Off-B'way Review: The Dinosaurs

April Matthis, Mallory Portnoy,
Maria Elena Ramirez, and Elizabeth Marvel
in The Dinosaurs.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

Jacob Perkins’ The Dinosaurs at Playwrights Horizons starts out like a straightforward depiction of a weekly support group modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous. (The play’s Sisters in Sobriety has some significant differences. Only women are allowed to participate and time rules for sharing individual stories and reflections are strictly enforced.) While the structure at first seems linear, gradually time shifts back and forwards as the members suddenly appear at different points in their struggle to deal with their demons. The sterling performances, Les Waters’ precise direction and Yuki Link’s sensitive lighting help us to clearly navigate the tides of Perkins’ constantly changing river of time. (The design team of dots created the realistic meeting space and Oana Botez’s costumes subtly tell us much about each character.) What emerges is a fluid portrait of women in crisis and how they support each other.

April Matthis, Kathleen Chalfant, and
Elizabeth Marvel in The Dinosaurs.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

It’s a compassionate profile of the recovery process. The title probably refers to the veterans in the program who pass on their coping mechanisms and wisdom. All but one of the characters have similar names—Jolly, Joan, Jane, Janet, Joane—suggesting they may be aspects of the same personality or that their stories are similar and they are all following paths towards sobriety. Rayna, the only one with a different monicker, enters at the beginning as a potential new member, chatting about cupcakes with early arrival Jane. But she leaves in a panic before the others arrive and then comes in and out as a visitor from the future but never completely joins in. It’s significant that she also goes by the nickname Buddy, indicating she can stand in for a variety of identities within the group. 

The time and character shifts can be a trifle confusing at first, but once the rhythm is established, we get to know the women’s stories, feelingly relayed by six brilliant actresses. April Matthis conveys unspoken depths as Jane who doesn’t get t tell her complete narrative but feels a connection to Rayna, played with similar reams of subtext by Keilly McQuail.  

Keilly McQuail in The Dinosuars.
Credit: Julieta Cervantes

Elizabeth Marvel is spiky and jagged as the tightly wound Joan, meticulously managing coffee and pastries while clinging desperately to sanity. Kathleen Chalfant as the aptly named Jolly is bubbly and full of compassion. Mallory Portnoy as Janet and Maria Elena Ramirez as Joane deliver shattering monologues on harrowing experiences which test their sobriety. Janet’s is a surrealistic dream and Joane’s reveals an uncomfortable family secret. Both are beautifully written and performers as is the whole of this sensitive play. 

Feb. 16—March 1. Playwrights Horizons, 416 W. 42nd St., NYC. Running time: one hour and 15 mins. with no intermission. playwrightshorizons.org. 

Book Review: Anagrams

(Read on my phone on the Libby app.) At about 100 pages into Lorrie Moore's first novel, I said to myself, "What the hell is going on here?" There are four sections and the first three are short vignettes with three main characters, recurring in each section but with different relationships and circumstances. Then the final long, novella-length section is the "reality" of their shared situation (I guess). Then I remembered the title and realized what Moore was doing--rearranging the plots and characters like anagrams in a puzzle. I won't reveal too much of the multiple, shifting storylines, except they revolve around Benna, who is either an amateur nightclub singer or a community college professor of art history or poetry. Musician-singer Gerard may or may not be in love with her. Benna's friend Eleanor is the third point of a triangle or maybe she's not. 

I've enjoyed Moore's short stories and her other novel Who Will Run the Frog Hospital? Here, the characters may like wordplay a bit too much. They are always making clever puns. But I did feel the emotions for which the jokes act as a shield. Benna, Gerard, Eleanor, and other characters Darrel and Louis are all desperately lonely with tragedies impacting them. Their aches comes across in their eccentric actions and Moore depicts them with compassion.

Off-B'way Review: The Monsters; High Spirits

Aigner Mizzelle and Okieriete Onaodowan
in The Monsters.
Credit: T. Charles Erickson

The two-actor cast of Ngozi Anyanwu’s The Monsters at the intimate Stage II at City Center in a Manhattan Theater Club production, go through quite a workout in its 90-minute running time, both physically and emotionally. So does the audience. Anyanwu’s tight and devastating script rings some familiar bells in the estranged-family division, but her script is honest and heartfelt. Her direction is well-paced and, with the aide of Cha See’s lighting, creatively transforms Andrew Boyce’s simple gym setting into a myriad of locales.

As the play opens, Big and Lil (short for Little) are disconnected African-American siblings, survivors of an abusive father. Big, whose real name is not revealed until the end of the play, is a champion mixed-martial arts fighter. His half-sister Lil (actual name: Josephine) attempts to resume their once close relationship after 15 years of silence. Gradually, their severed bond is knit back together as Big trains Lil in MMA. As she raises in the ring ranks, long buried resentments and secrets are revealed and their conflict erupts in a grueling grudge match. (Gerry Rodriguez is the masterful fight director.)

B'way Update: Galileo Musical

Raul Esparza in Galileo: A Rock Musical 
at Berkeley Rep.
Credit: Kevin Berne

According to Playbill.com, Galileo, a rock musical based on the life of the 17th century astronomer, will open on Broadway this fall after a run at the Berkeley Rep in 2024. Performances begin Nov. 10 at the Shubert Theater where Hell's Kitchen is running through Feb. 22. Opening is Dec. 6. The cast will be headed by Tony nominee Raul Esparza (Company), Jeremy Kushnier and Joy Woods. Tony winner Michael Mayer (American Idiot, Spring Awakening) directs. The book is by Emmy winner Danny Strong (Chess) with music and lyrics by Michael Weiner and Zoe Sarnak.

Book Review: The Pursuit of Love

(Borrowed from the Mid-town NYPL at 40th St.): Nancy Mitford's comic novel is funny and disconcerting. I found myself laughing hysterically at the antics of the heroine's eccentric landed-gentry family, but then recoiling at their disgusting traits. The patriarch Uncle Matthew is a violent, bigoted bully but he's so funny. Kind of like Archie Bunker with an upper-crust accent. Matthew dominates his family, beats his children, harbors racist attitudes towards all foreigners, yet he's riotously unfettered by the constraints of mannered society. He is described as a "cardboard ogre." The heroine, his daughter Linda, is totally amoral and self-absorbed, drifting from marriage to marriage, and finally ending as the kept mistress of a charming French Duke. She marries a Nazi-sympathizing Tory politician, then a Communist freedom fighter, neither of whom she really loves. She does throw herself into refugee service work while married to the radical, but as soon as she leaves him she spends her days in pre-war Paris shopping for clothes. 

Mitford based the characters on her own illustrious family and the book offers a fascinating look at life in England among the gentry between the wars. I did laugh out loud several times but also cringed as often. 

Off-B'way Review: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

The cast of The 25th Annual
Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Credit: Joan Marcus

In a program interview, director-choreographer Danny Mefford reveals he never saw The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee before taking on its first-ever NYC revival playing now Off-Broadway at New World Stages. His virgin encounter with William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin’s adorable 2005 tuner about a crew of misfit kids vying for the top prize at the titular academic event, is a blessing. He sees the material with fresh eyes and delivers a sparkling, warm, and intimate production. The original production opened Off-Broadway at Second Stage and later transferred to Circle in the Square where it won two Tonys and played 1,138 performances. 

Sheinkin’s quirky book and Finn’s tuneful yet innovative songs combine compassion and humor so that we are laughing with the odd characters but never at them. Mefford’s staging is economical and swift, giving equal weight to all six tween spellers, three supervisory adults and the four audience members recruited to join the contestants. Teresa L. Williams’ colorful and funny school auditorium set, with the aide of David Weiner’s imaginative lighting, accommodates shifts in tone and flashback settings. Emily Rebholz’s delightfully off-kilter costumes delineate character. 

Jason Kravitz and Lilli Cooper in
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.
Credit: Joan Marcus

The excellent ensemble skillfully imparts their characters’ eccentricities and displays impressive musical liming (Carmel Dean is credited with the vibrant musical supervision and vocal arrangements). The six spellers are also quite believable as middle schoolers. Most impressive is Jasmine Amy Rogers whose shy Olive Ostrovsky, longing for a deeper connection with her distant parents, is the exact opposite of the bubbly cartoon Betty Boop Rogers played on Broadway last season. Her sweetly aching rendition of “My Friend the Dictionary” is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. Kevin McHale exposes nasally-challenged William Barfée’s arrogance and his vulnerability. He shines in Mefford's hilarious staging of “Magic Foot,” William’s celebration of his secret spelling weapon. Justin Cooley is adorably off-kilter as self-doubting but ultimately self-affirming Leaf Coneybear, drowning in a sea of siblings. 

The cast of The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Philippe Arroyo is a riot as Chip Tolentino whose distracting hormones disastrously interfere with his spelling performance. Lana Rae Concepcion delightfully explodes as the high-achieving Marcy Park, finally giving weight to the idea that she doesn’t have to be the top at everything. Autumn Best is enchantingly desperate to please as Loraine Schwartzandgrubenuerre, a frazzled loner eager to be a winner for her two gay dads. Lilli Cooper, Jason Kravits and Matt Manuel bring depth to the spelling bee officials, each with their own neuroses and conflicts. 

This fun and fuzzy production originated at the Kennedy Center, now the center of a political storm. There are some new jokes about the controversy of the President’s involvement with the Center and the COVID pandemic, perhaps provided by Jay Reiss who is credited with “Additional Material.” The topical references add bite, but they are not the main reasons for this revival. It’s the charm, the compassion for outsider kids who enjoy learning and the snappy wit that makes this Bee buzz. 

Nov. 17—Sept. 6. New World Stages, 340 W. 50th St., NYC. Running time: one hour and 45 mins. with no intermission. telecharge.com.

Horror Makes a Comeback in Oscar Films

Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys in Weapons.
Credit: Warner Brothers

This year, I'm not as driven to see ALL of the Oscar-nominated films in every categories as I have been in previous years. For the past few seasons, I obsessively followed all the award nominations and ceremonies and gone to the movies in cinemas or streamed them. Remember Barbenheimer? This time I'm not as enthused about the choices. One Battle After Another, the frontrunner for Best Picture, did not grab me emotionally. It struck me as a brilliant technical achievement by Paul Thomas Anderson (all those long tracking shots with hundreds of background players), but the story and characters were extreme cartoons. Battle looks like the likely winner for Picture, Director and Adapted Screenplay. Sinners will take Original Screenplay. Treyana Taylor of Battle could take Supporting Actress, but there is a lot of support for Amy Madigan for Weapons. Timothee Chalamet and Jessie Buckley are the favorites for Actor and Actress, probably Stellen Skarsgaard for Supporting Actor.

Horror is a prevalent genre this year with Sinners (16 noms, the most ever), Weapons, and Bugonia prominently featured. Perhaps this is a metaphorical response to our national trauma. Jessie Plemmons' character is a victim of abuse in Bugonia as are the missing children in Weapons and the juke joint patrons in Sinners are victims of racism. 

Oscar contenders seen:

Frankenstein (Netflix)

Nuremberg (Kaufman-Astoria)

Blue Moon (Kew Gardens Cinema)

One Battle After Another (Amazon Prime)

Train Dreams (Netflix)
Wicked: For Good (Regal Union Square in 3D, 4DX)

Hamnet (Kew Gardens Cinema)

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (Amazon Prime)

Sentimental Value (Angelika Cinema)

Jay Kelly (Netflix)

Sinners (HBO Max)

Familiar Touch (Amazon Prime)

Marty Supreme (Kew Gardens Cinema)

Bugonia (Apple TV)

Weapons (HBO Max)

Come See Me in the Good Light (Apple TV)

Short Film Docs

All the Empty Rooms (Netflix)

Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud (HBO Max)

The Devil Is Busy (HBO Max)

Book Review: Who Will Run the Frog Hospital?

(Downloaded on my Kindle for $6): I loved the title of Lorrie Moore's early novel and enjoyed this quirky story of two teen girls' summer of verging on adulthood in upstate New York. The narrator is Berrie, reflecting back on her girlhood friendship with the pretty and somewhat dangerous Sils, while accompanying her husband to a medical conference in Paris. In her recollection, Berrie and Sils work at an amusement park and skirt the edges of bad behavior. They rescue frogs tortured or injured by callous boys, hence the title. Moore captures their yearning for maturity and freedom in their dreary little town. The adult Berrie is not quite as well developed. It's not clear why she is slightly dissatisfied with her marriage. Her friendship with Sils fades as they move apart and Berrie regrets the lost connection. The evocation of lost youth is affecting.

Book Review: I Like to Watch: Arguing My Way Through the TV Revolution

(Bought at the Strand Book Store for $10): Pulitzer Prize winning critic Emily Nussbaum's collection of reviews and profiles from the New Yorker forms a fascinating history of the evolution of TV in the early 21st century. From the rise of cable to the current state of streaming, Nussbaum digs deep into the meaning of such cult and pop hits as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Americans, Law and Order: SVU, Jane the Virgin, and many others. Her take on David Chase's love-hate relationship with his audience in The Sopranos brings up several interesting points like the moral ambiguity of Dr. Melfi helping Tony not to be a better man but a more efficient gangster. She says Chase makes us love Tony but then makes us hate ourselves for loving him and watching him every week.  I haven't watched ALL of these shows, but Nussbaum makes me want to. 

Her extended profiles of prolific show-runners Kenya Barris (black-ish), Jenji Kohan (Weeds, Orange Is the New Black) and Ryan Murphy (Glee, Pose, Feud, etc.) offer a glimpse into the shifting power struggle in entertainment as these black, female and gay voices become more powerful. There are also views of the past with ruminations on Norman Lear, Joan Rivers, and Sex and the City.

Nussbaum recently was reassigned to cover theater for the New Yorker and I'm looking forward to her perspectives.

Bowl EP and David Greenspan Among Obie Winners

Oghenero Gbaje and Essence Lotus in Bowl EP,
Obie Award winner for Best New Play.
Credit: Carol Rosegg

Bowl EP, Nazareth Hassan's play about two wanna-be rappers set in an empty swimming pool made into a skateboarding park, and performer-playwright David Greenspan were among the winners of the 69th annual Obie Awards, announced on NY-1 by Frank DiLella and Michael Urie on Jan. 31. Bowl EP was named Outstanding New Play and won for its three-person Ensemble Cast and Greenspan won two awards--for his performance as part of the ensemble of Prince Faggot and for the solo show I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan. He previously won six Obies.

Originally presented by the Village Voice newspaper, the Obies are now presented by the American Theater Wing who also co-presents the Tonys. The Obies honor excellence in Off and Off-Off-Broadway theater. Instead of a ceremony, the Wing presents winners with cash grants totaling more than $250,000. A private reception for the winners will be held on Feb. 23. 

David Greenspan in I'm Assuming You Know
David Greenspan.
Credit: Ahron R. Foster

This year's judging panel comprised Stephanie Berry, Modesto "Flako" Jimenez, Jonathan McCrory, Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, Aya Ogawa, Barbara Samuels, and Whitney White, led by co-chairs Wilson Chin and Ryan J. Haddad. More than 300 productions were evaluated.

Drama Desk and Outer Critics Announce 2026 Dates

Two major theater award dispensing groups, the Drama Desk and the Outer Critics Circle, have announced their dates for nominations and ceremonies. The 70th annual Drama Desk Awards will be held on Sun. May 17 at Town Hall. The ceremony will celebrate the organiztion's 70-year history. This marks a return to the venue for the first time since the 2020 theater shutdown. The DDs had been presented at NYU's Skirball in recent years. The nominations will be announced on April 29. This year’s awards will be produced by Drama Desk Awards Productions, a venture of Scene Partners in partnership with the Season. Chaired by the Martha Wade Steketee (UrbanExcavations.com), the 2026 nominating committee includes Linda Armstrong (Amsterdam News), Daniel Dinero (Theater Is Easy), Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio), Kenji Fujishima (freelance, Theatermania), Margaret Hall (Playbill.com) and Raven Snook (TDF).  Charles Wright and David Barbour are co-presidents. The Drama Desk considers Broadway, Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway in each of its multiple categories. The acting categories are not gender-specific and the top two vote-getters are the winners. Multiple awards may be presented in the case of ties. The awards are voted on by about 100 DD members who are NY-based theater critics, reporters, and editors.

Nominations for the Outer Critics Circle Awards will be announced on April 21. The winners will be made public by press release on May 11 with a ceremony to be held on May 21 at a venue yet to be announced. Previous OCC presentations have been held at the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts' Bruno Walter auditorium and before that at Sardi's restaurant where a meal was included. The OCCs honor on and Off-Broadway. Some of their categories are divided between Broadway and Off-Broadway while others put them together. Like the DDs, the OCCs have eliminated gender-specific acting categories. The Outer Critics Circle is an organization of writers on New York theatre for out-of-town, national, and digital publications. Led by President David Gordon (Theatermania), the OCC Board of Directors which is also the Nominating Committee includes Vice President Richard Ridge, Recording Secretary Joseph Cervelli, Corresponding Secretary Patrick Hoffman, Treasurer David Roberts, Cynthia Allen, Harry Haun, Dan Rubins, Janice Simpson and Doug Strassler. Simon Saltzman is president emeritus and a non-nominating board member, and Stanley L. Cohen serves as financial consultant and a non-nominating board member.