Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

Justin Peck Featured Dance magazine features NYCB soloist and rising choreographer Justin Peck on the cover of its September issue. In the feature article, which you can read online , Peck talks about balancing his work as a dancer and a choreographer; being inspired by music; and his mentors, including Christopher Wheeldon and NYCB Ballet Master in Chief, Peter Martins. After you've read the article, head to nycballet.com to purchase tickets for the 2014-2015 season, which will feature two new Peck ballets (the first, Belles Lettres , is set to premiere this month), and an encore performance of Everywhere We Go . SNL Comings and Goings Several changes to the long-running sketch comedy show were announced this week. Three new writers , Natasha Rothwell , Streeter Seidell and Jeremy Beiler , have joined the team. Chris Pratt ( Parks and Recreation , Moneyball ) and recent Emmy winner Sarah Silverman will host the first two episodes of the new season , September ...

Herein, some playful suggestions of what you might serve at a Tony Awards party. (I've book-ended the list with my two favorites!) For some treats, I've linked to recipes I can vouch for; for others, the recipes haven't been tested by me just yet. Some of the recipes included are my own. Enjoy! Will You Still Love Me Tamale (shout out to Beautiful ); from Marcela Valladolid, corn tamales Of Rice and Minestrone Soup (shout out to Of Mice and Men ); from Mario Batali, minestrone with rice and beans Oatmeal Raisin in the Sun Cookies (shout out to A Raisin in the Sun ); scroll down for the recipe I've been using for years Lady Fingers at Emerson's Bar and Grill (shout out to Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill ); from Emeril Lagasse, homemade lady fingers After Midnight Snacks (shout out to After Midnight ); any leftovers will do, or whatever your favorite nosh is! Cous Cous Valentina (shout out to Casa Valentina ); my "recipe": cook ...

It was famous opening line day for me when I tucked in for a double-header of Shakespeare. Mark Rylance and the Shakespeare’s Globe Company are on Broadway with all-male repertory productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night . You know how Aaron Sorkin’s characters like to say, “If you haven’t seen ‘X’ then you haven’t seen Shakespeare the way it’s meant to be played”? Well, check out these productions and you’ll see the real thing. Striving for authenticity, the company is made up entirely of male actors, just as when the plays were originally performed. And that's not all. Designer Jenny Tiramani explains in the program notes the materials used for the scenic and costumes designs, and the process of construction and application of the latter. She notes that the “set” is modeled after the great halls in which Shakespeare’s plays were performed before he and his players called a space at the Blackfriars home. (And it is lit, to a great extent, by candles; lighting desig...