Manhattan Digest

All you need to know about Manhattan culture and so much more...

THEATRE

Off Broadway’s ‘Babette’s Feast’ is a Satisfying Treat

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Weight Watchers is full of pithy aphorisms that keep participants on track to their goal weight. “Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels” is one that came to mind after the curtain fell on a new Off-Broadway production of Babette’s Feast. Thanks to clever staging and Director Karin Coonrod’s respect for audience intelligence, one feels as though a sumptuous meal has been enjoyed without the consumption of a single calorie.

[Read more…] about Off Broadway’s ‘Babette’s Feast’ is a Satisfying Treat

Actor/Author/Veteran/Humanitarian Dan Lauria On His New Play “The Stone Witch”

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Dan Lauria considers himself the luckiest guy in the world. The Brooklyn native, best known for his role as Jack Arnold on television’s Emmy winning show The Wonder Years, has played opposite great ladies including Judith Light, Priscilla Lopez, and Wendie Malick. He and Malick will soon appear in upcoming episodes of NBC’s This is Us.

[Read more…] about Actor/Author/Veteran/Humanitarian Dan Lauria On His New Play “The Stone Witch”

Company XIV Brings Burlesque to Brooklyn (And Stays!)

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Austin McCormick wants Brooklyn to get naughty. Since 2006, the Juilliard dance graduate has been titillating audiences with his dance troupe Company XIV. Employing a variety of musical and dance styles, his team sets out to turn classic stories upside down. His projects have attracted the attention and earned him awards from both dance and theater circles. [Read more…] about Company XIV Brings Burlesque to Brooklyn (And Stays!)

One Night Only Concert Celebrates Musical Theater Legend Jule Styne

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It’s difficult to imagine a world without “People” but one almost existed. In 1962, during early tryouts of Funny Girl, composer Jule Styne and lyricist Bob Merrill wrote the ubiquitous show tune that would become Barbara Streisand’s signature anthem.  Producers didn’t care for the song and wanted it cut from the show. Merrill persuaded them to keep it, Babs sang it, and the world embraced it.

[Read more…] about One Night Only Concert Celebrates Musical Theater Legend Jule Styne

One on One With ‘Cruel Intentions: The Musical’ Stars Lauren Zakrin and Carrie St. Louis

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There’s something happening in the New York theatre right now.  Something so deliciously indulgent, so wonderfully hysterical, so ridiculous, so sexy, so generous to its audiences, such a joy on every visceral level, that I won’t even attempt to break it down in any meaningful manner.  In this time of ours in which important statements are begging to be made and the nation is in dire need of high-level discourse, so is born the equal and opposite need to embrace the joy of the divinely-executed lowbrow. [Read more…] about One on One With ‘Cruel Intentions: The Musical’ Stars Lauren Zakrin and Carrie St. Louis

The 2017 Steinberg Playwright Awards Honor Ayad Akhtar & Lucas Hnath

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It’s always good to be recognized for your work, especially when you are in the early or middle stages of your career.  For Ayad Akhtar and Lucas Hnath, this can mean not only winning an award from your peers, but a cool cash prize to go along with.  They were both the recipients of the 2017 Steinberg Playwright Awardson Monday night, awarded by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.  [Read more…] about The 2017 Steinberg Playwright Awards Honor Ayad Akhtar & Lucas Hnath

Theater Review: ‘The Pajama Game’ is Cheeky and Cheery Fun

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For many apartment dwellers, steam heat is a nuisance. The early morning clanging and banging from ancient pipes is a cacophony of irritation and torment. For lucky theatergoers who find their way to Washington D.C.’s Arena Stage however, the warmth generated by their current production of The Pajama Game will leave them percolating with delight. [Read more…] about Theater Review: ‘The Pajama Game’ is Cheeky and Cheery Fun