former Broadway Phantom Norm Lewis’s talent is squandered as Villefort, participating only in a reprise of “One Small Thing” and then saddled with the fiddly solo “A Great and Noble Man.”  The rest of the cast includes Sierra Boggess as Mercedes, James Judy as Danglars, Jadon Lopez as Albert, Stephanie Jae Park as Princess Haydee, Eliseo Roman as Morrell, Danny Rutigliano who gets the most amusing numbers as innkeeper Caderousse and prisoner Abbe, and Daniel Yearwood as Fernand, the most interesting of the three betrayers.  Those in smaller roles take on multiple parts.

Sense of place is particular well illustrated by Siena Zoë Allen & Amanda Roberge’s costumes which not only denote class, but change from country print to Parisian elegance.  The scenic design by Anne Mundell has three main areas that are repurposed with projections designed by Shawn Duan and roll on set pieces.  Director Peter Flynn uses the spaces and his talent to maximize the pace of storytelling.  Joanna Lynne Staub’s sound includes the slight echo required for the dungeon scenes.  

While not likely destined to be the next Les Miz, Monte Cristo is a satisfactory crowd pleaser.  With its appealing story, easy to assemble set and well utilized cast, I could see it making a terrific touring production.  For now, you can find The York Theatre’s presentation at the Theatre at St. Jean’s, 150 E 76th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues.  The venue is down a short steep flight of stairs, but there is an elevator entrance on the 75th street side of the church. Current running time is 2 hours and 20 minutes including intermission.  The limited engagement through April 5 is quickly selling out. Tickets range from $29 to $85 and can be purchased at https://www.yorktheatre.org/monte-cristo-2025.  

Spare Parts

Off-Broadway, Play March 16, 2026 Leave a comment

In Spare Parts, a well-meaning Columbia University Assistant Professor and a dedicated graduate student are studying the aging process; experimenting with possibilities for slowing or reversing it.  As with many such studies, they have received a government grant and had success with lower organisms.  But a potential billionaire investor is ready to skip all the usual precautions and move straight on to a human subject: HIM.  He’s 64 with high blood pressure and simply doesn’t have the patience or the NEED to wait.  Along with his younger and more emotionally intelligent assistant, he has summoned the academics in hopes that his money will move them along.

The concept is sadly timely, with Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, and Sam Altman among those eagerly backing anti-aging ventures.  Playwright David J. Glass is a medical professional and has drawn on his first-hand experience at both a biotech company and Playwrights Horizons to forge a unique narrative path.  The result is a wild blend of life questions.  While the probing of ethics is enticing — especially during our period of deception — it is the exploration of the purely human realm that gives this play heart.  There are a few places in the script where the storytelling is a touch inelegant, but for the most part it’s impressively paced given that this is a 95 minute play and not a three-part mini.  

While the content vibrates with originality and intrigue, the direction by Michael Herwitz erodes the impact.  Actors are sometimes stretched out across the long, shallow space, diminishing the electricity between characters.  Worse is in the unimaginative and downright confusing set by designer Scott Penner.  Various locations slosh around on top of one another without so much as a color shift in Zack Lobel’s serviceable lighting to differentiate the location.  My I-Give-Up moment with the staging occurred when the the walls became doors thanks to PVC strips that flap upstage.  The thumping original synth music by Ryan Gamblin overwhelms his futuristic soundscape.

Matt Walker, Jonny-James Kajoba, Michael Genet and Rob McClure in Spare Parts; Photo by Russ Rowland

Fortunately the cast more than holds up their end of selling the story.  While the draw is frequent award nominee Rob McClure, his talent outweighs the needs of Professor Coffey.  Similar to their characters’ dynamics, he is outshone by Matt Walker in a delicious layer cake of a performance as assistant Jeffrey Jordan.  Perhaps it is Walker’s actual Ph.D. in genetics from Columbia University that makes him appear so comfortable while embodying such an awkward personage.  As billionaire Zeit Smith, Michael Genet understands how to portray a character with troubling intentions without stepping over the line into melodrama.  Most admirable is Jonny-James Kajoba’s turn as Ivan Shelley, Zeit’s faithful protégé.  (How I wish I’d seen his Lady Bracknell!)

Spare Parts is certainly not easy to peg, which makes it exciting even for frequent theater attendees.  Whatever discomposure is brought on by the indecent proposal is more than offset by the satisfaction of an unexpected journey.  The limited engagement of this comedy/drama/mystery/horror show has been extended through April 30 in Theatre Three in Theatre Row, 410 West 42nd Street.  Prices range from $39 “cheap seats” to $129 for the premium section.  There is little rake in the first four rows followed by sufficient rise, along with better than average leg room throughout the house.  Visit https://www.sparepartsplay.com/ for more information.

Mother Russia

Comedy March 3, 2026 Leave a comment

When I went to Russia as a child, my parents and I brought Skippy, Hanes, and Levis to a friend’s niece in Moscow.  All the best restaurants only took American dollars, which were unavailable to local residents, and we were constantly shadowed “for our safety.”  When I returned as an adult, all of my guides had their own Ikea-furnished apartments.  One of our destinations was a sprawling indoor mall in the center of Moscow and international fast-food chains were as plentiful as the family owned dumpling joints.  Between those two eras, the Soviet Union had been dissolved and the promise of social democracy hung in the air.  

It is within that unsettled period of 1992 that Lauren Yee has set her new comedy, Mother Russia.  Erstwhile aspiring KGB agent Dmitri is operating a tiny general store in St. Petersburg while surveying former pop star Katya as a side gig.  His childhood friend Evgeny tries to shake him down for protection money.  The pathetic attempt at menace leads to an alternative job offer. A devoted fan of Katya, Evgeny will follow her when she is off mic and will take a shift monitoring her. The fourth character is an explosion of innovation.  David Turner portrays Mother Russia herself, an embodiment of Russian history, ideology and culture.  Dressed in bright tomato red from babushka to pointy shoe (costumes by Sophia Choi), she can see back to the “not so bad” Ivan the Terrible and forward to Pussy Riot and Navalny.  Within the whirl of broad and situational humor, she is the snide ballast, overseeing all that transpires.

Wildly praised prior to the pandemic — particularly for Cambodian Rock Band which inventively explored the terror of the Khmer Rouge using a father/daughter story with music — Lauren Yee is currently a playwright in residence at the SignatureTheatre.  Her pen and tongue are still sharp, though she seems in a more fun-loving mood this time around.  Lines are written in colloquial English but with Russian construction.  Teddy Bergman’s playful direction enriches the slender script.  The prolific and visionary scenic design team of dots plays up the conflicting worlds of artifice and factuality that run throughout its pages.  The central portion of the set has a detailed commercialized frame and a defaced rolling metal door that is often used for emphasis.  Fancifully painted curtains complete the look of a city bus and Evgeny’s family home.  This two-pronged motif is continued with Jon Knust cunning props.  Sound designer Mikhail Fiksel makes terrific use of a wide range of music

The part of Mother Russia is made riveting by Turner’s droll and pricelessly-timed thick-accented delivery.  He is not alone in mining the dialogue for every precious laugh.  Dmitri could easily be two dimensional, but Steven Boyer gives him heart and amiableness.  Adam Chanler-Berat elevates and varies Evgeny’s many feeble attempts at swagger.  The two play good-naturedly with one another, especially in a scene co-starring a Filet-O-Fish sandwich.  Rebecca Naomi Jones does the most she can as Katya, a surprisingly flat role given that the singer/revolutionary is the catalyst for the climactic scene. Ironically, we get a clearer image of Dmitri’s never-seen girlfriend, Masha. 

Genuinely unfunny is the current design of the black box space of The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre.  The narrow ceiling-high stadium seating is oppressive, leading many audience members to use their programs for air circulation.  Those in the back rows crouch like tennis fans in an impractical effort to take in the intimate scenes while those nearer the front must crane their neck to follow David Turner’s antics.  If the red house lights are intended to make us feel as disoriented as a typical Russian in the 1990s, then they work.

The ingredients for blistering social commentary are present.  But Mother Russia subverts a more serious conversation about economic and societal challenges in favor of punchy lines in absurdist packaging.  Given the current state of our own culture, one could do worse than spend 90 minutes laughing at and with these talented artists.  The New York Premiere continues through March 22 at the SignatureTheatre in Pershing Square, 480 West 42nd Street.  Tickets begin at $74.  Visit https://signaturetheatre.org/show/mother-russia/ for more information.

Rebecca Naomi Jones and Adam Chanler -Berat in Mother Russia; photo by HanJie Chow

Chinese Republicans

Off-Broadway, Play February 27, 2026 Leave a comment

In Chinese Republicans, four women of Chinese heritage and spanning three generations are gathered for an Affinity Luncheon near their New York City office.  As co-workers at a stressful international investment banking firm, they look forward to these supportive gatherings, not to mention the turnip cakes.  Their stated purpose this time is to welcome their newest member — the pretty and giddy 24 year old Katie — and celebrate her recent promotion.  Managing Director Ellen has been acting as Katie’s mentor, giving her encouragement and hints about how best to reach the next rung of the ladder.  Corporate consultant Phyllis, who once held Ellen’s current job, plays healthy skeptic to Ellen’s cheerleader.  The most conservative of the group, she punctuates many of her observations with a pointed “Thanks, Obama.”  Also in attendance is Chinese citizen Iris.  She is in the US on a Work Visa and hoping her contributions to the firm will allow her to stay.  But from what we can see, her main responsibility is to get the lunch ordered correctly.

Over the course of numerous encounters and flashbacks, we watch the foursome jockey for position, sometimes in support of one another and more often in competition.  All four are trying to cope with pressures both cultural and corporate; sometimes responding in anger and other times tactically. Their varying viewpoints on what it means to be Chinese add an intriguing element to their sparring.

Jodi Long, Jennifer Ikeda, Anna Zavelson, and Jully Lee in Chinese Republicans; Photo by Joan Marcus

Quite a bit of obvious shorthand is used to backfill the women’s histories with the intention of clarifying their current motivations.  Such narrow definition of character leaves Jennifer Ikeda (Ellen), Jully Lee (Iris), Jodi Long (Phyllis), and Anna Zavelson (Katie) without the ability to shine at full wattage. Some right leaning political views are mixed in with the abbreviated development (whoosh hate crime, whoosh abortion, whoosh “me too”) and the placement of the action in 2019 avoids the most thorny topics.  Often director Chay Yew relies on elevated voices and manic gestures to take the place of more involving connection.

Playwright Alex Lin has generated enormous enthusiastic buzz, most recently for her Lear-inspired Laowang.  In Chinese Republicans, what she sacrifices in keener character arcs, she makes up for in startling imagery.  She demonstrates a flair for switching tones from heart attack-inducing conflict to door-slamming farce.  Based on Lin’s obvious talent and genuine interest in her subject matter, there is a deeper, more distinctive, and less strident script just beyond our reach. While it certainly never gets boring, as the piece approaches its final 15 minutes the plot losses focus.  

The play’s atmosphere is nicely detailed.  Costume designer Anita Yavich provides a wardrobe made for code switching, mixing business attire with Asian-inspired accessories.  The sound design by Fabian Obispo incorporates original music and big city hubbub. Impressive sets by Wilson Chin include an attractive modern restaurant and the imposing wall of the investment firm.  To prepare for the varying degrees of fluency in Mandarin, Cantonese, and English, the company enlisted dialogue coach Ka-Ling Cheung.

With a great deal to say and an unconventional blending of styles, Chinese Republicans is both a thrilling and a frustrating ride. The World Premiere production, part of Roundabout’s 2025-26 season, continues through April 5.  Performances are at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, Laura Pels Theatre, 111 West 46th Street.  Running time is 95 minutes without an intermission.  Seat prices range from very reasonable $69 – $102. The venue has superior sight lines and a small cafe on the lower level.  Visit https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2025-2026-season/chinese-republicans?url=/get-tickets/2025-2026-season/chinese-republicans for more information and to purchase tickets.

Not Nobody

Comedy, Off-Broadway February 16, 2026 Leave a comment

Retired professor McAlester Daily does not want to be labeled.  Given the nature of a spectrum, he posits, aren’t we all on it?  True, he insists on clarity: of the questions being asked of him and of the lines he is to stay within.  He also emphatically requests sufficient time to formulate and fully explain his answers. His unusually deep self-knowledge and above all his informed understanding of “the system” make for worrisome challenges when he becomes caught up in the investigation of a policeman’s murder.  This is the provocative set-up of Not Nobody, a blisteringly funny play by Brian Dykstra.  

Also starring, Dykstra brings to his character a genuine respect for the individual and concerns about the state of law and ethics in America.  That sincerity of purpose informs a properly studied performance of a man bouncing between fluster, fear and fervor.  McAlester is all too aware of how he and his disarming honesty are being perceived and judged by those around him. Consequently, he comes across as heartwarming as he is frustrating.  The supporting parts ranging from detectives to broadcasters are flatter but given pep and shading by Sheffield Chastain, Kathiamarice Lopez, and Kate Siahaan-Rigg who each take on multiple roles.  There is red meat aplenty, but who doesn’t enjoy a good burger every once in a while?  

Sheffield Chastain, Brian Dykstra and Kate Saihaan-Rigg in Not Nobody; photo by Carol Rosegg


Director Margarett Perry has chosen to lean into the broader strokes of the script rather than refining them. This has the effect of further emphasizing McAlester’s exceptional world view and meticulous attention to detail.  While all of the actors skillfully handle the quick changes, there is an imprecision to the technical cues that would likely drive McAlester around the bend. Jen Leno lighting, which is designed to switch seamlessly between harshly lit offices and the more subtle glow of city streets, is diminished by off-target spots. Set designer Tyler M. Perry’s black and white cityscape with its swirl of letters and scribbles is distracting to anyone attempting to decipher it.  The askew poles and tumble of chairs — perhaps metaphors for seeing events from different angles — work better in support of the action.  Daniel Lawson’s costumes, primarily an array of “uniforms” of the trades, also help to move things along with identifiable shorthand.

As with Polishing Shakespeare — the best-selling show in the 21-year history of 59E59 Theater B — Dykstra’s Not Nobody finesses language and mines current events to create a work that holds laughter and pain comfortably side by side. It is a welcome addition to the winter season for those who like their comedies on the smartypants side.  Performances continue through March 1 in Theater B at 59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street.  Running time is about an hour and a half without an intermission.  There is no late seating or re-entry.  Tickets are $44 for non members including all fees.  There are no bad seats in the house, just slightly treacherous steps up the middle aisle.  Visit https://www.59e59.org/shows/show-detail/not-nobody/ for tickets and further information.

The First Line of Dante’s Inferno

Off Off Broadway, Play February 9, 2026 Leave a comment

The presiding character in The First Line of Dante’s Inferno has no lines, but dominates and literally overhangs the dialogue.  It is the dark outlying woods represented by Lauren Helpern’s evocative set, with Jianzhi-esque  trees and a blackened canopy that flutters in the HVAC of La MaMa’s Downstairs Theatre.  This is where Ann (Kellie Overbey) has come, seeking her missing sister Carol.  As she shouts out to any creatures nearby, it becomes clear this is not her customary environment. Her tiny basecamp — a one room squatter’s cabin made of stolen plywood and containing a camping stove, a sleeping bag, a copy of Inferno, and some moonshine — has been under observation by a young ranger, Craig (Evan Sibley).  He has also been on Carol’s trail, though he is less optimistic about her being found.  With stunning speed, the two make an arrangement that will allow Ann to continue her search.  But the longer the duo stays within the forestland, the more feral they become, shedding social norms in favor of unfiltered instinct.  

Kellie Overbey, Evan Sibley and Greg Stuhr in The First Line of Dante’s Inferno; Photo credit Marina Levitskaya

Similar to the title’s narrative poem, Kirk Lynn’s emotionally gripping script is constructed in the style of Story Theater, with characters describing their actions.  First and third person are used interchangeably as if they too are fictionalized versions of themselves.  The shifting perspective often reveals more about the storytellers than the story.  The blending of facts, memories and psychological response is repeatedly illustrated by the telling phrase “As I remember…”  as if at heart they question whether their statements are 100% true.

Under Christian Parker’s direction, Overbey and Sibley truly play off each other, generating surprising wattage from an unlikely pairing.  Ann’s and Craig’s elevated honesty and rawness is refreshing and often funny.  So, too, is Craig’s older partner, Bill (Greg Stuhr) whose years of job experience have not necessarily made him wiser and certainly not a better shot.  He is more like an annoying big brother than a senior officer.

Carrying nearly as much weight as the scenic design is Bart Fasbender’s stirring soundscape of animal noises, vocalizations, and rustlings.  By contrast, lighting designer Zach Blane’s recreation of the shifting shadows and foliage sometimes pulls focus from the actors. Kanika Asavari Vaish designed the props, which include a suitably bright red copy of Inferno, that is used as a sort of divination tool. 

For 90 minutes, The First Line of Dante’s Inferno immerses the audience in its own musky world with a unique set of rules.  It is the debut production of Shadowed Forest, a multi-generational company that successfully elicited response from the broad swath of theater-goers who shared the space on a frigid Sunday.  Tickets are impressively priced at $30 for Adults, $25 for Students/Seniors and $10 for La MaMa Members and are available for advance purchase at https://lamama.org/the-first-line-of-dantes-inferno/.  Additionally, the first ten tickets for every performance are $10 each (limit 2 per person) and available first come, first served.  Performances of this World Premiere continue through February 22 at La MaMa’s Downstairs Theatre at 66 East 4th Street.  Recognized and rewarded for its support of experimental theater, this house offers comfortable seating, terrific sightlines, and even a few welcoming beverages for purchase.  

The Opening

Musical, Off-Broadway January 20, 2026 Leave a comment

The lead character of the new musical The Opening is Newton Anderson, a nerdy, sweet 17 year old. When he’s not compulsively playing chess, he’s daydreaming about his classmate Jenny or doing the homework of Jim, his best friend since 2nd grade.  His school class is the type that has a “Hot Josh” and a “Medium Josh.”  Entering a professional chess tournament presents the high schooler with an opportunity to increase his “cool” factor, a goal that feels within reach after he’s crowned as runner up.  Newton’s desire for social status and prize money begins to crowd out his genuine respect for the game.  That’s when Jim’s puerile observation concerning the shape of the bishop spawns a wild plan to beat the long reigning world champion, Carson Marlsen.  Suddenly, Newton finds his black and white world turning an unfamiliar and alarming grey. 

The events depicted in The Opening are based on a very real — though unproven — scandal between American Grandmaster Hans Niemann and Norwegian Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen that rocked the chess world in 2022 and led to new security measures at live tournaments.  True fans will recognize the names of actual players mixed in with fictionalized counterparts.  Inspired by a meme of the controversy, book writer Brooke Di Spirito and her composer collaborator Mateo Chavez Lewis initially pitched their musical concept as a joke to their writers group.  But the reactions from their creative circle were so buoyant, they moved ahead to complete what is billed as “The Second Most Famous Musical About Chess” with punny lyrics by the pair. In the script’s current form, Di Spirito takes two plot turns that defy logic, but it still provides an enjoyable journey.

A vivacious ensemble of thirteen — many making their Off-Broadway debut — is anchored by a fresh-faced, amiable Ryan Jacobs as Newton.  Dominating the stage like a brunette Thor is Harrison O’Callaghan as the man who suffers from too much excellence, Carson Marlsen.  O’Callaghan also performs the brilliant “My Queen” at Newton’s prom as crooner Marx Clarkson. Rylee Carpenter radiates such stage presence that she attracts attention in the underdeveloped role of love interest Jenny and also just participating in the ensemble.  Jake Faragalli makes the fro-yo obsessed Jim endearing even when he’s leading his friend astray.  Ed Horan and Mitchell Bruce help steer the audience through the layered chess lingo as Commentators Johnny and John.  

Ryan Jacobs (Newton) and Jake Faragalli (Jim) in The Opening;
photo by Dan Shein

According to the Chess Federation, $31,561 was raised on Kickstarter to produce the show and place ads in Playbill.  Given the obvious budget constraints and the compact size of the stage, director Nick Flatto has still gone all out to bring on the splash one hopes to see at a musical.  The rapid paced dialogue, physical humor, and R-Rated double entendres (including the clever pseudonym of a mysterious new challenger on the chess scene) get a boost from Ms. Di Spirito’s choreography which ranges from Gene-Kellylike toppling of furniture to Balanchine-adjacent entrechat.  The sound design by Brian Wedeking is inspired.  A live pit band — keyboard, guitar, drums and bass — performs directly in front of audience left.  (I was not unhappy to have foam earplugs with me.)  Lyrics contain many mentions of chess moves including, naturally, traditional openings.  Although the anthem to “Sixty-Four Squares” is reprized at least three times too often, several of the songs are catchy.  Three days later, the bouncy “If I Cheated” is still on a loop in my head. 

While the humor is juvenile and the storyline ultimately tumbles into the absurd, there is a great time to be had at The Opening.  And though this spirited work is not primarily a morality play, it does have meaningful things to say about the impact cheating can have on the cheater and on the people and things they hold dear.  The production is having its Off-Broadway Premiere through February 8 at The Players Theater, where it won the Self-Producing Residency Award.  The venue is located at 115 MacDougal Street, between 3rd Street and Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village.  It is not wheelchair accessible and restrooms are one flight down.  Running time is approximately 100 minutes without an intermission.  Tickets are $53 to $75 and can be purchased at https://theopeningoffbway.mypixieset.com/.