What: The long-awaited Broadway production of Jocelyn Bioh's celebrated play, first mounted Off-Broadway in 2017 by MCC. Now hosted by MTC, this revival production returns us to Ghana in 1986 as a cadre of teenagers anticipate a pageant that could launch one of them into stardom by becoming Miss Ghana.
And? This is an exuberant production. It definitely feels bigger than the 2017 one, in many ways. The performance space is bigger, of course, but it's also brighter, airier: this version of the school is clearly better funded, as evident in both the scenic and costume design. The humor feels bigger, but perhaps that's because it's aimed at a bigger audience. The production also, of course, features bigger names this time around, including a Tony winner and several nominees (it does also feature a number of young actresses making their Broadway debut, which I love to see). Denée Benton gives a delicious turn as Paulina, the school's resident Regina George: elegant, casually cruel, aggressively masking her insecurities. Jasmine Amy Rogers as her foil, new girl Ericka, brings her signature sweetness to the role, which makes her climactic turn into a mirroring cruelty all the more satisfying. As the presiding Headmistress Francis, Heather Alicia Simms has tremendous gravitas and warmth as she is forced to make impossible decisions regarding the future of her charges. It's excellent to see this play again, though I'm still navigating my thoughts on the look and feel of this production over MCC's.
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| Denée Benton as Paulina, Jordan Rice as Mercy, Nia Otchere-Sarfo as Gifty, Lucia Aremu as Ama, Erin Morton as Nana, and Heather Alicia Simms as Headmistress Francis. Photo by Matthew Murphy. |
11/05/26: Love Me
What: Deaf West and Soho Rep present Drew Michael's solo show, a mix of standup and memoir about his struggles to learn how to love himself and to acknowledge his loss of hearing.
And? It needs some editing, but goddamn what a finish. Drew Michael knows how to stick the landing for sure. The sound and headphone concept, as designed by Daniel Kluger and executed in collaboration with Listen Technologies and Renaissance Recording, NYC, is really quite something. The audience is issued headphones, which we wear for the majority of the performance, and through it we hear not only the intrusive (and deeply disruptive) thoughts of Drew, but also the muffled sound of all speakers around him: we are able to experience, even if only for an hour, what it is to try to exist in a hearing world that doesn't attempt to accommodate Deaf individuals. The release, then, as the piece winds down (and it's powerful enough that I don't want to spoil it), is immensely satisfying and moving, and worth the visit.
11/06/26: Downstate
What: As with School Girls, this Broadway run represents not a transfer of an Off-Broadway production, but a fresh director and cast (with the exceptions of the excellent K. Todd Freeman and Francis Guinan). Downstate tells the troubling story of the inhabitants of a group home for pedophiles asserting their basic humanity in the face of their irredeemable past.
And? I don't know that I needed to see this play again. It's well enough done, and the cast is terrific (besides the already known excellence of Freeman and Guinan in their roles--and boy, do they deliver--Thomas Sadoski brings a complexity, frustration, and unresolved hurt to his role as one of Guinan's victims), but it's a journey I've already taken, and this new production didn't have anything new to tell me. I'm sorry if that sounds dismissive--it is a very good production--I just don't know that I needed a return visit to the play.
11/07/26: A Ghost in Your Ear
What: Audible's Minetta Lane Theatre presents Jamie Armitage's new two-hander play. Set in a recording studio, out of work actor Lucas and recording engineer Sid meet to record a ghost story-- notably, one which Lucas has not had a chance to read ahead of time--and Lucas begins to wonder if the studio itself is as haunted as the story.
And? My second show in a week where the audience is in headphones! It's a fun experience, where the audience is, in theory, able to hear what the final sound mix of the recording will be, with sound effects mixed in with Lucas's recording, as well as the choices he makes with where around the dummy head microphone he speaks. It's not for everyone (notably, my horror-loving friend was less than impressed) but I had a fun spooky time, with the narration aspect and some of the plot elements reminding me of one of my favorite two-handers, Woman in Black (to the degree that I thought it felt a bit like a rip-off, at least in premise). It definitely veers into the melodramatic, but that's rather par for the course for this sort of gothic aesthetic. The twist and conclusion are, unfortunately, less than satisfying, but I enjoyed most of the experience.
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| Lucas Iverson as Lucas. Photo by Matthew Murphy. |
11/08/26: The Visitors
What: 2nd Stage presents Bryna Turner's play about four adult siblings who gather at the youngest's loft in New York as she asks them to donate a kidney to save her life.
And? It's a fascinating moral question, and a deeply personal one: how much of yourself are you willing -- and able -- to give up for a loved one? And Turner's script doesn't give us an easy answer. Each sibling is carrying a healthy (or unhealthy) amount of baggage to serve as obstacles in one way or another. The cast is truly excellent, enough so that I can't even pick out a standout, so props as well to director Jenna Worsham, who helps this family feel truly lived in, from petty jealousies to fierce loyalties to festering resentments to unconditional love. Also special shoutout to scenic designer Kate Noll, whose build of Joanna and Naomi's loft apartment is full of the tiny details that speak to a thoroughly-lived life and a nested couple. The only thing that doesn't read as hipster New York artist is the damn size of the place (scenic designs of New York apartments always make me so jealous of the space).
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| Will Pullen as Henry, Mary Wiseman as Joanna, Danny Wolohan as Rory, and Celia Keenan-Bolger as Theresa. Photo by Joan Marcus. |
Streaming Theater
- City Theatre's In Clay.
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