Weekly Margin 2025, W49: Gotta Dance! with American Dance Machine

 12/02/25: Gotta Dance! with American Dance Machine

What: A tribute to iconic musical theater choreography ranging from Bob Fosse to Jerome Robbins to Gene Kelly to Michael Bennet to Susan Stroman to Billy Wilson.

And? full review here.

Georgina Pazcoguin, Taylor Stanley, and Afra Hines perform
"Manson Trio." Photo by Bjorn Bolinder.

Margin Notes: Gotta Dance! with American Dance Machine

Gotta Dance! with American Dance Machine

Seen on: Tuesday, 12/02/25.

Anthony Cannarella and Samantha 
Siegel with the ensemble in "Sing, Sing, Sing."
Photo by Bjorn Bolinder.

Plot and Background

A tribute to iconic musical theater choreography ranging from Bob Fosse to Jerome Robbins to Gene Kelly to Michael Bennet to Susan Stroman to Billy Wilson.

Thoughts:

What an absolute delight of an evening! This is an excellent showcase, not only of the varied visual voices of these choreographers, but also of the dancers performing them. While watching, I was struck over and over by how many different styles a musical theater dancer must master. There's the precise and sinuous body isolation of Bob Fosse, the flair of Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, the exuberance of Susan Stroman, the gestural and explosive athleticism of Jerome Robbins, the joy of Lynne Taylor-Corbett, the loose-limbed fluidity of Billy Wilson, the romantic grace of Christopher Wheeldon, the classic showmanship of Michael Bennett and Bob Avian. And, well, the shimmy of Joey McNeely. It's such a glorious tasting menu--a feast, really--of choreographers at the height of their game.

Weekly Margin 2025, W48: Oedipus, Chess, The Seat of Our Pants, Art, Marilyn Maye at 54 Below, Little Bear Ridge Road, The Baker's Wife, Ragtime, Masquerade, Archduke, A Christmas Carol at the Merchant's House

Buckle up, folks, it's the Thanksgiving week roundup!

11/24/25: Oedipus

What: Roundabout hosts the West End hit adaptation of Sophocles's  play, translated by director Robert Icke into a contemporary political thriller. Oedipus here is an idealistic politician on the final day of his campaign for office, with his wife on his arm, his brother in law advising him as speechwriter, his three children in attendance, and his mother as an unexpected visitor. In the wake of his campaign promises to release his birth certificate and to solve the mystery behind his predecessor Laius's sudden death thirty-four years ago, secrets are unwillingly dragged into the light, and well--you know the story right? Everyone knows the story here.

And? While I've had a mixed experience with Icke's work in the past, this adaptation and production are extraordinarily good. Mark Strong and Lesley Manville are doing such fully realized work, you forget they're actors. Oedipus and Jocasta are genuinely in love and  they truly want to do good; and despite any damages he may incur, Oedipus is dead set on finding out the truth and doing right by it. Which, of course, is what you need to make the agony of a Greek tragedy work. Lesley Manville in particularly is absolutely heartbreaking as you see the realization of the full truth register on her face, in her gut. I couldn't take my eyes off her.

The production itself outside of the performances is also very well structured: a formerly pristine white space with rotating walls and large glass windows, full of the stuff and chaos of campaigning. As these are gradually cleared, all of the furniture being slowly moved out, we become aware of the lie of transparency in this space, of the obstacles to clear sight and truth. But we also approach closer to the purity of that truth, the clean white space where there is nowhere left to hide. Meanwhile (not subtly, but still effectively) a large digital clock counts down the minutes until the results of the election come through and his victory is assured. It is also, we know, counting down the minutes until the truth is revealed. And indeed, the clock hits zero when Jocasta tells Oedipus who he actually is and what he's done.

Just excellent work all around.

Jordan Scowen, Olivia Reis, Mark Strong, Lesley Manville,
James Wilbraham, Anne Reid, and Bhasker Patel as Eteocles,
Antigone, Oedipus, Jocasta, Polyneices, Merope, and Corin.
Photo by Julieta Cervantes.

11/25/25: Chess

What: Danny Strong's rewrite of the notoriously messy but beloved musical makes its way to Broadway, starring Lea Michele, Nicholas Christopher, and Aaron Tveit. What is it about? Depends on the version you're watching but the tl;dr is: chess literally and also as a metaphor for Cold War machinations, and also there's a love triangle that is actually a quadrangle.

And? I don't know what to tell you guys. Well, I do, but I'm disappointed to do it. It's so weird, I remember liking Danny Strong's revision to the book in DC. Was I wrong, or have they kept working on it to the degree that it's reverted back into a mess again? This script feels both overwritten and underwritten: the Arbiter's narration is too peppered with tired references to today's political woes and too dumbed down to the lowest common audience denominator. On the flip side of that, the dialogue scenes that remain are so underwritten that the rest of the cast has almost nothing to work with. Svetlana is reduced to a mustache-twirling sex kitten (though I lay the blame for that not only on Strong but also director Michael Mayer). Shakespeare Forum's credo is that "love is the strongest choice." If there's no actual love left between Svetlana and Anatoly, where is the tension on whether or not he should return to the USSR? Meanwhile context has been broken enough that Florence's big second act solo, "Someone Else's Story," is completely isolated from any other scene such that it may as well be a concert performance on PBS (granted, the lyrics are generic enough that the song can be reassigned to anyone else and still pretend to make sense). Florence walks out on stage, stands and delivers, the audience cheers, and off she goes again. I also don't understand either the song's placement in the eleven o'clock spot, or why it's played so positively. She's about to lose the love of her life and she knows it. Florence is--and I think always has been--let down by the script. She's meant to be the main character, but nearly every action she takes is in service of someone else, always a man. You can argue that the point of the story is that they're all pawns being controlled and sacrificed by the officers of the state, CIA agent Walter and KGB agent Molokov, but in that case wouldn't a great arc be Florence stepping away from pawn status and becoming the queen she should be? Guys, wouldn't that be nice? They claim she's one of the best chess players in the world. Why isn't she better at this kind of strategy?

Actually let's talk a bit more about that "what action are we playing here" question. "I Know Him So Well" is one of my favorite two-woman duets in musical theater. It just sounds so lovely. But it should be about both Florence and Svetlana realizing (or thinking they realize) that they can't hold onto Anatoly. Florence sings "he needs security" because she believes he will leave her and return to his wife; Svetlana sings "he needs his fantasy and freedom" because she believes he will never return home but continue to wander the world as a refugee with a lover, not a wife. That's what the lyrics mean. And again, that's the exciting tension, both fully convinced they know him so well while also demonstrating he remains unknowable. If they're both playing the song like Florence has already won, what am I watching? Why are they doing this to Zelda?

Back to the Arbiter (this review is as messy as the show). At first I loved the use of his role: narrator and puppet master I could get behind (excellent use of him with the choreography of the ensemble), but treating his role like someone spoon-feeding Cold War politics to first graders grated on me almost immediately. Either trust the show or don't; either trust the audience or don't. Either do a concert or do a show. 

And the design! Let's pick on them too (this is turning into the rant I did about Company a few years ago). The scenic design is pretty sparse and concert-y, which, fine, I guess. However, there is a moment in the first act when a full bed with headboard appears out of the trap in the floor. I thought, "ah, things are finally real and concrete because their connection is concrete and real, and the aesthetic is about to transform." Nah. Back to minimalism after that. So I don't understand that choice. I also don't understand the costume design. Are we playing with black and white chessboard color palette or aren't we? Is Svetlana's burgundy dress meant to show she doesn't belong on the chessboard? Then why is she given calculated moves? I just ... come on, y'all, tell a coherent story. 

"Other than that, Zelda, how was the play?" Incredible performers. Truly. These voices are unreal. Sean Allan Krill as Walter isn't given enough to do for his talent, but he makes a meal out of what he has. Likewise, as his USSR counterpart Molokov, Bradley Dean gets to shine the way he deserves. Though I was routinely annoyed by the lines handed to the Arbiter, Bryce Pinkham remains a delight onstage. Lea Michele's Florence is let down by the writing, as ranted above, but what an absolute treat to hear her put her mark on this score. She knows how to texture a lyric: when to keep it close and intimate and when to belt it out. Aaron Tveit's Freddie is appropriately a mix of insufferable and charismatic enough to make you want to forgive him. He's excellent throughout (and has a fun bit of costume choreography in "One Night in Bangkok"--guys, I know they can't cut this song because it's the biggest hit from the show, but they really should cut this song if they want to script to ever actually work), and really lets everything explode in his big second act number "Pity the Child." And Nicholas Christopher as Anatoly? This is a star-making role. He's been quietly on the rise for a while now and it's such a gift to see him claim the spotlight the way he deserves. He has such physical restraint, cool as a cucumber, which makes it all the more powerful when he finally lets loose his rafter-shaking voice. His "Anthem" was unlike any other rendition of that song I've heard.

Aaron Tveit as Freddie with the ensemble of Chess.
Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Weekly Margin 2025, W47: Kyoto, Playing Shylock, Beetlejuice, Sweet Smell of Success

11/18/25: Kyoto

What: Lincoln Center presents Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson's play about the lead up to the Kyoto Protocol (an international agreement to limit carbon emissions to stave off climate change), and Don Pearlman, the man who tried to stop it.

And?  Dynamically staged with overlapping scenic transitions, this play reminds me a lot of another historical drama to play the Mitzi E. Newhouse theater, Oslo. Though this one has a more sinister bent: whereas the protagonists in Oslo were idealists, aiming toward unity and peace, Pearlman is a cynic whose goals are chaos and disunity. As he narrates the piece, we are with him the whole time, and it's a bit like keeping pace with Iago or Richard III. Stephen Kunken, always excellent, really shines as Pearlman, constantly moving, shifting gears, and looking for the next way in.

Stephen Kunken as Don Pearlman and the cast of Kyoto.
Photo by Emilio Madrid.

11/19/25: Playing Shylock

What: Theatre for a New Audience hosts Mark Leiren-Young's one person play starring Saul Rubinek, a mix of fact and fiction as Rubinek refuses to perform the second half of Merchant of Venice, talking instead about the thorny subject of antisemitism and Jewish representation, as well as a retrospective on his life as the son of Holocaust survivors.

And? This play needs some serious reshaping and editing. It can't seem to decide what it wants to be. Is it a loving tribute to Rubinek's father, an orthodox Jewish actor of Yiddish theater who survived the Holocaust only to emigrate to Canada where there was no Yiddish theater? Is it a moment for Rubinek to muse on the complicated nature of representation and performance of Jewish identity? To have a straw man argument about cancel culture (I'm not saying there isn't a discussion to be had about the unnuanced nature of cancel culture, but the one he was having didn't feel grounded in a real moment)? To explain to us in detail why Edward de Vere wrote Shakespeare's plays? To perform the grief of having a play's run get cut off midway through the suddenly final performance? Or perhaps just to showcase how good a Shylock Rubinek can perform, both in English and in Yiddish?

See, that's a lot of things. And while some of them work on an individual level, they're not cohering well into one moment that feels organic. Perhaps it would benefit from having Mike Birbiglia take a swing at the shape of it, when the art of Storytelling crafts a larger conversation with many side streets along the way. I sense also that both playwright and actor feel very precious about a lot of moments that don't necessarily belong as part of the larger thrust. It feels meandering and unfocused, a bit too much like if Saul Rubinek went onstage and actually just rambled for two hours; and for that matter it's got a good collection of inaccurate information, one of which I pointed out during an audience participation moment and which he dismissed as "close" because it didn't feed the way the script was actually written.

His performance of Shylock's monologues were great though.

Saul Rubinek as himself. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

Weekly Margin 2025, W46: André De Shields is Tartuffe, The Honey Trap, She Loves Me

11/12/25: André De Shields is Tartuffe

What: The House of the Redeemer hosts an environmental production of Tartuffe starring André De Shields, in a new translation by Ranjit Bolt.

And? Sitting inside the transcontinally-transported wood-paneled library at the House of the Redeemer is already a cool experience on its own. Getting to see an intimate Molière farce starring André De Shields makes it all the tastier. It's a fun translation, for the most part: they've tightened/edited it considerably to bring the show down to 90 minutes (leaving the title character's scenes in their fuller existence to let De Shields to do his thing). My one complaint about the translation is that the rhythm keeps falling off, so the rhymes don't always flow into each other the way I'd like. The cast has a lot of strong players: Alexandra Socha is an adorably dizzy nitwit, with Charlie Lubeck as her equally dizzy paramour, Todd Buonopane as the fast-talking castigating grande dame, and Amber Iman's final performance as the delicious Elmire. But of course the star of the show is the iconic André De Shields as Tartuffe. It would be easy for him to play everything to the vaulted ceiling, but what makes him special as the distinct performer he is, is how understated his work is. We knew this from past performances in Hadestown, Fortress of Solitude, and countless others, but it's especially apparent in such a small space. While obviously Tartuffe himself is prone to histrionics (leading to, among other things, some spry push-ups and De Shields's glorious voice filling the space with song), De Shields manages to cap all of his hammier moments with a slip in Tartuffe's mask: a subtle twitch of his smile, a side-eyed glance. He is a master of the power of a small gesture to tell a larger moment, and he owns the space the moment he enters in all his regalia.

That being said, a lot of the production around him feels a bit slapdash and half-baked. Intimate theater is great, but it's bad practice to charge Broadway prices and give us an underproduced show. The costume design feels community-theater level "what's in your closet?" -- which was confirmed in an interview with De Shields, where he revealed his red robe is from his own collection, and designed by Dede Ayite for Mankind. It's the best costume in the show, and Avite deserves the credit for it, not the billed costume designer. If this were a workshop, that would be one thing. But if this is calling itself a finished production, charging what they're charging, it feels dishonest.

Hannah Beck and André De Shields as Cleante and Tartuffe.
Photo by Joan Marcus.

11/13/25: The Honey Trap

What: Irish Rep presents Leo McGann's play exploring the aftermath of the Troubles in Ireland, through the an oral history project giving us the lens of memories of a woman who was part of a honey trap, and a British soldier whose friend was murdered by the IRA.

And? It has a bit of a slow start--deceptively, it turns out, as the tension begins to ratchet up with each new revelation, each new rewriting of history and memory. Leo McGann's excellent script is an exploration not only an exploration of how trauma and pain can dictate our actions like some toxic backseat driver, but also of how we warp the stories of our lives to fit the person we want to believe ourselves to be. No one here is honest, either with themselves or with others, but the play asks: is it better to have the full truth of a scabbed-over wound, or to try to move forward and let the scar form? What is forgivable and what is not? When is it right to seek revenge? Michael Hayden, in the lead role of Dave, charts this impeccably: equal parts repellant and heart-twistingly sympathetic. In the hands of director Matt Torney, the rest of the cast is equally excellent: everyone is messy, everyone is understandably hurt, everyone has done something horrible. The production as a whole runs very smoothly as well, scenes sliding past each other with easy transitions and overlapping memories. I'm glad this run extended so I was able to see it. The play is so well-crafted it feels like it's written from an earlier era of playwriting, but this is the premier run.

Foreground: Doireann Mac Mahon, Annabelle Zasowski,
and Daniel Marconi as Kirsty, Lisa, and Young Dave.
Rear: Michael Hayden as Dave, watching his memory.
Photo by Carol Rosegg.

Weekly Margin 2025, W45: Oh Happy Day, Bat Boy: The Musical, Broken Images, Masquerade, About Time

11/04;25: Oh Happy Day

What: The Public Theater presents Jordan E. Cooper's new play about a man granted a brief reprieve from death to try to save his estranged family from an oncoming storm of biblical proportions.

And? Cooper knows how to lull you into the complacency of thinking you know what kind of show you're watching, then wallop you by upending your expectations. While the pacing of this script doesn't yet feel tight enough to keep momentum driving forward (sometimes it's there, sometimes it lags), there's enough sense of stakes and urgency that I think it will get there. At first I was worried I'd feel too estranged by the religious element of the play (as I often do with works whose sense of Christianity overdominate the piece), but the characters end up interrogating what it means to be religious enough--and indeed what God means--that I was drawn in to the conversation. This drawing in is in large part because the actual important relationships that need healing are not between human and God, but between father and son, brother and sister. And this play makes the characters work very hard for that healing, but when it lands, it truly feels like a burden of decades has been lifted.

Jordan E. Cooper, center, as Keyshawn, with Latrice Pace, Sheléa Melody
McDonald, and Tiffany Mann as Glory Divine, Might Divine, and Holy Divine,
repsectively. Photo by Joan Marcus.

11/05/25: Bat Boy: The Musical

What: The gala presentation at Encores! this year is that cult hit musical inspired by the Weekly World News's tabloid star, about the attempt to "civilize" a half-bat/half-human boy found in a cave, and the catastrophes attached to that attempt.

And? I don't think I'd realized how much the show had been revised since its Off-Broadway premiere in 2001. Though, knowing how much O'Keefe has continued to revise his other shows since their premieres, I shouldn't have been that surprised. I do hope we get a cast album out of this, just so I have a record of the new songs (the West End album has some, but not all, of them). I have mixed feelings on the revisions. The new songs are by and large good, catchy and often improving on earlier versions (boy do I not miss "Dance With Me, Darling"), while retaining the best lyrical moments from the removed songs ("I heal real fast"). I did notice the eyebrow arch of some of the lyrics was lowered quite a bit at points, especially in the group songs, but that happened with Heathers, too, so perhaps it's done with regional play in mind. Still, it feels odd to defang a show called Bat Boy.

Regarding the rest of the revisions, I'm realizing that part of what I loved about the original was the sense of ensemble to it (yes, yes, Zelda's favorite thing: a company collaboratively telling a story): with such a small cast, everyone but the core family played many roles each, infusing group scenes with a real joy in the character switches, as well as necessitating strong choices being made for each characterization. This strategy not only allowed the whole ensemble individual moments to shine, but also made all the townspeople feel like individuals and not just a crowd of folk ready to sing, celebrate, or rampage. So I missed that element.

The flip side of that, of course, is that this revision is much more tightly focused on the family, albeit at the expense of the ensemble. Which is probably for the overall good of the show, but oh, my heart longs for "Another Dead Cow." 

The cast is top shelf. Taylor Trensch dives into the physicality of the title role with gusto, nailing the camp comedy of the show, and then belting out his songs to reach us up in the balcony. Christopher Sieber is so consistently good in all his roles over the years, it's tempting to just go "yeah as usual he's brilliant," but that's giving short shrift to the specific and hilarious work he's been doing the past twenty years. His comic timing is perfectly honed, and he's fearless when it comes to being the butt of a joke. Kerry Butler, a hilarious sparkplug Shelley in the original production, returns to play Shelley's mother Meredith, and again here we have a star with a perfectly honed comedic delivery and a honeyed voice able to knock any note out of the park, paying homage to Kaitlin Hopkins's performance while still making the role her own. Gabi Carrubba makes a strong City Center debut as Shelley, balancing angsty teen against the clowning necessary for the camp of this show. And there are a number of strong performers in smaller roles--Marissa Jaret Winokur as Mrs. Taylor, Andrew Durand as Rick, Jacob Ming-Trent as Reverent Hightower, and of course Alex Newell as The God Pan, but I'm still missing a bit of the joy of seeing the same person play Mrs. Taylor as Hightower, and other juxtaposed doublings. But that's a me-issue. Everyone onstage here is great. It's just the rest of the ensemble has less to do.

Kerry Butler, Taylor Trensch, and Christopher Sieber as Meredith, Edgar, and
Dr. Parker. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Margin Notes: Broken Images

Broken Images

Seen on: Friday, 11/07/25.

Neeraja Ramjee as Manjula Nayak. Photo by Kat DuPont Vecchio.

Plot and Background

Tea and Pickle Productions LLC presents Girish Karnad's psychological thriller about a newly bestselling novelist introducing a film adaptation of her debut novel, who then suddenly finds herself interrogated by what seems to be an alternate persona wearing her face.

Thoughts:

Play: Manjula Nayak paints a pretty if implausible picture: while up to now her writing has been non-fiction and in her native language, she has chosen for her first fiction venture to write and publish her novel, The River Has No Memories, in English. Being a bestseller, it has of course been subsequently translated, but author Manjula must now contend with the accusation that she cannot tell an authentic Indian story in another--particularly a colonizing--language. Which of her voices is the true voice? Along with this critique she's also running up against the question asked by #OwnVoices: how can she, an able-bodied woman, write the story of a disabled person? She has an answer of course: as caretaker of her disabled sister after the death of their parents, she was able to witness her own sister's struggles leading up to her death.

Having an answer for every challenge, though, does not make the story around the story true. This is what the late playwright Girish Karnad interrogates. What stories are we allowed to tell, what stories do we tell others about ourselves, and what are the stories others tell about us? Without digging too deeply into spoiler territory, as Manjula's onscreen alter-ego prods at the plot holes behind the novel's existence, all of Manjula's facades crumble, her delusion and deceit eventually fall away, leaving a gnarled pit of bitterness resentment and envy.

I don't feel that the play fully executes its intent when it comes to dismantling Manjula, or in any case I don't know that I found any of the revelations that revelatory. While it's well performed, I don't have a true sense of the purpose of the alter-ego or her objective. If she's truly trying to drive Manjula to admit the truth, I'd like to see a more aggressive hounding, such that neither the protagonist nor we can quite get our bearings enough to push back. Still, I do always have a soft spot for explorations of when protagonists and writers are unreliable narrators of what should be their own basic truths.

Weekly Margin 2024, W44: Other, Nothing Can Take You From the Hand of God, The Burning Cauldron of Fiery Fire, Dreadful Episodes, Queens

10/27/25: Other

What: Ari'el Stachel's solo play about navigating his identity as a half-Ashkenazi, half-Yemeni Israeli with his lifelong struggles with anxiety and OCD.

And? He's truly a fantastic storyteller, and it's a gift to see him onstage again. He's unafraid to share some of the worst things he's done while trying to stave off his OCD and fit in with whichever community he's found. It's a story that's both familiar and different. Knowing the backlash that Stachel faced after trying to share his truth as a bridge across Arab and Jewish identities, it was validating to see this with such a full audience of a fairly wide demographic.

Ari'el Stachel. Photo by Ogata.

10/28/25: Nothing Can Take You From the Hand of God

What: Playwrights Horizons presents Jen Tullock's solo play, co-written with Frank Winters, about an ex-vangelical lesbian whose newest memoir incites controversy in her hometown as people dispute their portrayals in her book--including the woman she cites as her first love. 

And? When I saw this was a solo show utilizing some onstage cameras, I thought it might be an attempt to copy (on a downsized level) the recent Broadway run of Dorian Gray. However, the video projections serve a different function here, freezing moments to highlight strange micro-expressions, or show an angle hidden from the audience across the proscenium's fourth wall. Frances's interactions with the people in her life--her literary agent, her brother, her mother, representatives of the church, and the first love in question--are performed against the overhead sound of a book launch interview, underlining moments when the contents of her book contradict what the other characters remember, leaving us wondering who is telling the truth and who is rewriting history. And the truth is that memory is always unreliable, changeable, and one-sided. A moment that can stay forever in someone's memory as an indelible life-changing moment, can for others, as M. Bison memorably said, only be Tuesday. As a performer, Tullock navigates the many characters with deceptive ease, slipping from one to the other with subtle shifts in posture and expression and more pronounce vocal variations. And as a playwright, she and Frank Winters craft a delicate piece: powerful and profound, charting what it is to try to process trauma to find truth, and what gets left behind of yourself when you have to leave. Frances herself, in intense closeup with her eyes wet but not letting the tears fall, reflects that in leaving the church, she escaped abuse but she also lost the joy of God. She lost her community.

Jen Tullock. Photo by Maria Baranova.

Weekly Margin 2025, W43: Punch, Truman vs. Israel, Theater in Quarantine: Phantom of the Opera

10/22/25: Punch

What: Manhattan Theatre Club hosts the Broadway transfer of James Graham's adaptation of Jacob Dunne's Right From Wrong, about a young man whose punch in a brawl inadvertently causes the death of the man hit, and the aftermath of the asault, his time in prison, and the time afterward.

And? Due to a combination of jetlag and insomnia the previous night, I had a great deal of difficulty taking in this production and unfortunately can't do a write up of it. I'm sorry; the show deserves better and I wish I could have given it that.

The company of Punch. Photo by Matthew Murphy.

10/24/25: Truman vs. Israel

What: A fictionalized encounter between Bella Abzug and Harry S. Truman as Truman contemplates a libel lawsuit against journalist David Rosenfeld.

And? full review here.

Helen Laser and Willy Falk as Bella Abzug and Harry S. Truman. Photo by
Darin Chumbley.

Streaming Theater Content

• Theater in Quarantine's Phantom of the Opera.

Margin Notes: Truman vs. Israel

Truman vs. Israel:

Abzug and the Undressing of Truman

Seen on: Friday, 10/24/25.

Helen Laser and Willy Falk as Bella Abzug and
Harry S. Truman. Photo by Darin Chumbley.

Plot and Background

Greenhouse Theater Center presents the world premiere of William Spatz's play, a fictionalized encounter of President Truman and Bella Abzug as Truman contemplates a libel lawsuit against journalist David Rosenfeld.

What I Knew Beforehand

Very very loosely that it had something to do with Truman's relationship with the then-new sovereign state of Israel.

Thoughts:

The play begins with Bella Abzug in the late 1980s having her portrait painted. As she and the unnamed Painter discuss the current state of affairs in the Middle East, she flashes back thirty years to the time she met with Truman to persuade him out of his attempted lawsuit against a journalist who accused him of antisemitism. As Abzug, her associate Don Muller, and Truman himself unpack the evidence it becomes clear that while the president may not be a torch-bearing antisemite and indeed does brag of having a Jewish Friend (TM)--who isn't allowed in the house--there is enough evidence dating back years to show a stark bias that might have fueled his refusal to help arm Israel during its 1948 war with all its surrounding Arab neighbors (also known as Israel's War of Independence). Things come to a violent head when ulterior motives for the meeting are revealed, but don't worry, it sticks to history and everyone survives the play.

Weekly Margin 2025, W40: Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees (Part 2, Act 1)

10/04/25: Yoshitsune and the Thousand Cherry Trees (Part 2, Act 1)

What: Kabukiza Theater in Tokyo presents this full-length play in three parts across the month of October. Each part has two acts. We bought a ticket to see the first act of part two (they sell day-of single-act tickets for seats in the fourth tier)

And? One of my big Must Needs for my recent visit to Japan with some friends was that I got to see some classic Japanese theater. We ended up seeing this on our first day, which was both good (made sure it happened) and bad (hooboy, the jetlag). So I can't tell you precisely what the story was that we saw (especially as I opted not to use the subtitle tablet), but it was still a cool experience to see all the elements of Kabuki on display: the elaborate makeup and vocal stylings, the Reciter and musicians to the side of the stage, the hanamichi leading to the front of the stage from the left. Also interesting were what the audience applauded, even when we didn't know why: particular character entrances, or sequences. I couldn't follow the plot especially in scenes where the performers stayed very still (and were so far away I couldn't see who was speaking), but I very much enjoyed the extended battle sequence, which had impressive and elaborate choreography.

Weekly Margin 2025, W39: Caroline, Masquerade, This is Government, This Much I Know, Katsura Sunshine's Rakugo

9/23/25: Caroline

What: MCC presents Preston Max Allen's new play about a young mother in recovery from addiction, crossing state borders to find a safe place to raise and support her trans daughter.

And? You gotta hate when a play is this relevant sometimes. The full-body fear that Maddie feels for her daughter's wellbeing radiates off her, even when she's gotten her to a safer state. And it's no wonder: Caroline's left arm is in a heavy cast and sling, and they have clearly left town as soon as the plaster dried. I hate that it is this scary, this unsafe, to be a trans person in the States right now. I hate especially how vulnerable these kids are.

The production is well-directed by David Cromer (as always), delivering three strong performances: Chloë Grace Moretz as the exposed nerve Maddie, trying like hell to prove to her mom that she's changed; River Lipe-Smith as young Caroline, inquisitive and straightforward, knowing who she is and what she wants; and Amy Landecker as Maddie's mother Rhea, her pristine polish a delicate mask over years of fear and pain. Tyler Micoleau's lighting design helps shape so much of the feel and energy of each space.

9/24/25: Masquerade

What: A new immersive promenade production of Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe's long-running behemoth, The Phantom of the Opera. Guided by Madame Giry through the memories of the opera house, the audience travels room to room across the backstage areas (and the Phantom's underground spaces), and even back to memories past. Text-wise it's an abridged version of the full-length musical, incorporating some elements of Erik and Giry's Coney Island backstory from Phantom's sequel Love Never Dies.

And? There are so many things to praise, I almost don't know where to start! Actually I'm going to start with the unsung heroes: the butlers/staff in the white masks that help guide the audience through the experience are so conscientious that they noticed I was very short and made it a point to position me where I could see what was going on, in every new space we entered. Adiditionally, some of the taller audience members clocked this as well, and very courteously offered to switch places with me a few times. It's the little things, you know? *rim shot*

Secondly, as an overall: this is a fantastic translation of the musical into a new environment and new framework. They still kept a lot of the notable style notes for the fans: Fog machines? Check. Synth? Check. Three thousand candles? Check. The production contains plenty of Easter eggs for the Phans, while still providing a clear and compelling experience for people new to the story. The intimacy of being in the room with the characters (who only sometimes acknowledge us, Sleep No More-style) allows them to lean into the quiet moments, even whispering to each other, and dialing down the Grand Guignol elements. This more intimate performance style throws the overblown antics of Carlotta (the hilarious Betsy Morgan) and Piangi (Phumzile Sojola)--to say nothing of the Phantom's histrionics--into delightful relief. This intimacy also grants the audience small particular asides from various players as they move through the space: the soused stage manager Buquet muttering about Carlotta's prima donna attitude as he pushes through the crowd, or a stage hand warning us as he passed us in a hallway that this new opera Don Juan Triumphant is a disaster and the managers are wasting their money on it.

The audience entry times to the evening are staggered in fifteen-minute intervals: There's a complicated metric for cast rotations, but my understanding is each pulse has its own Phantom and Christine, while Raoul and Madame Giry performers each cover two out of the six pulses per engagement, and the smaller principle roles, like Andre, Firmin, Carlotta, and Piangi are in every "pulse" (Meg also varies but that's in part because some of the Christines also play Meg -- seriously, these performers must be so wiped out at the end! Each pulse has around sixty audience members, though we are often broken up into smaller groups for some of the more intimate moments (like the dressing room). I saw a few moments of small groups being pulled aside for activities I wasn't participating in (some kind of intricate gesture choreography; and I've heard about a few others), so while not every audience member has an identical experience, we still all get the meat of the show, and enough smaller moments to feel like we're having our own individual and special experience. And, as you'll see in the below picture, I was gifted one of the "Opera Ghost's" notorious letters, with a wax seal shaped like a skull.

The cast for my pulse featured a former Broadway Christine reprising the role, Kaley Ann Voorhees. Truly excellent on every level. I was delighted to see Raymond J. Lee as manager Andre, because I am always delighted to see Raymond J. Lee in anything. As previously mentioned, Betsy Morgan is a delightfully hammy Carlotta, and Maree Johnson as our guide Madame Giry is giving her best Mrs. Danvers and let me say, it is fantastic. We had covers for both the Phantom (Cooper Grodin) and Raoul (Nkrumah Gatling), but I wouldn't have been able to tell they didn't play the roles every night, if there weren't a program insert telling me after the fact.

It's tempting to return, knowing my historic penchant for immersive experiences in general, and rotating casts as well--they're my pokemon, and I gotta catch 'em all. I would certainly like to return and see the other Phantoms, Christines, and Raouls. But I do have to say that the ticket price is a bit of a bar on return visits for me. I'm so glad I went, but the only way I could afford to return and return (past the point of no return, if you will ... I'm sorry, I'll show myself out), would be if I did so at the expense of the rest of my Fall theater-going budget.

It's okay. We grow and change and we get to see a lot of really great and varied theater this way. And I may have talked myself into going back with my friend Marissa, because yelling about Andrew Lloyd Webber helped us survive 2020.

Souvenirs of the night. Photo by Zelda Knapp.

Available for Pre-order! Behind the Revolving Door: An Anthology of Choices

Coming out October first is the anthology Behind the Revolving Door: An Anthology of Choices, featuring my story "House Rules." "House Rules" is a queer feminist retelling of Rapunzel, told from the Witch's perspective. It's a story into which I put a lot of care and time, and I'm particularly proud of the voice. I hope you're able to read and enjoy.

Print order.

Digital order.

As always, for a running list of works I've published, please visit my website.

Weekly Margin 2025, W38: The Other Americans, Improvised Shakespeare, Weather Girl, When the Hurlyburly's Done (ЯК СТИХНЕ ШУРУ-БУРЯ ЗЛА), Crooked Cross, BC/EFA Flea Market

9/16/25: The Other Americans

What: The Public Theater presents John Leguizamo's newest piece, a family drama set in Forest Hills (Queens, NY to you out of towners) where the patriarch is struggling to balance his empire ambitions for his set of laundromats against the return of his deeply traumatized son, still processing a violent and racist attack in one of the family's laundromats.

And? My immediate thought is that it's Leguizamo's take on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: a mediocre man who keeps waiting for the American Dream to bless him with the bounty he expects. The key difference for me is, Miller (or at least Loman's wife) think Willy Loman was a man who deserved more and didn't get it; Leguizamo sees Nelson's flaws more clearly: he has disappointed hopes, racism has definitely been an obstacle to his ambitions, but he is also a bad business man and a neglectful father. Nelson is responsible for his own ruin. It sucks, and you can see his charisma and why he's loved, but he's still the textbook tragic hero: a man who brings about his own destruction, and the destruction of his loved ones.

The other piece of my immediate thought, comparing this to Salesman, is that it's not my favorite kind of story. But that's okay.

Meanwhile, the craft of this production is truly excellent. Anyone who reads my blog knows how ornery I get when a director doesn't know how to activate a non-proscenium space. The Anspacher space at the Public is a three-quarter thrust stage, with the turns at right angles. I had a seat at the extreme end of one of the sides, and I swear director Ruben Santiago-Hudson crafted moments that were just for me to witness. That's how aware he is of every view in the space. Were there times I couldn't see what was going on? Yep, pretty much everything in the kitchen was hidden from view. But otherwise, I really did feel like I was getting a special experience. Scenic designer Arnulfo Maldonado doesn't make it easy for Santiago-Hudson, but both of them accomplish wonders anyway, giving us powerful stage picture after stage picture.

So even if it's not my favorite kind of story, this was a truly excellent execution, from writing to staging to designing to acting.

Foreground: Rosa Evangelina Arredondo and John Leguizamo as Norma
and Nelson. Background: Bradley James Tejeda, Luna Lauren Velez, and
Rebecca Jimenez as Eddie, Patti, and Toni. Photo by Joan Marcus.

9/17/25: Improvised Shakespeare

What: A ridiculously talented group of five players improvise an entire Shakespeare-style play, based on a title prompt from the audience.

And? "Beneath the Other Castle" was an absurdly funny tale of betrayal, bastards, and a baby. Because I'm approaching this as a theater-goer and not an improv maven, I always have the thought "I'd love to see this again." But that's not how improv shows work, Zelda. But I also know that the next time I see them perform will be just as absurd and hilarious.

(visible) Blaine Swen, Brendan Dowling, and Joey Bland carry Ross Bryant.
(I assume Steve Waltien is the face we can't see). Photo source.

Weekly Margin 2025, W37: Mexodus, let's talk about anything else, Clashing Steel, Viola's Room

9/10/25: Mexodus

What: Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre presents a new live-looped musical about the other branch of the Underground Railroad: the one that offered escape and freedom from enslavement by journeying south to Mexico.

And? This is a pretty impressive achievement. I think this is only the second live-looped two-hander I've seen. Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada, creators and stars, are dynamic and thrilling, creating music in an extraordinary way while also delivering deeply grounded and understated performances of Henry, a man who has escaped his enslavement and crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico, and Carlos, the farmer who rescues him. Riw Rakkulchon's scenic design gives us a corrugated metal silo, full of platforms and spaces for all the instruments needed at hand for Robinson and Quijada's composition. The collaboration of director David Mendizábel and choreographer Tony Thomas gives us a staging that is both poetic and clear.

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson. Photo from the Berkeley Repertory
Theatre run, by Ben Krantz Studio.

9/12/25: let's talk about anything else

What: TOSOS presents Anthony Anello's new play about a group of friends gathered at a remote cabin on the anniversary of their friend's death.

And? full review here.

Gabriella O'Fallon, Sadithi De Zilva, Ry Albinus, and Caroline Portante as
Beck, Charley, Enda, and Meg. Photo by Mikiodo.

9/13/25: Clashing Steel

Not a performance, but an exhibition hosted by Culture Lab LIC. Created by fight choreographers Meron Langsner, Edjo Wheeler, and Jesse Belsky, the exhibition is a mixture of history and dramaturgy. Swords of different styles and eras are displayed, including ones used in notable projects (yes, indeed, I saw the sword of the Dread Pirate Roberts and lived to tell the tale). The shape and function of weapons are articulated, and comparisons show among different productions: so a "traditional" Romeo & Juliet weapon array--swords in belted scabbards, daggers and sheaths--is displayed alongside a "contemporary" Romeo & Juliet, featuring switchblade knives and a crowbar. Weapon sets for adult and child productions of the same story mirror each other across a room, the thick foam of the children's weapons apparent when you look closely. Of course, all the blades, no matter how shiny, are blunted. Because what is clear from the exhibit is that while stage and film combat is often flashy and elaborate, one of its main goals is to keep its performers safe. As vital as the comparatively new field of Intimacy Coordination, Fight Choreography tells a story without endangering the storytellers. Because an audience should fear for the safety of a character without fearing for the safety of the actor playing them. I know from looking online that while there are sometimes people on hand to demonstrate fight choreography, there were none the afternoon I went. Still, it was a satisfying and informative visit.

9/13/25: Viola's Room

a repeat visit

Margin Notes: let's talk about anything else

let's talk about anything else

Seen on: Friday, 9/12/25.

Gabriella O'Fallon, Sadithi De Zilva, Ry Albinus, and
Caroline Portante as Beck, Charley, Enda, and Meg.
Photo by Mikiodo.

Plot and Background

The Other Side of Silence presents Anthony Anello's new play about a group of friends gathering at a remote cabin a year after their friend Abby's sudden death. But when strange visions and visitations awaken dormant guilt, things take a turn.

What I Knew Beforehand

I knew that it was billed as one of TOSOS's queer horror stories.

Thoughts:

I loved it. This production was a true pleasure, even when it was deeply and viscerally upsetting. Full of plot twists that feel both earned and startling, Anello's writing takes us on a journey full of broken and unreliable memories, struggles toward healing and wholeness, and the utter uselessness of trying to recreate something--or someone--dead and gone. Rosalie begins the play recounting a hallucination she suffered in the wake of Abby's death, as her anxiety gets the better of her. As the rest of the friends arrive, it becomes clear that, although they are ostensibly gathering in honor of Abby, Abby remains top of the list for topics not open for discussion, with Charley (who found her body) holding final veto power. Full of overlapping dialogue (is there a word for seven people talking at once?), pointed looks, and defiant dives into pleasure and oblivion, the characters process their individual griefs and guilts through ultimately less than successful methods. It is only when an outsider, Wes, arrives that the carefully crafted stories each character tells themself begin to collapse like a house of cards. And under all of this is the ghost at the feast: Abby isn't onstage but the gap she leaves behind is palpable, as she seemed to have somehow been the emotional support for each of her friends. My scribbled notes include such gems as "found Chekhov's gun!" and "The Men Are A Problem [with a box drawn around it]" (in my defense, the men in this play are absolutely a Problem). This play is hilarious and honest and upsetting and messy and gorgeous. I love when I get to review something this good.

Weekly Margin 2025, W36: Saturday Church, Circle Theater Festival 2025: Between Us and Close Encounters

9/02/25: Saturday Church

What: NYTW presents a new musical adaptation of the film of the same name, about a young man discovering his own sexuality under the watchful eye of his religious aunt, who wants him to mask his flamboyance. When he discovers Saturday Church, a haven for queer youth in the city, his world expands--with the help of Black Jesus.

And? It's still very much a work in progress and needs more tightening and focus, but its heart is in the right place, and the stage is full of talent, especially the luminous J. Harrison Ghee.

9/06/25 and 9/07/25: Circle Theater Festival 2025: Between Us and Close Encounters

What: Circle Theater Festival 2025 presents twelve works at AMT Theater. I was able to see four of them.

And? full writeup here.

Margin Notes: Circle Festival 2025: Between Us and Close Encounters

Circle Festival 2025:

Between Us and Close Encounters

Seen on: Saturday and Sunday, 9/06/25 and 9/07/25.

Plot and Background

RJ Theatre Company, in partnership with The Actor Launchpad, presents Circle Festival 2025 at AMT Theater. I was able to attend four of the twelve pieces presented:

Between Us combines two works: Into Your Hands, Nick Navari's solo show on loss and letting go; and Caity Ladda's Enmeshment, a monologue/duologue/movement piece about identity.

Close Encounters is another pairing: Elise Wilkes's Packed, a comedy about two strangers packing up the apartment of another couple who have just broken up; and Don't Push the Red Button by Zachary Mailhot, a comedy about the end of the world. 

Thoughts:

Overall: I've always had a fondness for unfinished portraits and earlier painted drafts. Like the handwritten corrections in the archived papers of a writer, it's a secret passage into the thought process of artistic creation. What's rather exciting about this festival--or at least the pieces I saw--is it feels like the same secret passage. These all feel like works in progress: explorations and iterations, dancing around the idea that will be the lodestone of the piece, but is not quite articulated into its final polished form. Some feel like spaghetti drafts, some feel like only the first half or third of a story, but they each have a core strength that can only get stronger with more time and depth.

See below for individual pieces.

Weekly Margin 2025, W34: Six, Death Becomes Her, Operation Mincemeat

 8/22/25: Six

a repeat visit, but five years later (it was the last musical I saw before Broadway shut down in March 2020).

8/23/25: Death Becomes Her

a repeat visit

8/24/25: Operation Mincemeat

a repeat visit

A few more publications

My luck continues with getting pieces published! These are my most recent ones:

Decanonize O'Neill! (a rant in parentheticals)

published by The Republic of Letters

A humorous rant about my frustrations with Eugene O'Neill's place in the theatrical canon.

The Boxes are Still Empty

published by Instant Noodles in their Sanctuary issue

A reflection on the physical memories we accrue over time: what we take with us and what we leave behind.

Weekly Margin 2025, W30: Sacco & Vanzetti are Dead, A Midsummer Night's Dream, A Summer Day

7/23/25: Sacco & Vanzetti are Dead

What: Good Crack Productions presents a satirical bent on the 1921 trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.

And? full review here.

Matt Ferrera as Bartolomeo Vanzetti and Joey DeFilippis as Nicola Sacco.
Photo by Bay One Entertainment and Kevin Mora.

7/25/25: A Midsummer Night's Dream

What: Ensemble Shakespeare Company presents Shakespeare's comedy of love spells, forest sprites, and an amateur theater troupe.

And? full review here.

Streaming Theater

• Wilma Theater's A Summer Day.

Margin Notes: A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Seen on: Friday, 7/25/25.

Plot and Background

Ensemble Shakespeare Company presents Shakespeare's comedy of love spells, forest sprites, and an amateur theater troupe.

What I Knew Beforehand

I know Midsummer very well, having acted in it multiple times in various roles.

Thoughts:

This was an absolute delight of a show. I'll admit to being worried: after many years of overexposure to this play, I wasn't sure if I wanted to see another production, but I'm so glad I did. Dylan Diehl (who also, aptly, plays Oberon) directs this production with a deft hand, guiding the cast through the intricate hoops of the overlapping hijinks in the forest as surely as her Oberon puppets both humans and his fairy queen alike to do his bidding. That phrasing makes it seem like I'm not giving the cast enough credit for their work, and I don't mean to: the consistently strong text work, as well as the synergy among all the players, makes it clear this is a united ensemble, joyously performing this fairy tale.

The visual landscape of the production, particularly that of Lauren Helpern's evocative scenic design and Kate Hartigan's stunning costume design, draws homage to Peter Brook's white box version of Athens, while not directly copying it. What becomes clear here is that the pristine white of Theseus's court allows for little joy and even less love. It is only when we venture into the forest that streams of fabric festoon the space with color and possibility, and Oberon and Puck clap powdered dye to the wandering Athenians, until they too are as multihued as their surroundings. Here in the forest they are free to indulge, to escape, to imagine. Here in the forest the "rude mechanicals" come to rehearse and here their rehearsal is dispelled by Puck's manipulations. Bottom, his face painted with enchantment and ass ears on his head becomes the paramour of Queen Titania (her own face painted with Oberon's enchantment). And here it is the complicated love quadrangle of Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius, and Helena may finally sort itself out, with a little help from the unseen fairies watching them. And so when all return to Athens the next day, these bright colors are allowed to follow them, even influencing Duke Theseus himself to break with his pure white suit to add tapestried belt, tie, and pocket square, to better match his new bride and her hybrid wedding dress.

Margin Notes: Sacco & Vanzetti are Dead!

Sacco & Vanzietti are Dead!

Matt Ferrara as Bartolomeo Vanzetti and
Joey DeFilippis as Nicola Sacco. Photo by
Bay One Entertainment and Kevin Mora.

Seen on: Wednesday, 7/23/25.

Plot and Background

Good Crack Productions presents a satirical bent on the 1921 trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. Following a robbery turned murder, two anarchist Italian immigrants are arrested and charged with the crime. Though they proclaim their innocence until the end, the combination of an incompetent showboating defense attorney and a biased judicial and law enforcement system railroads them through their trial and subsequent appeals.

What I Knew Beforehand

Very little, though I did some subsequent reading up on Sacco and Vanzetti's trial.

Thoughts:

Joey DeFilippis and Matt Ferrera, wrote, directed, and star in this production. Clearly a passion project dedicated to redeeming the names of Sacco and Vanzetti, it portrays two victims of a corrupt judicial system (regardless of their guilt or innocence, it is clear that the trial was handled badly). In creating this work, DeFilippis and Ferrara join the ranks of a long-standing advocacy to demand justice: at the time of Sacco and Vanzetti's trial and following, there were global protests--and bombings--as well as celebrities weighing in. Even after the execution of these two men, advocates continued to fight for justice against their persecution. As the Scottsboro Boys would later become a beacon for the Civil Rights Movement, Sacco and Vanzetti were an earlier rallying cry against persecution of political radicals.

The work itself is perhaps a bit uneven: it bills itself as a satire but has yet to develop its point of view beyond the starting point that bigotry is evil. Even so, it plays with humor in an interesting way, mixing anachronistic jokes with over the top clowning. I think the production would be better served by leaning into this angle more aggressively, along the lines of Urinetown or other Brechtian pieces critiquing the status quo. Each moment needs to be sharp and clear for the humor to land, and that in turn will make the pathos, the tragedy of what befell these men, all the more poignant in contrast.

Weekly Margin 2025, W29: Viola's Room

7/16/25: Viola's Room

What: Punchdrunk, the UK company behind the long-running hit Sleep No More, presents a new immersive experience hosted by The Shed. Using a labyrinthine immersive installation and surround-sound piped in over headphones, as well as Helena Bonham-Carter's narration of a dark story of the moon, mazes, and dancing shoes, Viola's Room takes the audience on a hypnotic and magical journey.

And? In case my description didn't make it clear, I LOVED IT. It brought back so many things I love about Punchdrunk: total engagement with the senses, a haunting and bittersweet narrative, a sense of magic and mystery, an unknowableness, and installations and environments with such a precise and piercing attention to detail that takes the breath away. It's an intimate experience--none of the chaos of Sleep No More or Life and Trust, but perhaps more akin to Third Rail's Then She Fell--with only six people in each group, staggered at 15-minute intervals on their journey through the space and story. And at only one hour, it leaves plenty of the evening left for a meal with friends to digest and discuss (I went alone, but I plan to return with friends).