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New York
The Consul- New York's "other Met" offers a rare opportunity to see the Menotti's opera which actually opened on Broadway and nabbed a Pulitzer Prize as a DramaCritics Circle award for best musical of 1950 . . .

Wit- While the indignities Cynthia Nixon's Doctor Bearing undergoes are indeed not easy to take, this is still an exceptionally rich play, a triple layered exploration not just of death but how we deal with life. . . .

Seth Numrich and Kathryn Erbe in Yosemite

Yosemite- The set is the star of this otherwise thematically obscure play. . .

Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had It So Good) - The Gob Squad returns to the Public for a beyond the Under the Radar Festival run . . .

Gimpel The Fool/The Lady and the Peddler- The double bill now playing at LaMaMa E.T.C. is a fine example of both the practical and the otherworldly aspects of Eastern European Yiddish culture.. . .

Karen Graves and Bradford Cover in The Philanderer

The Philanderer- With excellent production values and acting, even at a somewhat too long 2 1/2 hours, this witty production of minor Shaw play is quite a major pleasure. . . .

Richard III- Kevin Spacey concludes The Bridge Project with a showboat performance as "The bottled spider" . . .

. Untitled Feminist Show- the chief accomplishment of Young Jean Lee's show, in my mind, was to steal away any body shame or embarrassment, either on the part of the performers or the audience. . . .

The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess- Diane Paulus and her collaborators have created a fantastically, even giddily entertaining Porgy and Bess that has enough merits to make all the controversy about ill-conceived tampering melt with the first glorious note of "Summertime." . . .

The Fall to Earth- At just 85 minutes this 3-hander held my attention, even though neither the script or the actors had me quite buy into the mounting contrivances. . . .

The Road to Mecca- Athol Fugard is deservedly revered for having proved again and again that the pen can indeed be a mighty weapon against injustice. However, despite a stellar cast, this revival illustrates his tendency for obvious metaphors and saddlling his characters with overlong, monologues. . . .

Leo - Whether this multi-media piece is welcomed in the New York with the same enthusiasm that greeted it earlier this year at The Edinburgh Festival Fringe remains to be seen. I certainly fell for it head-over-heels . . .

History of the World- Judith Malina’s History of the World takes theatergoers on a whirlwind tour of history. But in compressing thousands of years into less than two hours, its historical personages get the dime-store treatment. . . .

BeyondUnder the Radar Festival- a href="#Gob Squad">Gob Squad's Kitchen (You've Never Had It So Good) . . .

The Picture Box - The Negro Ensemble Company presents Cate Ryan’s leisurely verbal slideshow of family memories. . .

Outside People- This latest play set in China is not without its contrivances and incomplete plot details, but it's a fast-paced, entertaining and thought-provoking look at the whirlpool of cultural adjustments that are as much a part of life in today's constantly changing world . . .

Bridesburg- this story about a poor working class family should rouse a stronger emotional response from its audience than it does. . .

How the World Began-In Catherine Treischmann’s new play, the red and blue states worlds collide, with interesting results. . . .

Close Up Space- David Hyde Pierce stars as a workaholic book editor and failed father in Molly Smith Metzler new play which unfortunately does not give him a chance to fully exploit his comic talents Closing a week ahead of schedule on Jan. 29th . . .

Stick Fly — Lydia R. Diamond's country house comedy a fresh twist by having it play out in the seaside home of a wealthy African-American family. . .

The Canterbury Tales Remixed - Playwright/Rapper/Performer/Scholar Baba Brinkman & sidekick composer/DJ Mr. Simmonds bring a modern poetic bent to Gilgamesh, a few Canterbury Tales, and even a sampling of Beowulf.. . .Extended to 1/28!

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