I have a suggestion for the producers of Shrek the Musical: Give Sutton Foster four—or six—more songs and rename the show Fiona the Musical. It’s clear who the real star is here, so why not give her more room to roam? Not to detract from Brian d’Arcy James, who as Shrek does the best he [...]

A list of holiday traditions in New York runs longer than my arm, but two are essential. One is New York City Ballet’s Nutcracker, which always conjures seasonal spirit, even in annual viewings. Another is Doug Elkins’ Fraulein Maria at The Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub, which couldn’t be more of a contrast, but which left [...]

When it comes to movie musicals, some directors are auteurs and others are doers. In the former category are the likes of Vincente Minnelli and Stanley Donen, who put their stamp on their material. Films by Minnelli, in particular, are so his and his alone that you cannot mistake his stamp—and even when he made [...]

It’s been a few years since LeeSaar, a small company begun by Lee Sher and Saar Harari of Israel that settled here, first made a splash in New York; they received a Guggenheim Fellowship this year, among several laurels. Their work hasn’t lost much of the uniqueness and power that might have been due to [...]

Opera companies hit hard by economic times include the Baltimore Opera, which has just filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and New York City Opera, which has been publicly struggling as well. Things are much better at the Metropolitan Opera, but the board of directors there—faced with declining ticket sales in its upper price categories, [...]

During the opera season, I always look forward to one annual ritual that comes as regularly as back-to-school shopping in August or gridlock-alert days in November and December. I’m referring, of course, to the December season-opening gala at La Scala, which is preceded by the inevitable work stoppages and strike threats, only to be averted [...]

Martha Clarke’s productions often slide between the seams of defined genres. For instance, her revival of Garden of Earthly Delights could aptly be described as dance, yet it defies that category in part due to its location at the Minetta Lane Theater, its ticket price range, and a planned three-month run. For those who go [...]

Catherine Opie’s show at the Guggenheim, which provides an overview of this important photographer’s work since 1991, would be a required pit stop on any visual-arts lover’s tour at any time of the year. But place it against all the hoopla surrounding California’s Proposition 8, and the survey acquires further resonance because the questions at [...]

Kehinde Wiley’s painting show, Down, at Deitch Gallery’s Wooster Street space, has the unique effect of stretching time – taking you back a couple of centuries while keeping a foot firmly planted in the present. The most immediate impression of the show is its monumentality. The space itself is cavernous, better suited to showing large [...]

St. Ann’s Warehouse, located in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY, is a venue that does consistently superlative work, especially of the sui generis type. Over the years it’s presented everything from Lou Reed’s live re-creation of his Berlin album to Les Freres Corbusier’s spooky Hell House, from the Wooster Group‘s multimedia extravaganzas to puppet [...]