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).

Weekly Margin 2025, W28: Joy, Pirates! The Penzance Musical, Operation Mincemeat, Call Me Izzy, Purpose, John Proctor is the Villain

7/07/25: Joy

What: A new musical adaptation of the story of Joy Mangano, entrepreneur and inventor who made it big on QVC.

And? It's mid-previews, so I don't know how this show will end up. As it is, Betsy Wolfe is very good, as she always is, finding humor in the understated moments. Most of the characters, outside Joy herself, are underwritten cutout characters. A lot of the songs have a sense of sameness to them (both in sound and content), sitting in the moment rather than advancing things. The best number is "We Sell Stories," the song introducing all the suits at QVC (it really is a lot of fun), and Joshua Bergasse's choreography for it is delightful, but I'm troubled that he saved his best work for the two big male-dominated numbers. The staging for the female-led numbers, by contrast, feels vague and non-committal. I can hope that will get sharpened over previews, but it's a weird thing to see in such a girl-power story.

7/08/25: Pirates! The Penzance Musical

a repeat visit

7/09/25: Operation Mincemeat

a repeat visit

7/10/25: Call Me Izzy

What: Roundabout presents Jamie Wax's one-woman play about a Louisiana poet trapped in an abusive marriage but trying valiantly to hold onto her voice and her love of language. This production stars Jean Smart, but as she has been out with an injury, I saw it with Tony-nominated Johanna Day.

And? The subject matter is unsettling, for sure, but Wax's writing presents a realistic portrait of the conflicting emotions of someone trapped in a relationship like this--including her defensiveness against anyone trying to rescue her from it. The bathroom is Izzy's refuge, once her husband has destroyed her journals. Here she can write, secretly. Here she can tell us her story. Here she can lock the door and be safe, if only for the moment, if only while he sleeps. It's very hard to watch, but it's very worth the watch. Johanna Day is remarkable as Izzy and--except for one moment of calling line--you'd never know she hadn't been playing the role this whole time.

Jean Smart as Izzy. Photo by Emilio Madrid.

7/11/25: Purpose

a repeat visit

7/12/25: John Proctor is the Villain

a repeat visit

Weekly Margin 2025, W27: Lowcountry

6/02/25: Lowcountry

What: Atlantic Theater presents the world premiere of Abby Rosebrock's play about a Tinder date where secrets continue to reveal themselves as facades drop one by one. I'm trying not to give too much away here because twisty-turny.

And? For most of the play, I was thinking "this is fine, they're doing solid work and there's tension, but I don't know how invested I am in either of these characters winning out." But the ending packs a punch and ultimately makes the evening worth it.

Babak Tafti and Jodi Balfour as David and Tally. Photo by Ahron R. Foster.

Weekly Margin 2025, W25: Trophy Boys

6/18/25: Trophy Boys

What: MCC presents the American premiere of Emmanuelle Mattana's satire about four private school seniors in debate prep for their upcoming face-off against their sister school. Given a controversial topic in which they'd be placed to argue a problematic point, they struggle to balance their need to virtue signal with their desire to beat the other team. And then even more hijinks ensue when one of them cheats by opening his laptop.

And? Mattana, who also stars as one of the four boys in the play, intends this as a statement not only on the toxic culture of using logic to perfect reprehensible arguments without thinking that can affect actual mindsets, but also on masculinity itself: the four boys are none of them played by cis men (some are played by nonbinary people, some by women). The show is dynamic, hilarious, a well-framed argument in itself, and ultimately deathly chilling. This is how it happens. This is how it keeps happening. This is how we got where we are (I'm trying to avoid spoilers here).

Weekly Margin 2025, W24: Passengers, Machinal

6/13/25: Passengers

What: Montreal's The 7 Fingers cirque company returns to New York with a devised piece inspired by the liminality of travel, of leaving, and of connecting. 

And? We've talked before about how any artistic endeavor, once it's out there, becomes not only the creation itself, but also a collaboration with its audience. We can't help but bring ourselves to any piece of work we experience. And so what do your brain do, what stories does it tell, when you're watching a piece that is often abstract, that engages with language only about a third of the time? Your brain connects it to your own story; you mirror it, you let it mirror you. And so you see a woman twisting herself up in hanging white fabric, high up and beautiful and in total control, and yet held up by nothing, and you think, "this is what loneliness feels like." You see another woman, a man balanced on her shoulders, as a third person climbs to stand on his shoulders. You see her body shaking with the effort, but you see her standing, still, keeping her friends safe until they climb down, and you think, "this is what strength looks like." You see a man position himself on a pole upside down, you think, "he's like the Hanging Man in Tarot," and then he lets himself fall smoothly down, stopping just before his head would hit the floor. There's so much joy in this production, there's such power in the way the nine of them carry each other, catch each other, watch and listen and release and breathe as one. And I think if I were in a better headspace, that would be my main takeaway, because that's what I love about collaborative storytelling: everyone working together to create the moment. But it's been a hard week, so I thought instead about loneliness and strength, and the melancholy that can attach to both. But I'm documenting the community aspect as well, as something to return to when I'm feeling better. Because it's important too.

Philosophy aside, this was fantastic. I adore 7 Fingers, and will catch their work whenever they come to New York. They bring such joy and poetry to all their pieces, somehow more grounded and human than the expansive work of their cousin in Canadian circus work.

Photo source.

6/14/25: Machinal

What: New York City Center presents Sophie Treadwell's seminal work about a woman who, caught in the repressive and mechanical restrictions of her life, is driven to murdering her husband.

And? The most striking thing about this production is the percussive choreography crafted by Madison Hilligoss and performed in large part by Veronica Simpson and Michael Verre, both credited as The Machine. In this production their relentless tapping of shoes, ringing of bells, and whacking of hammers articulate the tension and anxiety inside Helen's mind. At her job, with her mother, or near her boss-turned-husband, nowhere seems a safe and quiet place for her to retreat. And so too the audience is inundated with the constant beat, a pace under which we could either fall into lockstep, or stumble and be trampled. Only when she meets the man who becomes her lover does the noise seem to recede at last. I like this dilation of Treadwell's already mechanical and rhythmic text, though it does at times obscure the text, the tapping overpowering the voices. I think in general the sound design needs to be adjusted, to better balance both. A conceit can be effective, but it shouldn't be at the expense of clarity. Otherwise I like the kinetic movement of the piece, as well as the use of the ensemble to surround and overwhelm the Young Woman.

Weekly Margin 2025, W23: Nine Moons, Old Friends, OUT/PLAY Presents: Summer Shorts, Good Night, and Good Luck, Tony Awards

6/02/25: Nine Moons

What: Blessed Unrest presents Keith Hamilton Cobb's new play, a prequel to Othello.

And? full review here.

Sophia Marilyn Nelson and Robert Manning, Jr. as Desdemona and Ot'Teo.
Photo by Maria Barnova.

6/03/25: Old Friends

What: The newest Sondheim revue, this time produced by Cameron Mackintosh and starring Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga (with Gavin Lee, Beth Leavel, and others).

And? It's pretty great. There are always going to be some weirdnesses, but it's pretty great for a revue. There are an awful lot of act one finales in this (which makes sense, because Sondheim really knew how to write a good one). We could worry that having so many could mess with the dynamic of the evening but, to quote another show from this season, the audience as a whole is "too much in love to care." We're all just so damn happy to be hearing songs we love from across Sondheim's canon. Whereas the pandemic revue, Take Me to the World, often specialized in some lesser-known gems, this leans into the beloved in a big way, with numerous songs from oft-revived shows like Funny Thing, Company, Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, and Into the Woods. I will admit to being a bit troubled that the program credits only Sondheim for music and lyrics for the evening, as it includes songs from his collaborations with Leonard Bernstein and Jule Styne; especially when they're careful to note when they're using text by James Lapine, it's a weirdass omission, because the music for both West Side Story and Gypsy are rather iconic.

But let's get to some praise. It's truly lovely to see some familiar and talented faces back on the Broadway stage, like Gavin Lee and Beth Leavel (Kate Jennings Grant was not in the night I went, but her role was ably filled by Scarlett Strallen). Also shining were some faces I knew less well, like Joanna Riding nailing the patter in "Getting Married Today" and Jeremy Secomb bringing his powerful vocals to the role of Sweeney Todd. Bernadette is always Bernadette, but manages to do a delightful sendup of her concert persona as she sings "Broadway Baby" as an audition piece, asking the pianist to play it as slowly as possible, like "Bernadette does it." And Lea Salonga, well known for her clear and bright voice, shines in a new way by letting her bawdy and belty side out as Mrs. Lovett and Madame Rose.

There are lines that find new resonance these days. Bonnie Langford, nailing "I'm Still Here" with brassy aplomb, sings "I got through all of last year, and I'm here," and we feel the weight of surviving it together. And then there's the photo montage of Sondheim through the years, starting with infancy. When Bernadette looks at those photos (some of which include Steve with herself), and sings "Not a day goes by, not a single day, but you're somewhere a part of my life," we feel both her ache and ours. He's gone, but we keep him here with us.

The show ends with an audio of Sondheim singing the cut song "Love is in the Air," and I found myself weeping. The woman next to me asked if I was okay. All I could say was, "I miss him."

Jacob Dickey, Bernadette Peters, and the  cast perform "Sunday."
Photo by Matthew Murphy.

Margin Notes: Nine Moons

Nine Moons

Sophia Marilyn Nelson and Robert Manning, Jr. as
Desdemona and Ot'Teo. Photo by Maria Baranova.

Seen on: Monday, 6/02/25.

Plot and Background

Blessed Unrest Theatre Company, The Untitled Othello Project, and Sacred Heart University present Keith Hamilton Cobb's new prequel to Othello. Cobb, known for his 2019 play American Moor, which explored the complications of playing Othello but having to deal with having the character repeatedly explained to him by white directors. This marks a further exploration of the problem of Othello by visiting the characters prior to the tragedy set in motion by Iago's manipulations.

What I Knew Beforehand

I really appreciated Cobb's earlier play, and was excited to see what he's got next.

Thoughts:

Play: Once again, very striking work from Cobb: reading the script it is clear he has a very intentional sense of space and society. The play, beautiful and haunting, is both a love story and the opening threads of a Greek tragedy. Even as we see the slow and gentle courtship of Ot'Teo and Desdemona, we note every mention of Iago, Ot'Teo's seemingly honest friend who feeds him addicting pills and laughs at Ot'Teo's gullibility (and has most certainly stolen his diary). And when Desdemona unwraps her engagement gift from Ot'Teo and we see it is a stunning kerchief with strawberries on its design, we know too the fate of that kerchief and its owner. But perhaps, amidst the politics and war, amidst the too much drinking and the abusive father, amidst the grief for those loved ones lost and the fear of more to come, we can have this, in this moment. Here, if only here, in Nine Moons, we can have Desdemona and Ot'Teo, in love and happy and looking toward a bright and long future ahead of them. Ot'Teo knows how dark life can be--he tells of his difficulty in communicating his understanding of war to the pampered men of Verona: how "to explain child soldiers to men who have never missed a meal." But he also sees that perhaps, with Desdemona by his side, she who sees all of him and loves him for all his parts, perhaps he can find the light as well.

Weekly Margin 2025, W22: Just in Time, Dead Outlaw, Next to Normal, Yellow Face

5/27/25: Just in Time

What: Jonathan Groff stars in the Bobby Darin biomusical.

And? I'd read someone make the crack online that it's not Jonathan Groff playing Bobby Darin, it's Jonathan Groff playing Jonathan Groff playing Bobby Darin, but I thought at the time that was just someone dismissing his impression of Darin, rather than describing what the show is actually doing. Groff begins his audience banter by introducing himself as "Jonathan, I'll be your Bobby Darin tonight" and proceeds to make a few cracks about himself (growing up in Amish country, the low viewer count for Mindhunter) before stepping into the actual narrative of Bobby Darin's life, which includes just as much of Bobby himself breaking the fourth wall to narrate, often snapping his fingers to freeze the rest of the cast in order to do so. It's an interesting idea, though I wonder about the legs of this show past its initial run. Both this show and A Wonderful World tried to upend the usual expectations of a biomusical (Just in Time with the Groff-as-Darin lens, and Wonderful World by focusing on the wives), but they do both inevitably slide back into the usual moves of this genre, like an audience member gradually slouching in their seat as the show goes on (this metaphor brought to you by my poor tailbone, which was in a lot of pain that night).

Groff himself brings all his natural charisma and joy at existing to the performance (and all his sweat and spit, as he jokingly acknowledges during the Hi I'm Jonathan prologue. Seriously, y'all, "I'm a wet man" is now canon in a Broadway musical). And while the music is enjoyable and the supporting cast talented, I have to admit I didn't feel the show truly come alive until the second act, when Erika Henningsen appeared onstage in a creamy pink dress, cool as an ice cream cone, to play Sandra Dee. Her vocals are wonderful, as is her chemistry with Groff, and all their scenes felt more visceral and engaging than most of what had come before.

I'm not trying to fully dismiss the show. It's all very charming. Everyone's having a great time. But it feels all very surface until Henningsen shows up and brings everyone down to earth. Oh wait! I do want to praise director Alex Timbers, whose staging handles the challenging Circle in the Square configuration (my favorite Broadway house!) with an ease and confidence that makes you wonder why it's such a challenge to other directors.

Gracie Lawrence and Jonathan Groff as Connie Francis and 
Bobby Darin. Photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

5/30/25: Dead Outlaw

a repeat visit

Streaming Theater

Courtesy of PBS's Great Performance series, both 

• Next to Normal
• Yellow Face

My Reliably Inaccurate Tony Predictions

I've been saying all Spring that we've had such a weird and varied list of new musicals to land on

Broadway, and that's pretty delightful to me. One gets tired of cookie cutter tourist-aimed fare and jukebox after jukebox. This season we had fourteen new musicals, including a spinoff of a cult favorite but unsuccessful TV show (Smash), four biomusicals (Tammy Faye, A Wonderful World, Just in Time, Buena Vista Social Club), a classic cartoon come to life (BOOP! The Musical), another Sondheim revue (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends), two shows about the adventurous life a corpse can have after he dies (Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical and Dead Outlaw), another one about the long life two living corpses can have once they've each murdered each other and lost their man (Death Becomes Her), a story about an immigrant family trying to succeed in America while worrying they'll be deported (Real Women Have Curves), a story about grief and tree-climbing and sophisticated projections (Redwood; also, how long until we get a Tony category for Best Projection and Video Design? We're long overdue), a musical about a shipwreck and cannibalism (Swept Away), and finally my favorite show of the season, a robot road trip/love story (Maybe Happy Ending).

That's not even accounting for the dueling divas on 44th Street (Sunset and Gypsy), two beloved Off-Broadway musicals finally landing on Broadway (Floyd Collins and The Last Five Years), and the more straightforward romps of Elf, Once Upon a Mattress, and Pirates! The Penzance Musical.

Meanwhile the plays have been celebrity-stacked and charging ticket prices to match. There are a number of plays this season I skipped for those prices alone (I wouldn't mind seeing Good Night, and Good Luck, if I could get a decent price on a ticket, but I'm not bothering with Othello, and I didn't bother with Glengarry Glen Ross or All In either). Still, there were some worthy pieces this year, including the forgotten early shows in the season, Job and Home.

Let's go!

Weekly Margin 2025, W20: Bus Stop, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Eurydice, She Takes Flight

5/13/25: Bus Stop

What: Classic Stage Company, in collaboration with NAATCO and Transport Group, presents William Inge's play about a cafe attached to a bus stop, with several passengers stranded overnight when the roads are closed for a storm.

And? A pretty sublime production. There have been issues for a few years of CSC staging favoring one end of the audience over the two longer sides (which not only seems dumb, since that's less than a third of the audience space, but is also just bad direction. Thrust stages were meant to be activating and dynamic, not staid like any old proscenium), but I'm happy to report that's not the case here. While it did feel like one side was more heavily favored than the other (the side we sat on), I think the staging by Jack Cummings III is still largely effective. Peiyi Wong's scenic design, moreover, which includes black bands framing the floor and ceiling, elongate the space; and, with the Tiffany blue cafe counter, evokes Hopper's Nighthawks very effectively. For the most part, the cast has an appealing natural quality, with especially standouts of Cindy Cheung and Delphi Borich, who run the cafe; Rajesh Bose as the sleazy Shakespeare-loving professor (every moment of his is compelling and true); and Moses Villarama, giving an understated but fully present performance as Virgil. His final moments are still and quiet and heartbreaking, even as they go unwitnessed by everyone else around him. This one was a real treat.

Cindy Cheung and Delphi Borich as Grace Hoylard and Emma Duckworth.
Photo by Carol Rosegg.

5/14/25: The Picture of Dorian Gray

What: The Broadway transfer of Sarah Snook's one-woman turn in the Oscar Wilde controversial classic as adapted by Kip Williams, about a young man whose portrait absorbs all his sins while he remains youthful and beautiful.

And? Really quite an extraordinary execution of the piece. One-woman turn isn't technically correct, as Sarah Snook's performance is facilitated by a masterful camera (and prop) crew following a tightly-planned and intricately-timed choreography with such precision I honestly think they should get their own Tony Award (but they're already doing two of those this season: one for the musicians of Buena Vista Social Club, and one for the illusion/technical effects of Stranger Things: The First Shadow). While Sarah Snook's face is the only face we see on the many screens onstage (including the various portraits hanging in Dorian's house), we see her doubled and redoubled in different guises, wigs, makeup, accent. Even when onstage Snook seems to be interacting only with a camera or an empty chair, we are seeing the echoes of her other selves reacting.

I was describing this show to someone who said they'd never heard of this kind of stunt before. I think it's the first time I've seen it on this scale and on Broadway, but Theater In Quarantine has been experimenting with this sort of thing since 2020, and I'm sure they're not the only ones either. Still, it's really something to see in person.

The production is a bit breathless (I'm shocked Snook isn't hoarse by the end), which is effective, but it did have me longing for a moment of calm and quiet just to balance it out. That's a small nit to pick, though, as she had the entire audience in the palm of her capable hands for two hours straight. Major props to Kip Williams for pulling this whole thing off.

Sarah Snook as Dorian Gray. Photo by Marc Brenner.

Margin Notes: She Takes Flight

She Takes Flight

The cast of She Takes Flight. Photo by Charles Chessler.

Seen on: Friday, 5/16/25.

Plot and Background

Chrysalis Theatre Company presents the world premier of a devised theatrical piece written and performed by Sora Baek, Cindy Keiter, Gabriela Kohen, Adina Taubman, and Susan Ward, about, per the press release, "reaching middle age and not giving a f&*k."

What I Knew Beforehand

That it was a devised piece by five women about, in part, processing adulthood, middle age, and beyond.

Thoughts:

The stage is a workzone, with caution tape and warning signs. The stage is a playground, with toys and ribbons. The stage is a storage room, with piles of pillows and other forgotten detritus. The stage is a memory box, festooned with strings of photographs and crates of old keepsakes. The stage is a memorial, with the names of women dead due to restrictive anti-abortion laws, hand-drawn in careful, serifed font. The stage is a support group, with five wooden chairs waiting to be filled. The stage, as designed by Yi-Hsuan (Ant) Ma, is all of these and none of these, that glorious and liminal space to allow these five women to tell their stories, to be both here and now, and also many years ago and far away.

Weekly Margin 2025, W19: Stranger Things: The First Shadow, Those Who Remained, The Archduke

5/08/25: Stranger Things: The First Shadow

What: The Broadway transfer of the West End hit, a prequel to the Netflix series where we see the full origin story of Henry Creel/Vecna.

And? Let's get through the bad stuff first so we can end on a positive note. To begin, I don't know why they keep trusting Jack Thorne with these (he's also responsible for Cursed Child and that mediocre Christmas Carol). His scripts are full of holes, character assassinations, and full disregard for canon. In this play, Henry Creel is the same generation as the adults of the TV show (Joyce, Hopper, Bob, etc.). Not only does this not align with his age on the TV show in relation to Brenner and Eleven, it also raises some pretty big questions. Questions like "How come when Will disappears in Season One, Joyce and Hopper act like this is the first supernatural occurrence? Do they not remember that time in high school that a bunch of pets were murdered gruesomely during electrical surges?" Or "How come no one talks about Bob's sister almost being murdered by that weird kid that we never saw again?" Does everyone in Hawkins have Sunnydale Syndrome? The story itself isn't necessarily terrible, but trying to nest it in existing canon and timeline without actually respecting that canon or timeline is just plain stupid. 

And it didn't need to be this way. They could have gone the Cloverfield route. They could have gone to the Hellmouth in Cleveland. They could still have used Dr. Brenner as a young man if they want to keep their shadowy government villain the same, but the rest of this just doesn't play out. 

Oh! And. They make a point of being lightly racist against one of the characters (she's adopted, parentage unknown, so they call her Mystery Meat), but meanwhile the casting of the show is largely colorblind. It's just odd to have them be racist against a light-skinned mixed race character but be totally chill with a dark-skinned Black girl (who is also class president) standing right next to her. In 1959 in Indiana. You can be true to the history of racism in America, or you can say fuck it and go colorblind casting. I'm fine with either approach. But you can't do both at the same time.

My other complaint is just a weird disconnect between me and a lot of the audience: there were some spectacular special effects (more on that later), but often attached to devastating, horrible things. So while I was sitting there feeling the horror of the moment, the audience around me burst into rapturous screaming applause at the amazing spectacle of it. So it comes off a bit like they're applauding the full manifestation of Vecna, or a teenage girl being murdered.

Let's do the positives now! Holy shit, you guys, the design of this show is incredible. Under the direction of Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin, the collaboration of scenic designer Miriam Buether, lighting designer Jon Clark, and illusions & visual effects designers Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher (and video & visual effects of 59), it's uncanny what they're able to portray on the stage. I don't really want to say too much and spoil things, but if you were transported by the magic effects in Cursed Child, it's the same team and they've only gotten better (though: warning for the squeamish, this is gory). Even more uncanny though is the performance of lead actor Louis McCartney as Henry Creel. Small and withdrawn at the beginning, he's able to turn menacing almost imperceptibly. And then his physical control as he battles with the darker shadows within him is astounding. I don't know how he does everything he does, managing his physical contortions with such present emotional honesty throughout, but in my opinion he should be the front-runner for the Tony (I have no idea what the actual buzz is, prediction-wise).

The company of Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Photo by Matthew
Murphy and Evan Zimmerman.

5/09/25: Those Who Remained

What: La MaMa presents Sophia Gutchinov's solo piece about how to be a living monument to the history of her ancestors and a staunch advocate for her existence here today.

And? full review here.

Sophia Gutchinov. Photo by Rani O'Brien.

Streaming

• Wilma Theater's The Archduke.