Off-Off-Broadway Review

The New Musical 'The Island of No Tomorrows' Fails to Cohere

“The Island of No Tomorrows,” a new musical from Interart Theatre and MultiStages, begins with an intriguing premise but soon becomes disjointed, confusing, and exhausting.

'Coney' Is a Welcome Theatrical Tonic

David Johnston’s “Coney,” a lovingly sunny ode to life along the boardwalk and beach of Coney Island, from Blue Coyote Theater Group, casts an overall glow that charms.

'Billy Witch' Has Campy Appeal but Is Too Thin

Instead of deepening voices and surging hormones, the teens in “Billy Witch,” Gregory S. Moss’ creepy summer-camp tale from Astoria Performing Arts Center, sprout tentacles and fur.

'Isaac Babel and the Gangster King' Has a Neat Conceit but Needs Work

“Isaac Babel and the Gangster King,” a musical about the life and stories of the great Russian-Jewish writer who was killed by Stalin, is best viewed as a promising work in progress.

Fragmentary 'Alone' Contemplates Strindbergh

Writer-director Edward Elefterion’s “Alone,” from Rabbit Hole Ensemble and inspired by the life and work of August Strindberg, explores the sources and process of creativity.

Target Margin Reimagines Yiddish Theater in 'Dukus'

“Dukus,” Target Margin’s largely successful reworking at the Brick of a 1925 play about a duke who converts to Judaism and embraces martyrdom, is nonrealistic and savagely comic.

Hip-Hop Romance 'How to Break' Has the Moves but Is Too Trite

In Aaron Jafferis’ hip-hop love story “How to Break,” at Here, moments of standout choreography help balance the often-syrupy dialogue but can’t rescue the moralistic script.

'Neutral Hero' Is Something of a Rorschach Blot

Downtown artist Richard Maxwell’s latest play with music, “Neutral Hero,” at the Kitchen, featuring a crew of amateur actors alongside old hands, is kind of an avant-garde “Oklahoma!”

A 'King Lear' Played Too Much for Laughs

Stephen Mo Hanan, an actor deservedly celebrated for his comic work in musicals, stumbles taking on the title role in American Bard Theater Company’s only serviceable “King Lear.”

'Hate' Is a Symphony of Bigotry

In Mexican playwright Luis Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio’s “I Hate Fucking Mexicans,” at the Flea Theater, the piling on of political incorrectness becomes almost poetic.