Takei gets the best humorous moments (and yes there are some even in a play as heavy as this) and his ending scene will bring tears to your eyes (if you aren’t crying before) but the rest of cast here is a delight from the stunning Lea Salonga with her gorgeous pipes, Telly Leung and Christòpheren Nomura to too many others to name here.

For those poor New Yorkers inevitably being dragged down to Times Square this time of year in the joy-killing grip of friends […]

Headed by writer Mikey Craighead (who starred in it as well) O’ Save Us St. Sophia was certainly a highlight of the just past 2015 Fringe Festival. As well as Craighead the cast here included Sophie Parens, Zak Kelley, Julian Thomas, Rebecca Bialostozky, Katy Roth, Emily Ashenden. I mention them all together not because each and every one of their performances are not worth mentioning singularly, but because this ensemble infused the play so completely with their aplomb the entire delicate hour and half dance (or so) one act couldn’t have worked without each performance being as spot-on as it was.

Not that I had any doubt that David Greenspan, stalwart performer/writer/creator wouldn’t handle the material as expertly as he did. Still, understanding, interpreting then speaking as well as acting text by Gertrude Stein is not an easy task. Greenspan’s spin at it Composition…Master-Pieces…Identity (running until 6/27 down at The Connelly Theater (220 East 4th Street, Manhattan) was pretty much masterful-as I say I expected it to be-but I also understood what he was on about, no easy task when it comes to Stein’s ruminations on these three subjects.

Not to say Michael Zegen’s modern day trying-too-hard yuppie (or whatever they are called these days) is not brilliant or that Annapurna Sriram’s well-mannered yet subtly manipulative “Reshma” isn’t so played so well that you are both repelled and attracted to her, or Erin Darke’s “Sarah” isn’t studied, sweet and yet so strong to the core.

OBSCURA, is a mix of short stories told through Christian’s sleight of hand (perfectly projected on a screen behind him) his quick welcoming wit, at times a more then cautionary ending to a piece (the delicious dangerous undercurrent to the performance just tickles you) and his command of space through the use of very subtle gestures.

Not one to turn down a good time on a Monday night, I was more than happy to catch a risqué performance […]

Every once in a while I witness acting, writing, staging…and a damn great little kernel of an idea executed with perfect directing […]

If you have heard of Sleep No More and have not gone yet, try Debut, a new evening-length dance and theatrical production […]

Hands down, you have got to go see Annapurna at the Acorn Theatre, Theatre Row, 410 W 42nd St. This stellar 90-minute-no-intermission […]