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Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris, directed by Robert O'Hara, brings us abruptly into sexual fantasies played out by three interracial couples in the ante-bellum South. This is not what might have happened in the South before or during Jim Crow.  No, it is the processing of feelings which will re-invigorate the Black partner’s sexual desire.  In the second Act, Processing, we get into the nitty grity of race feelings, which range wider and tougher than the first act’s insight that cantaloupe has white skin and no taste

In the late ‘50s-early ‘60s, LSD (before Dr. Timothy Leary) was a trendy drug used by both psychiatrists and other to help individuals explore their past and their subconscious. Among the well-known people who experimented with the drug was actor Cary Grant, novelist Aldous Huxley and playwright/journalist/diplomat Clare Boothe Luce.

Kimberly Akimbo the newly penned musical with book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole, Shrek the Musical) and music by Jeanine Tesori (Fun Home, Caroline, or Change) is the most loving, loveliest, and poignant theatrical experience of the year.

Gail Samuel, Eunice and Julian Cohen President and CEO of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, today announced the appointment of two new executive leaders Maureen Flores, as Chief Development Officer, and Asadour Santourian, as Vice President, Tanglewood Music Center & Learning. Both appointments are effective January 2022.

When the movie “Casablanca” merged the powerful elements of love, war, and destiny in 1942, the film and its producers never saw the phenomenal appeal or its success coming until it won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1943.  Eighty years later it still deserves a shout-out for American filmmaking exceptionalism.  

The original film of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story was released in 1957. Why mess with a masterpiece? Now we have a remake collaboration by living legends screenwriter Tony Kushner and director Stephen Spielberg. While arguably not better it certainly is different and relevant for a new generation of viewers. Look for the fabulous 89-year-old Rita Moreno (Academy Award winner for her 1961 portrayal of Anita) as Valentina, the widow of the store owner ‘Doc.”

During three years in New York in the 1960s I (Charles Giuliano) was assistant director of East Hampton Gallery. Raeford Liles was one of the artists we represented. A native of Birmingham, Alabama he came from a military family. During WW11 he was a fighter pilot in the South Pacific and later served with SAC based in Paris where he studied art and cooking. There PTSD caused a breakdown leading to a lifetime of treatment and medication. He often spoke of his daughters with whom he had a complex relationship. This is explored in a remarkable essay by Barbara Liles. A chapter of a larger work in progress it was published by Southern Humanities Review.

Palm Beach Dramaworks will perform Almost, Maine from Jan. 12-30. In this play about love and romance, magic is literally in the air. Almost, Maine is an example of Magical Realism.

A new non-equity touring production of the musical-comedy hit, Hairspray, is touring the country. The production, which achieves mixed results, recently played Miami's Adrienne Arsht Center, but some performances were cancelled due to positive COVID tests within the company. The next tour stop is Cincinnati's Aronoff Center from Jan. 4-9.

You are invited to attend the 39th Re-Rooters Day Ceremony, Friday, January 7, 2022, 4:00 pm, Harbor Hotel beach, Provincetown Harbor (snow, storm or shine); bring something non-toxic to burn on a tree boat. Sponsored by the IRS, International Re-Rooters Society, Jay Critchley, President

In an uncanny masterpiece musician Sal Baglio, in Music for Abandoned Amusement Parks, captures the ambiance of colorful East Boston. Journalist Frank Conte is the venerable chronicler of the hood.

The Streets of New York laugh and cry as they burst into song in Charlotte Moore’s production. Everyone you've ever met is on stage. Celebrate the holidays at the Irish Repertory Theatre

This very special concert features the amazing flutist Andrea Brachfeld with Insight: Bill O’Connell, piano; Harvie S, bass; and Jason Tiemann, drums

In the dead of winter baby it's cold outside. It's time to curl up on the couch and hunker down with Netflix and Amazon. Here is a cheat sheet of what we've been watching.

Joe Papp at the Ballroom attempts to recreate the theater legend's public concert in 1978. GableStage, together with Yiddishkayt Initiative (https://yilovejewish.org). The production runs through Dec. 31 at the award-winning Coral Gables professional, nonprofit theater company.

Mark St. Germain has crafted a moving and funny portrait of the great radio and television sex-pert, Dr. Ruth Westheimer. It plays at the Safra Hall in the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Scott Schwartz directs. Dr. Ruth triumphs over Hitler.

Slow Burn Theatre Company's production of "Kinky Boots" raises us up. The Ft. Lauderdale company's production runs through Jan. 2. Kinky Boots is based on a film of the same name, which, in turn, is based on a true story.

A new work by George Meyer and commissions by Inna Falik are performed in New York. This program took place on The Barge, one of New York’s most charming venues.  You rock on the boat as you watch perfumers reflected in the boat’s windows.  Boats pass by outside, traveling up and down the East River. The Wall Street skyline shimmers in the background. A welcome way to end a difficult year.  Live music. 

The premise of the play that actually goes wrong is introduced by Chris Bean, president of the Cornley University Drama Society (played by Matt Mueller). The drama society is staging the play The Murder at Haversham Manor in the USA, a production made possible, the program notes, by the British-American Cultural Exchange Program.

Conrad Tao is a special pianist. He is a master of technique and so much more. He performs as a listener, always hearing the harmonics of a note he strikes (or even plucks). In his own compositions and in his interpretation of the work of others, he calls our attention to the richness of a tone,  colored by many notes, in geometric order above the note struck.

The Woman in Black has drawn sufficient audience to run on London’s West End for over 30 years – second in longevity only to Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap.”  It’s had productions around the world and has been translated into 14 languages.  Not bad bona fides. Produced by American Conservatory Theater it plays at ACT’s Strand Theater, 1127 Market St., San Francisco.

Flying Over Sunset, a new musical with book by James Lapine and music by Tom Kitt premieres at the Lincoln Center Theater. It features Aldous Huxley ( Harry Hadden-Paton), Cary Grant (Tony Yazbeck)and Claire Boothe Luce (Carmen Cusack), who all experimented with LSD in the 1950s. Both Huxley and Luce wanted to expand their horizons. Grant went to a psychiatrist for a supervised dose of the drug at the recommendation of his then wife, Betsy Drake.

Roundabout Theater is mounting Alice Childress’ play, Trouble in Mind. It premiered off Broadway in 1957 to excellent reviews. Transfer to Broadway failed when the producers demanded changes the playwright refused to make. Now we get a look.

Donald Shambroom’s art embraces a hybrid notion of the societal whole and the individual as its own kind of whole. He leans on the structure of a visual language derived from Rauschenberg to insert images of faces known from mass media side by side with those of people in his immediate family. Sometimes there is text given the same weight as the faces and bodies.

Shakespeare & Company announces  the first three titles slated for production during its 45th Season, beginning in June 2022. Two works by Shakespeare and a modern production will open the season, which also marks the one-year anniversary of The New Spruce Theatre – Shakespeare & Company’s 500-seat amphitheater, constructed in the summer of 2021.