Inner Monologue: The Multi-tasked Critic in the basement, in the park, soaking up a slow drag on Tin Pan Alley (on Broadway) and passing for adolescent in the east village: four plays, four days

Tin Pan Alley Rag is jukebox musical heaven (and a lot more), Shakespeare in the Park is not free, Cleavage is distracting, and Playwright Lisa Ebersole should be much more than "emerging"

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Inner Monologue: the Multitasked Critic on in your face marketing, incest in Bogland, musician’s greenroom spreads,and more

Meandering thoughts about The Full Monty, Reed in the Wind, Missy Raines and the New Hip, Claire Lynch, nonagenarian painter Sylvia Sleigh, the Fourth of July, the Landmark Session and the I-didn't-graduate nightmare

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Q&A with bass-playing band mistress Missy Raines

Missy Raines talks about playing the bass, chasing the groove, a wiggly cat and a cool band after playing with her band The New Hip at Madison Square Park July 1

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Inner Monologue: the Multitasked Critic’s Meandering Thoughts on Billy Elliott, Shrek, picking up the check, hugging artistic directors and marginalizing tall people

I am way behind on this!  Expect another Inner Monologue sooner than later because doing two weeks at once is too cumbersome.  And I’m leaving out my meandering thoughts on the musical events, my own playreading, and the party at the new Forward building– at least for now– to focus on the plays themselves. Billy Elliott Friday, [...]

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To Spoil or Not to Spoil

I recently wrote a review of “Next to Normal” for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.  You can read the entire review here. My editor received two letters about it– a mother and daughter tag team insisted that I had spoiled the show by revealing a particular plot point.  The exchange got me thinking.  When is a “spoiler” necessary [...]

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