Off-Broadway Review

Peasant Opera

Alongside the more grandiose offerings at Lincoln Center Festival 09, Béla Pintér and Company's "Peasant Opera" requires an intimate staging.

Boris Godunov

For all its philosophical implications, Declan Donnellan's marvelous production has none of the weary marks of the cynic or the academic. This "Boris Godunov" crackles with ambition.

…Another Man's Poison

A potentially fascinating examination of race, class, sexuality, and gender is given the soap-opera treatment.

Is Life Worth Living?

The invaluable Mint Theater Company's genial production of Lennox Robinson's 1933 comedy (originally titled "Drama at Inish") keeps a smile on your face for two hours.

Vigil

The plot of this two-hander screams "sentimental weepy," but excellent direction and deeply felt performances by Malcolm Gets and Helen Stenborg make it funny and moving.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs

Charles Busch's commercially minded comedy is an obvious attempt to duplicate the box office success of his "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," but lightning is unlikely to strike twice.

Benefactors

Carl Forsman's production of Michael Frayn's 1984 drama isn't perfect, but it's intriguing enough to hold your interest and keep you thinking.

Picked

The talented Christopher Shinn seems to have set himself a difficult task with this irritating offering: writing a play largely devoid of dramatic conflict.

NY Review: 'No Place to Go'

Ethan Lipton’s “No Place to Go,” at the Public Theater’s Joe’s Pub, captures the artist’s complaint, but the whining gets tiresome after a while.

Burmese Days

Writer-director Ryan Kiggell tries hard to make this adaptation of George Orwell's first novel theatrical, but the results make for a pretty tough slog.