Chinglish

Ooops, forgot to link to my review of David Henry Hwang's Chinglish, now on Broadway. Here it is.

The Atmosphere of Memory

I seem to be in the minority to have enjoyed David Bar Katz's admittedly nutty play, The Atmosphere of Memory (review here). Is it realistic? No. Does it always make sense? No. Is it entertaining and surprising? Yes and yes. I never knew what was coming, which is a big plus for me.

Asuncion

Jesse Eisenberg wrote and co-stars in Asuncion, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. It had the potential to be a lot better, but fans of Eisenberg and Justin Bartha (swoon!) should see it. My review's here.

Cries and Whispers

I consider myself an Ivo van Hove completist so I would have gone to see his Cries and Whispers at BAM no matter what. Admittedly, this isn't one of his best productions, though it does have a couple of his signature high-energy scenes. My review's thataway.

Big Apple Circus: Dream Big

The Big Apple Circus' latest show, Dream Big, is at Damrosch Park until early January. Our group had a great time, including our two special consultants (six and a half, eight and a half).

Sons of the Prophet

Stephen Karam's new Sons of the Prophet is one of the best-received plays of the new season. I concur! Catch it if you can.

Relatively Speaking

Or, as it's been nicknamed, Relatively Unspeakable. Ethan Coen, Woody Allen and Elaine May strike out in their joint evening of one-act plays. I survived long enough to review it.

The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs

Mike Daisey tackles the cult of Apple in his new show at the Public -- review here. Turns out your shiny phone is made by Chinese children who work 70-hours weeks and develop arthritis in their 20s. Actually I say "your" because I don't have an iPhone, but I suspect the source of my cheapo LG isn't much better.

The Mountaintop

Katori Hall's The Mountaintop opened last night. Here's the deal: Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Martin Luther King Jr. And here's my review.

We Live Here

Zoe Kazan's playwriting debut, We Live Here, just opened at MTC. I went, so you won't have to.

The Lyons

Nicky Silver's latest, The Lyons, is also his best in ages. It helps that the cast is led by a Linda Lavin in top form. My very positive review's here.

Man and Boy

Frank Langella is the one and only reason to see the new revival of Man and Boy. A star vehicle? Sure, but there are worse things at the theater. My review, including a pan of Langella's hapless co-star, thataway.

The Threepenny Opera

Hard to believe, but the Berliner Ensemble had never appeared in New York before its current run in The Threepenny Opera at BAM. Yowsa! Well worth a trip to Lafayette Avenue to see this troupe going at it full blast, even if as always, Robert Wilson's visuals look like a hip restaurant from the 1980s.

Motherhood Out Loud

An anthology of short pieces about motherhood opens at 59E59. The overall effect is like eavesdropping at a Park Slope playground. My review of Motherhood Out Loud is thataway.

Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling

Adam Rapp's latest — yes, he has yet another play out — is one of his best yet. Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling (my review here) stars the incomparable Christine Lahti and Reed Birney, and is well worth a trip down to CSC. Plus that space sells excellent coffee in the lobby. Not that you'd need it, as the show is a zippy 90 minutes.

Lidless

Too bad Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig's Lidless takes a turn for the preposterous (my notes for the evening include "INSANE!"), because it has a promising start, and it's always a pleasure to watch Danielle Skraastad in action.