Master of the Crossroads

What the actor Obi Abili does in Master of the Crossroads is beyond committed. Too bad the play itself just doesn't work. My review is here.

Soni

My latest for the New York Times is not for a theatrical project. It's not in movie theaters, either, but rather streaming on Netflix: my review of Soni is here.

Awake

Check out my review of the omnibus Awake in the New York Times. Yes, Trey Santiago-Hudson appears to be Ruben's son.

LaBute New Theater Festival

Click here for my review of the omnibus LaBute New Theater Festival for the New York Times. Three one-act plays in a minor key.

BroadwayCon

I spent two action-packed days at BroadwayCon last week, and you can read all (well, almost all) about it in my Times report.

Ivo van Hove: Is he all that?

It was great fun to participate in a conversation about Ivo van Hove with Ben Brantley and Jason Zinoman. Click here for the Times article. We also drew up a list of seven other innovative directors,which you can find here.

January festivals

For the Times I previewed a couple of shows from a couple of the festivals hitting NYC in January. First there's "Cowboy," a new short by Gracie Gardner at the Exponential Festival. Then there's [50/50] old school animation at Under the Radar — which I saw on Friday and highly recommend (what a way to start off the year!).

Christmas in Hell

Someone on Twitter brought up my lede for this review so now you really have to read it, right? It's right here.

To Kill a Mockingbirg

Aaron Sorkin's adaptation dilutes Scout's voice to make space for a Grisham-esque legal thriller. Click here for my Newsday review of To Kill a Mockingbird on Broadway.

Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken's Christmas Show

It's that time of the year when…you know the rest. I put on my elf hat to check out the American Idol alums' holiday extravaganza on Broadway, and lived to tell the tale here.

Dinner and a show or dinner at a show?

I've been eating out a lot this past fall — at the theater. It's not that concessions have dramatically changed but that a freakishly high number of shows have been serving all manners of food as part of the story. Read more here.

The World Is Yours

Romain Gavras' second feature went straight to Netflix in the US and I reviewed it for the Times. So much fun! Click here for the link.

Chasing the New White Whale

What if the opioid epidemic was the new Moby Dick? That is the idea behind a new show at La MaMa, but alas the production falls short of its ambition. My Times review is here.

Cool ski lodges

Almost as fun as barreling down the slopes is staying in a good ski lodge: it's all part of the Alpine tradition. I picked a few good ones for Newsday and you can find them here.

When women take to the ski slopes

In January I went to a women's ski camps at Alta. To say I learned a lot would be an understatement. I shared some tips in the Times' travel section here, and there's a sidebar about five additional women's camps here.

Bernie and Mikey's Trip to the Moon

In a weird way we're having a Paddy Chayefsky moment in NY: Network is on Broadway and Scott Aiello's debut play made me think of Chayefsky's TV work in the 1950s. My review is here.

Hype Man

I reviewed Idris Goodwin hip-hop play at the Flea for the New York Times, and there it is.

Interview with Heidi Schreck

If you ever want to interview someone smart, articulate and nice, I highly recommend Heidi Schreck. Our chat for The Hollywood Reporter can be found here.

Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes

We had hecklers at the Christmas Spectacular this year! My review for the Times is here.

Four cool ski towns

I wrote about four cool ski towns for The Wall Street Journal. Thataway for the mountain fun!