Temporal Powers

The Mint continues its excavation of Teresa Deevy's forgotten oeuvre with Temporal Powers. Review in today's paper.

Hero: The Musical

Straight from Seoul, here comes Hero: The Musical. The least I can say about it is that we don't see this stuff everyday — and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was in the house! More in my review.

The Tenant

After Sleep No More, another site-specific piece takes over an entire building: It's Woodshed Collective's adaptation of The Tenant, on the Upper West Side.  I wasn't impressed.

Ten Cents a Dance

John Doyle is back to his old tricks in Ten Cents a Dance, a Rodgers & Hart revue where the cast doubles up as the orchestra. I caught it in Williamstown (see my review of the revue) but you can also see the show at the McCarter in Princeton starting September 9.

Bluebird

Simon Russell Beale stars in a small show in an even smaller theater: today's review is of Bluebird, which is at the subterranean Atlantic Theatre 2. For fans of Mr. Beale only.

The Legend of Julie Taymor

Straight from the headlines and into the Fringe's maw: It's The Legend of Julie Taymor! The Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode on the same topic is a lot better, and it's got a cameo by Patti Smith.

Tricks the Devil Taught Me

The Minetta Lane Theatre has a Texas-size problem of a show with Tricks the Devil Taught Me. It's not horribly bad, just inept. How long it will last is anybody's guess.

Yeast Nation

Unsurprisingly perhaps, the new musical Yeast Nation comes from the guys responsible for Urinetown. They've still got a lot of work to do on it, but at least I was able to refer to "yeastie boys" in my review.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs

Just a year after The Divine Sister comes another Charles Busch play, Olive and the Bitter Herbs. Only this time he's not in it and it's playing uptown. I quite enjoyed it, mostly because I find it hard to turn down a feast of old-school bitchery.

The Talls

Second Stage Uptown for its emphasis on young playwrights, but sometimes the inexperience shows. There's such a clunky plot device in Anna Kerrigan's The Talls (reviewed today) that I had to wonder if anybody brought it up to the author, and if there was any attempt to smooth things out.

Rent

Rent is back! But really, it's as if it had never gone away, especially since the "new" production sticks to the original's spirit and MO. Just, you know, smaller — it's at New World Stages. Review here.

HotelMotel

The Amoralists and Adam Rapp join forces again for HotelMotel, a site-specific double header in a room at the Gershwing Hotel. The evening grew thin but if you're an Amoralists or Rapp completist, you may want to catch this.

Uncle Vanya

Weekend in Washington, DC. Saturday featured trips to the Kennedy Center for Uncle Vanya starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving (my review here) and to Ben's Chili Bowl for hot dogs and half smokes.

Then the following day, we caught the drum & bugle Tour of Champions' Grand Finale at the New Meadowlands. Much to my surprise, the Cadets won, followed by the Blue Devils and the Cavaliers. I would have put the Cavaliers first, and the Phantom Regiment (a sentimental favorite) 2nd instead of 5th. But hey, what do I know about the intricacies of drum & bugle scoring?

Revisiting long-running shows

In yesterday's Post, I revisited some of NYC's longest-running shows. Can you believe The Phantom of the Opera has been on since 1988? Or that I, a huge ABBA fan, would harsh on Mamma Mia! as the weakest of the dinosaurs?

The Caucasian Chalk Circle

Brecht's 1944 parable The Caucasian Chalk Circle gets an outing at the Lion. Enter at your own risk.

Julius Caesar

The Royal Shakespeare Company opened its fifth and last show over the weekend. I quite enjoyed Julius Caesar, especially the two hours leading to intermission. But then I do like me some swords-and-sandal action seasoned with blood and guts.