

THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY – Hartford Stage
ASK ME NO QUESTIONS, I’LL TELL YOU NO LIES Playwright Samuel Baum perfectly sets his cleverly constructed new play THE ENGAGEMENT PARTY in January 2007, just as the big, financial bull market that led to the 2008 collapse was humming along. Even among the experts who knew better, no one acknowledged the shaky fundamentals underpinning the boom. Ask-Me-No-Questions-I’ll-Tell-you-No-Lies is exactly what binds together the eight characters who populate Baum’s taut , 80-minute,


CHOIR BOY – Manhattan Theatre Club
Besides being one of the most creatively-told gay coming of age dramas, CHOIR BOY has one of the best ensembles that have graced a Broadway stage. I say that because at the matinee performance I saw two understudies take on the lead and a featured role. The result: a seamlessly staged play (with song) and an emotionally rich and powerful tale of growing up. Pharus, brilliantly played by understudy Jonathan Burke, not only doesn’t hide but also flaunts his being gay at the


BLUE RIDGE - Atlantic Theater Company
You don’t have to be familiar with the dynamics of a half way house or the protocols of a Twelve Step program, but it helps to comprehend fully Abby Rosebrock’s , sometimes confusing, BLUE RIDGE. It’s the western hills of North Carolina and Alison, Rosebrock’s protagonist, has been court-ordered to Church-sponsored group living and mandatory work assignment after taking an ax to the car of her boyfriend, who happens to have been her boss, too. Alison’s dual issues - rage