Be still my heart

I've done hundreds of interviews over the years, but last week one almost sent me over the edge. Yes, I finally got to talk to Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus -- the men behind Abba and Chess. I have to admit I struggled to keep it together when I saw them enter the rehearsal studio where the media circus was taking place.

They were in town to present a concert version of their 1995 musical Kristina från Duvemåla (simply Kristina in the English version) at Carnegie Hall this Wednesday and Thursday. Look for my preview in the Post, and I will put a lot of extra stuff on my blog over there -- which has a new URL, by the way, so bookmark it stat.

Twelfth Night in the Park

My review of the Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night is in today's New York Post.

Yes, Anne Hathaway is pretty good. Now we can all go back to discussing Michael Jackson.

Our House

Theresa Rebeck's Our House at Playwrights Horizons, New York Post, June 10, 2009.

Of course, the Post's headline writers went for Madness on this one. I've had the song lodged in my head ever since seeing the show (though it's not used in it).

A lot of Machines

Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines, Machines at HERE, New York Post, June 8, 2009.

The first half hour of this show is as perfectly devised and executed as anything you'll see in NY right now. And even when the execution isn't perfect, the problems are part of the premise. A highly recommended way to spend $20.

Coraline

Stephin Merritt and David Greenspan's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Coraline at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York Post, June 2.

This is one instance where I felt really frustrated by the lack of space in the paper, as the show is (spoiler warning!) a failure for very interesting reasons. I'm not sure they're interesting enough to warrant a trip to Christopher Street, but still: food for though there.

Snakes eyes

Okay, not quite snake eyes but almost. I have two reviews in today's paper, rating one star and one and a half stars. It's an embarrassment of embarrassments.

Zakiyyah Alexander's 10 Things to Do Before I Die at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre, New York Post, June 1

Leslie Ayvazian's Make Me at the Atlantic 2, New York Post, June 1.

The failure of failure

Cynthia Hopkins' The Success of Failure (or, The Failure of Success) at St. Ann's Warehouse, New York Post, May 28, 2009.

I know Hopkins has her fans. Let's just say I'm not one of them.

Old Hickory

Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman's Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at the Public Theater, New York Post, May 20, 2009.

At last, the life of President Andrew Jackson has been turned into a musical, and a good one it is!

Out of South Africa

Ian Bruce's Groundswell at the Acorn/Theatre Row, New York Post, May 19, 2009. (Tip of the hat once again to the Post's headline writers. These guys have earned their rep, believe me.)

Let's put Bruce's South Africa-set drama behind us, shall we? The important news is that there's only two days to go before Blackenedfest featuring Mayhem and Marduk! I'm still pondering my corpsepaint design. Suggestions?

Legal debacle

Vern Thiessen's A More Perfect Union at the East 13th Street Theater, New York Post, May 14, 2009.

Two Supreme Court clerks duke it out in the library. Dear god…

Electro schocks

In today's New York Post, I stray from the theater turf for something that won't surprise readers of this blog: a piece about four women doing the solo electro-thing.

I'm surprised the influence of Peaches on the new generation of women tinkering with Apple Logic hasn't been spelled out more. The likes of Little Boots, thecocknbullkid and VV Brown, whom I talked to for the piece, may not draw from Peaches' lyrical content, but they've sure borrowed a trick or two from her sound (mixed in with much more mainstream pop influences, to be sure).

I'll go see Peaches this Saturday night, when she plays Webster Hall, and on Monday may try to take a break from the Obies to drop by the Little Boots gig at (Le) Poisson Rouge.

Of the four in the article, multi-instrumentalist VV Brown is the least electro. Here's her new single, and oh that chorus!

Offices

Ethan Coen's triptych Offices at the Atlantic, New York Post, May 11, 2009.

After Almost an Evening, Joel's brother is doing the solo thing again. Is it worth the effort, not to mention your hard-earned bucks?

A pound, give or take

The Propeller company's take on The Merchant of Venice at BAM, New York Post, May 8, 2009.

My third Shakespeare by these guys, and while it's not quite as good as The Taming of the Shrew and Twelfth Night, from two years ago, it still wham-bam entertainment.

Next stop on the Bard Express: Twelfth Night (africkingain) at the Delacorte in a few weeks.

On the radio

Sometime after 4pm today, I will discuss the Tony nominations and the New York Drama Critics Circle awards on All Things Considered. You can listen on WNYC (93.9 FM and AM 820) in New York, or on your local NPR affiliate, or on the web. And boy, is there a lot to talk about!

Oh Sherie

At last, Sherie Rene Scott gets a whole show to herself! I just loved Everyday Rapture (review in today's New York Post) and I hope it finds the audience it deserves. Scott is a musical-theater animal but projects a very different vibe than a Kristin Chenoweth, a Donna Murphy or even a Leslie Kritzer. She's well worth discovering if you aren't a fan yet.

Accent grave

A bilingual pun for a title!

Samson Raphaelson's Accent on Youth at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, New York Post, April 30, 2009.

Oooh that one irked me.

Lust in the dust

Eugene O'Neill's Desire Under the Elms, St. James Theatre, New York Post, April 28, 2009.

Carla Gugino's back on stage—steamy!

The Norman Conquests

Alan Ayckbourn's The Norman Conquests at Circle in the Square, New York Post, April 24.

You can see any of the plays in this trilogy but I really recommend going for the trifecta. And if you can, catch them all in one day -- they do a marathon every Saturday. The first play starts at 11:30am, the second is at 3:30pm and the last at 8pm.

The Gingerbread House

Mark Schultz's The Gingerbread House at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, New York Post, April 21, 2009.

Bobby Cannavale and Sarah Paulson take a break from their TV series, Cupid, to appear in this pretty nifty production. Actually I'm not even sure Cupid is still going on. These two just can't get a break on the small screen. I mean, how many cancelled series has Paulson alone been in? Thank god for theater, eh?

Mary quite contrary

Friedrich Schiller's Mary Stuart at the Broadhurst, New York Post, April 20, 2009.

Janet McTeer + Harriet Walter = ka-BOOM! Plus rain on stage, which never gets old in my book. Well, almost never.