Duke & Roya

 Duke & Roya
Lucille Lortel Theatre
July 9, 2025

Photo courtesy of Duke & Roya

Duke & Roya is a beautifully written and masterfully directed new play.  The story addresses the cultural difference of the characters as they share and expand their creative and political voices.  More importantly, it is about human connection and finding your true self in spite of the expectations placed upon you.  Playwright Charles Randolph-Wright has crafted a masterpiece.  Director Warren Adams focuses on the relationships of the four characters, their obstacles and triumphs, which keeps the action flowing smoothly.  The cast is extraordinary, delivering brilliantly truthful performances. 

The year is 1917.  Duke (played by Jay Ellis) is a famous American Rap artist.  He travels to Afghanistan to perform for the U.S. troops.  He meets Roya (played by Stephanie Nur), an Afghan translator.  She is independent and forthright, characteristics Duke has not found in the women he meets.  After the concert, Duke convinces her to take him on an adventure off the base.  It is prohibited and dangerous.  When there is a bombing in the tea shop where they stop to eat, Duke is injured.  This shines a light of suspicion on Roya.  Duke’s mother, Desiree (played by Noma Dumezweni), flies in from England to see him.  Roya’s father, Sayeed (played by Dariush Kashani), who is also a translator for the American forces, is very concerned about how this incident will affect his family. 

Stephanie Nur & Jay Ellis
Photo courtesy of Duke & Roya

Jay Ellis and Stephanie Nur light a fire in their first scene together.  It sparks and smolders, taking the
action of the play to its tender conclusion.  Mr. Ellis portrays Duke as pompous and privileged in the first few scenes, while Ms. Nur plays Roya as aloof and guarded.  The differences in their upbringing and lifestyles are vast.  As Duke chips away at Roya’s defenses, she challenges his self-awareness.  This continues throughout the play.  Their connection is genuine and breathtaking.  It is fascinating to watch the transformation this relationship causes in their characters.  

Jay Ellis & Noma Dumezweni
Photo courtesy of Duke & Roya

There is a great cultural divide between the characters of Sayeed and Desirees.  Dariush Kashani and Noma Dumezweni skillfully portray this in the relationships they have with their very independent and determined adult children.  They unexpectedly find common ground, then openly express disappointment with their children’s actions.  They push them to accept responsibility.  This seems like an impossible task to impose on a self-centered Rap star, and a severe demand to place on a young Afghan woman.  These parent/child relationships strengthen through the events of the story because they are grounded in mutual love and respect.

The action of the story takes these four characters on a journey toward self-awareness and cultural understanding.  They are all pushed to their limits, facing their inherent flaws and cultural restrictions.

Duke & Roya is playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre through August 23.  It is a must see!  

Domenick Danza

Joy

 Joy
Laura Pels Theater
June 30, 2025

Photo courtesy of Joy

The Off-Broadway production of Joy, now playing at the Laura Pels Theatre, is an uplifting new musical.  It is based on the life of Joy Mangano and her book Inventing Joy: Dare to Build a Brave & Creative Life.  It was also a 2015 movie starring Jennifer Lawrence.  The music and lyrics by Annmarie Milazzo are spirited and energetic.  The book by Ken Davenport is sharp and witty.  Joshua Bergasse’s choreography is clever and precise.  Director Lorin Latarro finds the comic timing and pace to keep the show moving, and, most importantly, she finds the heart. 

Joy (played by Betsy Wolfe) is a single mother doing the best she can, which never seems to be enough.  Her mother, Toots (played by Jill Abramovitz), never gets off the couch, and has not left the house in over two years.  Her father, Rudy (played by Adam Grupper), is divorced from her mother, living in her basement, and dating Lorraine, an old friend of hers from high school (played by Jaygee Macapugay).  Her ex-husband, Tony (played by Brandon Espinoza), is a could-have-been band singer, also living in her basement.  Her young daughter, Christie (played by Honor Blue Savage), is angry that her mother seems to always put her last, even though she is always first in her thoughts.  When Joy loses her job, she gets an idea for improving a common household tool… the mop.  Unlike all her other ideas, she takes bold moves on this one.  She draws up a design and makes a prototype from objects she has around the house.  No one in her family believes in her, but she is motivated to make life better for her daughter.  She has a dream, and defies all odds to achieve it. 

Betsy Wolfe
Photo courtesy of Joy

Betsy Wolfe is endearing as Joy.  She has the audience’s full attention from the moment she enters, and engages every emotion throughout the story.  The character is far from perfect, but the audience roots for her every step of the way.  Her singing voice rings with drive and emotion.  She creates a powerful relationship with Honor Blue Savage, who plays her daughter Christie.  Ms. Savage portrays the teenage angst perfectly.  Her disappointment in her mother is fierce, and Ms. Wolfe meets that with unrelenting determination.  As the plot progresses, Christie steps up to support her mother.  Ms. Savage plays this moment with genuine love and admiration. 

Jill Abramovitz portrays Joy’s mother, Toots, with a cynical edge that provides the laughs.  In the second act, when the chips are down, she delivers a heartfelt song.  The audience understands where that cynicism comes from.  Her character is redeemed, as are all Joy’s family members when they support her in her darkest hour.  

The cast and ensemble are phenomenal in this well-crafted, jubilant new musical.  The small stage of the Laura Pels Theater feels expansive and alive.  Joy is playing for a limited time, running through August 17.  Don’t miss it! 

Domenick Danza

Lowcountry

 Lowcountry
Atlantic Theater Company
Linda Gross Theater
June 28, 2025

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

The Atlantic Theater Company production of Lowcountry packs a powerful punch.  The two main characters carry a heavy load of secrets.  One tries to be open about them.  The other keeps them securely under wraps.  Playwright Abby Rosebrock holds back all reveals, skillfully building the suspense.  Director Jo Bonney brings the action to a stunning and unexpected climax, which bonds the two main characters in an even darker secret. 

David (played by Babak Tafti) is a sexual predator.  He is committed to an SA program in hopes of getting joint custody of his young son.  When he meets Tally (played by Jodi Balfour) through a dating site, he faces a bigger challenge than he expected.  She is extremely forward and not the least bit bothered when David comes clean about his past.  She finally reveals that they knew one another in a church youth camp.  She also researched him online.  She has a very specific purpose in getting together with him, and does not give up until she achieves it.  When his sponsor, Paul (played by Keith Kupferer), shows up for an unexpected visit, what he witnesses can ruin David’s chance of gaining custody of his son.  Tally feels threatened by Paul’s behavior, and reacts with unrestrained fury. 

Babak Tafti as David
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

Babak Tafti portrays David as a flawed but honest character, stepping up to challenges as best he can.  He is immediately likeable, even though we hear and see him not being totally honest with his sponsor.  From the moment Tally enters, we can sense something untrustworthy and dangerous about her.  Jodi Balfour plays this with slick ease.  She is driven by a darker objective, which colors her actions and emotions with a bizarre hue.  She and Mr. Tafti create a genuine connection that rages and calms, then erupts with unbridled passion.

Jodi Balfour & Babak Tafti
Photo courtesy of Atlantic Theater Company

The character of David is on the phone for an extended conversation with Paul at the top of the show.  Even though he is not seen, Keith Kupferer does an outstanding job of creating a complete character in Paul’s voice over scene.  When he enters toward the end of the play, he is exactly as pictured, and just as overbearing.  Playwright Abby Rosebrock lays the foundation in Tally’s dialogue throughout the piece that justifies her reaction to Paul, yet it is still shocking. 

Lowcountry is playing at Atlantic Theater Company’s Linda Gross Theater through July 13.  Ms. Rosebrock’s writing weaves our present-day political atmosphere into the action.  The perspective is sharp and emotionally engaging. 

Domenick Danza

Persephone Palmer Steps Out

 Persephone Palmer Steps Out
Theater for the New City
June 20, 2025

Photo courtesy of Persephone Palmer Steps Out

Persephone Plamer Steps Out is a dark and mysterious depiction of a family’s dynamic, dominated by their cat, who creates the connections that both keep the family together and push them apart.  Playwright Caitlyn Waltermire skillfully embeds the myth of Persephone in the action of the play, creating a magical atmosphere that is full of strange surprises.  Director Natalie Thomas grounds the magical elements in realistic characters, guiding each actor in truthful portrayals of the relationships that drive the story. 

Connie Palmer (played by Zuhairah) spends most of her time at home alone with her cat, Persephone Palmer, aka Persie (played by Sophie Kelly-Hedrick).  When Connie’s husband, Herm (played by Guy Ventoliere) returns from work, they play with the cat, admiring her intelligence, then eat dinner together.  When their son, Joe (played by Alec Febbraro) comes home with his girlfriend, Stef (played by Jessalyn Charles), Persie scratches her, which angers Joe.  He disciplines her by spraying her with a water bottle.  Connie and Herm are permissive with Joe’s bringing Stef over, but when Joe introduces them to Paul (played by Diogo de Oliveira), they sense danger.  Percie, on the other hand, is very attracted to Paul, and openly shows her affection.  Paul lets himself into the apartment at night and connects with Percie on another level.  Percie begins to speak directly to him.  When Connie’s brother, Richard (played by Phil Oetiker) and his much younger wife, Lisa (played by Elizabeth Sherman) visit, Lisa feels a strange bond with Percie.  She unexpectedly returns a few nights later with Richard, after having too much to drink.  She tells about how she and Richard first met fifteen years earlier.  Strangely, Percie is fifteen years old.  In the final scene, Percie stands and puts on Connie’s coat.  She opens the door to leave the apartment.  Connie tries to stop her and admits she will not be able to survive without her. 

Guy Ventoliere, Sophie Kelly-Hedrick, & Zuhairah
Photo courtey of Persephone Palmer Steps Out

The cast is fully committed to their characters throughout the story, keeping the audience enthralled through the dark and magical unfolding of events.  In the world of this play, anything is possible.  The intelligence and personification of the cat, Percie, and her connection to the extended family are fully believable.  Their bonds are visceral, mythical, and hypnotically engaging. 

Sophie Kelly-Hedrick is mesmerizing as Persephone (Percie).  She is beguiling and bewitching.   The emergence of her human characteristics is gradual and excruciating.  She pushes the vocal expression from her cat-like physicality.  When her body slowly grows to a full standing position by the time she leaves the apartment, there is more ease in her physicality, as if she has achieved her full reality. 

Sophie Kelly-Hedrick & Diogo de Oliveira
Photo courtesy of Persephone Palmer Steps Out

Zuhairah and Guy Ventoliere create a truthful husband/wife relationship as Connie and Herm.  Connie suffers from anxiety, feeling trapped in the apartment, and Herm offers his support with humor and affection.  Their relationship is touching and genuine in this dark and mysterious world.  Alec Febbraro, Diogo de Oliveira, and Jessalyn Charles portray rebellious teens as Joe, Paul, and Stef.  Their angst is palpable.  Their urges are strong.  Their bond is genuine.  Elizabeth Sherman and Phil Oetiker deliver strong performances as Lisa and Richard.  You can tell right away that something is off in their relationship.  When the truth is revealed, it is disturbing and fathomable.  

Persephone Palmer Steps Out is playing at Theater for the New City until July 6.  It is a mystifying, mind-bending adventure.  

Domenick Danza

Gypsy

 Gypsy
Majestic Theatre
June 17, 2025

Photo courtesy of Gypsy

Audra McDonald puts her unique brand on the iconic role of Rose in the Broadway revival of Gypsy.  Director George C. Wolfe found the urgency that drives every scene.  All the characters are fueled by a primal energy, a yearning for their desires and deep seeded need.  It gives this production a cutting-edge nuance.  Camille A. Brown’s choreography is a truly new take on this Broadway classic.  The movements are fully grounded in character.  Her dances propel the action and enhance the story.  The cast and ensemble are phenomenal. 

Rose (played by Audra McDonald) is pushing her two young daughters, Baby June (played by Mila Jaymes) and Baby Louise (played by Kyleigh Vickers) into show business.  Rose believes that June has all the talent.  Louise works extra hard to back up her sister.  Rose steals from her father (played by Thomas Silcott) to follow her dream and build a full act for the girls.  When she is auditioning the act, she meets Herbie (played by Danny Burstein).  Rose convinces him to represent them, and he starts obtaining bookings on the vaudeville circuit.  Rose refuses to see that the girls are outgrowing the act.  June (played by Jordan Tyson) runs off with Tulsa, one of the dancers in the show (played by Kevin Csolak), leaving Louise (played by Joy Woods) to take over.  Rose builds a whole new act around Louise, but since vaudeville is dying, they wind up taking a booking in a burlesque house.  Rose gives in and decides to marry Herbie at the end of their contract.  When the star stripper does not show up for her number, Rose does what she does best.  She pushes Louise into the spotlight. 

Joy Woods, Audra McDonald, & Danny Burstein
Photo courtesy of Gypsy

Audra McDonald roars as Rose.  She is determined, protective, and fearless.  Danny Burstein brings a
new fire to the character of Herbie.  He and Ms. McDonald have amazing chemistry.  They are an equal match.  Their characters go head to head, and always find the balance that keeps them moving forward.  

The most challenging part of playing the role of Louise is portraying her transition from a tomboy into a young woman.  Joy Woods handles this with skill and grace.  She matures from one scene to the next, creating a gradual change that shows the passage of time as the action unfolds.  By the end of the show, she is a queen in her own right, and the audience has seen it unfold one moment at a time.  

Joy Woods & Audra McDonald
Photo courtesy of Gypsy

Jordan Tyson portrays June with feisty energy.  The character is fueled by frustration, caused by her mother’s expectation.  This plays very well against Ms. Woods’ Louise, who is always working to decelerate the conflict between June and Rose.  June’s decision to leave with Tulsa is hurtful to Rose, yet it is clear by Ms. Tyson’s portrayal that it is fully motivated by her anger toward her mother and made with total disregard for her feelings.

Gypsy is playing at the Majestic Theatre.  It is an energized revival with a stellar cast, who all deliver tremendous performances. 

Domenick Danza

The Imaginary Invalid

 The Imaginary Invalid
Red Bull Theater
New World Stages
June 14, 2025

Photo courtesy of Red Bull Theater

Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation of Molière’s The Imaginary Invalid is light, silly, and a lot of fun.  The Red Bull Theater production is sharp and stylistic.  Director Jesse Berger has gathered a diverse and stellar cast, who keeps the timing tight and evenly paced.  Their characters are clean and crisp.  The action drives the humor, and it all ends on a joyous high point. 

Argan (played by Mark Linn-Baker) is a hypochondriac.  To save on his doctor bills, he decides that his daughter, Angelique (played by Emilie Kouatchou) will marry Thomas Diafoirus (played by Russell Daniels), the son of one of his three physicians (all played by Arnie Burton).  Argan is unaware that Angelique has accepted the marriage proposal of Clèante (played by John Yi).  Argan’s maid, Toinette (played by Sarah Stiles) takes Angelique’s side on her decision to go against her father’s wishes.  This makes Argan decide to disinherit his daughter and leave all his money to his second wife, Bèline (played by Emily Swallow).  Toinette comes up with a plan to make Argan see the error in his decision before the lawyer, De Bonnefoi (played by Manoel Feliciano), who is also Bèline’s secret lover, notarizes Agran’s revised will. 

Mark Linn-Baker & Sarah Stiles
Photo courtesy of Red Bull Theater

From the very start of the show, Mark Linn-Baker captures the audience’s attention.  His comic timing
keeps them empathetic to his situation throughout the ninety-minute performance.  He has an excellent connection with Sarah Stiles.  Ms. Stiles’ portrayal of Toinette is dry and sarcastic, while Mr. Linn-Baker’s Argan is boisterous and demanding.  Together they drive the action.  Arnie Burton creates the roles of three different doctors.  His characters are daring and distinct.  His quick changes and comic delivery are highly entertaining.  Emilie Kouatchou and John Yi are perfect together as Angelique and Clèante.  Ms. Kouatchou’s character is determined and self-assured, while Mr Yi’s is flighty and self-absorbed.  Bold and hilarious performances are also delivered by Russell Daniels, Manoel Feliciano, and Emily Swallow. 

The Full Cast of The Imaginary Invalid
Photo courtesy of Red Bull Theater

Jeffrey Hatcher’s adaptation is skillfully crafted, merging Molière’s plot with present day references and clever lyrics to Broadway show tunes.  The scenic design, by Beowulf Boritt, draws the audience into Molière’s setting and time period with bright colors and a witty flair.  The costumes by Tilly Grimes are a perfect blend of period, character, and social commentary.

The Imaginary Invalid is playing at New World Stages through June 29.  You need to see this light and silly comedy.  Get a ticket before it closes! 

Domenick Danza

Ocean in a Teacup

 Ocean in a Teacup
Next Step Theatre Festival
Gural Theater
June 5, 2025

Photo courtesy of Ocean in a Teacup

The Next Step Theatre Festival is presenting Ocean in a Teacup, a new musical by Joel Krantz and Neil Selden.  The score is beautifully crafted.  It is based on a true story of one man’s spiritual journey during war time, which turns into a personal quest.  It is highly relevant in our present political atmosphere, dramatizing the courage required to make critical choices when facing fears and personal demons. 

It is World War II.  Thomas Henderson (played by Lukas Poost) declares he is a conscientious objector.  The draft board accepts his claim.  Instead of remaining safely at home, he decides to travel to India and work with the Red Cross.  Before leaving, he asks Julia Gordon (played by Selene Klasner) to marry him when he returns.  As the war rages, the Red Cross hospital is attacked.  Tom takes up arms to defend himself and his fellow medical workers.  This puts all his beliefs in question.  He leaves the Red Cross, but is incapable of returning home and facing Julia.  He turns to alcohol in an desperate effort to escape his actions.  Khogen (played by Levin Valayil), an ambulance driver whose life Tom saved when he chose to defend the Red Cross hospital, finds him and takes him to meet his teacher, Thakur (Played by Arif Silverman).  This puts Tom on the rough road to healing, which required a difficult change in his perspective.  When Julia travels to India to find Tom, he is forced to face his actions and fully commit to his choice. 

The cast of Ocena in a Teacup
Photo courtesy of Ocean in a Teacup

Lukas Poost delivers a strong performance as Thomas Henderson.  His journey is wrought by
tremendous inner conflict.  Mr. Poost skillfully portrays these battles.  Arif Silverman has a grounded presence as Thakur.  Levin Valayil is dynamic and outspoken as Khogen.  Selena Klasner has a few heartfelt solos as Julia Gordon.  She performs them flawlessly.  There are also impressive performance by Isha Narayanan, Brandon Grimes, and Shailen Patel Braun. 

Ocean in a Teacup is a big musical with a beautiful score.  It tells a valuable and relevant story.  This bare-bones festival production has an extremely skilled cast of seven with a well recorded orchestral track.  It deserves further development and a full-scale production.  This is the goal of the Next Step Theatre Festival.  It is a chance for playwrights and composers to showcase their work and assess the “next step” in the development process on the journey toward production.  For more information and the full listing of performances presented this month, go to NextStepTheatreFest.com. 

Ocean in a Teacup is playing at the Gural Theater (502 W. 53 St., NYC).  There are two more performance (June 7 & 8).  Don’t miss them. 

Domenick Danza