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Broadway Play Review—Tracy Letts’ “Bug” with Carrie Coon

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Monday, 02 March 2026 02:50; Written by Kevin Filipski

Bug

Written by Tracy Letts

Directed by David Cromer

Performances through March 8, 2026

Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th Street, New York, NY

manhattantheatreclub.com

Carrie Coon in Bug (photo: Matthew Murphy)

A smash off-Broadway hit more than two decades ago—then, a couple years after that, a chillingly effective William Friedkin film starring a fearless Ashley Judd—Tracy Letts’ exceptionally creepy play Bug can be looked at as a ruthless study of conspiracy theorists, a disturbing fable about post-9/11 paranoia (or post-Timothy McVeigh, who is namechecked in the play and who blew up the Oklahoma City federal building a year before Bug’s London premiere), or simply as a down and dirty glimpse at two people descending into their own personal hell.

Agnes is a lonely divorcée, working as a cocktail waitress and living in a small room in an Oklahoma City fleabag motel, who—after finally letting go of her abusive ex Jerry, who reminds her of their young son, whom she lost in a supermarket 10 years ago and hasn’t seen since—finds an unlikely soul mate in the soft-spoken but unnerving Peter, an army veteran who convinces her that he was turned into an unwilling guinea pig for military experiments so unsavory that he—and, after they start having sex, Agnes—has become an incubator for a certain type of lethal weapon that’s barely visible to the human eye.

Agnes, who may not be our usual idea of a real heroine, garners sympathy as a gullible drug addict who wants desperately to be close to someone again, no matter what the cost is to her sanity—or possibly her life. Could Letts have also written a love story, however fatally obsessive? That’s how Friedkin approached his film adaptation, while in the original off-Broadway staging, director Dexter Bullard cannily used the tiny hotel room to heighten the sense of overwhelming claustrophobia surrounding Agnes and Peter.

David Cromer’s Manhattan Theater Club production is saddled with the large Friedman Theater stage, which isn’t easy to make claustrophobic. Although Takeshi Kata has cleverly designed Agnes’ messy room as a self-contained unit surrounded by black to make it appear smaller, Cromer is only intermittently able to focus on the core relationship, which makes this revival less memorable than either the off-Broadway staging or subsequent film.

Although the actors are unafraid to take on such explosive material, the stakes seem less menacingly real. Off-Broadway, Michael Shannon played Peter with a scary ferocity that forced Agnes to share his crazy delusions, while Shannon Cochran was an astonishingly convincing Agnes, so compelling in her desperation that it was frightening to watch. Here, Carrie Coon (Agnes) and Namir Smallwood (Peter)—who both let it all hang out, literally, as their characters gradually strip themselves bare to show these emotionally flawed people fusing into one—give committed but somehow unmoving portrayals.

Bug remains vibrantly if disturbingly alive, but Cromer’s production softens its rough edges.

Budapest Festival Orchestra Performs Classics at Carnegie Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Tuesday, 24 February 2026 15:30; Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo by Chris Lee.

At the wonderful Stern Auditorium, on the night of Friday, February 6th, I had the enormous pleasure to attend a terrific concert presented by Carnegie Hall—the first of two on consecutive days—featuring the exceptional Budapest Festival Orchestra, under the brilliant direction of Iván Fischer, one of the world’s greatest conductors.

The event started auspiciously with a sterling account of Arvo Pärt’s haunting Summa from 1977, about which the composer stated in 1994:

I have developed a highly formalized compositional system, which I have been using to write my music for 20 years. Summa is the most strict and enigmatic work in this series.

The superb virtuoso, Maxim Vengerov, then entered the stage for a fabulous performance of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s marvelous Violin Concerto in D Major, Op. 35, from 1878. The initial Allegro moderato movement has a brief, slow introduction that precedes lyrical music of a strongly Romantic character that becomes more passionate as it develops, then builds first to an intense climax, before the elaborate cadenza, and then to a second one, before closing triumphantly. The ensuing Canzonetta, marked Andante, is song-like too but more subdued, while the Finale—with a tempo of Allegro vivacissimo—is propulsive and energetic—and joyful—even exhilarating, although with some quieter and more restrained moments, concluding forcefully. Enthusiastic applause elicited an excellent encore from the soloist: J. S. Bach’s Adagio from the Solo Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor.

The second half of the event was comparably strong, consisting of a magnificent realization of the outstanding 1877 Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Op. 73, by Johannes Brahms. The initial, Allegro non troppo movement opens rather gently but not without some suspense, while some of it has a graceful, pastoral quality and, as well, there is some emotionalism throughout; after an extraordinary, quasi-fugal section, it finishes surprisingly softly. The eminent critic (and philosopher of music) Eduard Hanslick wrote of the ensuing, “broad, singing” Adagio, that it is a movement “more conspicuous for the development of the themes than for the themes themselves”; it is melodious and somewhat affirmative on the whole but not without solemn, almost tragic undercurrents, and has an irenic conclusion.

The third movement—marked Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino)—is lilting, even playful, with a cheerful, even exultant ethos, although with a serene ending. Hanslick referred to the “golden sincerity” of the Allegro con spirito finale, and described it as so “far a cry from the stormy finales of the modern school … Mozartean blood flows in its veins.” It is often exuberant but with contrasting passages; after a complex development, it closes jubilantly. After a standing ovation, several musicians in the ensemble played a charming encore: traditional Hungarian folk music from Kalotaszeg.

Tenor Juan Diego Flórez Performs at Carnegie Hall

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Tuesday, 24 February 2026 15:00; Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo by Jennifer Taylor

At the wonderful Stern Auditorium, on the night of Thursday, February 5th, I had the privilege to attend a splendid recital—presented by Carnegie Hall—featuring the superb Peruvian tenor, Juan Diego Flórez—he is one of the most appealing figures in the world of contemporary opera—along with pianist Vincenzo Calera.

The first half of the event focused on the bel canto repertory that is the singer’s specialty, opening with Gioachino Rossini’s “Le sylvain,” the ninth song from the third volume of his late collection—which he began composing in 1857–Péchés de vieillesse. There then followed four selections by Vincenzo Bellini, including three songs from his 1829 set, Sei Ariette, beginning with, first, “Malinconia, ninfa gentile,” which is from a text by the distinguished pre-Romantic poet, Ippolito Pindemonte, and second, “Vanne, o rosa fortunata,” set to verse by the 18th-century librettist, Pietro Metastasio. This preceded the 1834 song, “La ricordanza,” which later became famous when transformed into the aria “Qui la voce” from I puritani. Scalera then beautifully played a keyboard arrangement by Carl Czerny of “Almen se non poss’io” from the Sei Ariette. Flórez concluded the first half of the program with two selections by Gaetano Donizetti, beginning with another Metastasio setting, “Ah, rammenta, o bella Irene,” and ending with the recitative and aria from the opera Roberto Devereux: “Ed ancor la tremenda porta … Come uno spirito angelico.”

Despite the singer’s close association with the style of music of the first half of the evening, the second part was unexpectedly (and unaccountably) much stronger in effect, starting with three selections from Spanish zarzuelas. The first was “Bella amorada” composed by Reveriano Soutullo and Juan Vert from their 1928 El último romántico. Also excellent were two arias from the zarzuela type known as género chico: “Suena, guitarrico mío” from Agustín Pérez Soriano’s 1900 El guitarrico and “Aquí está quien lo tiene tó y no tiene ná” from José Serrano’s 1909 La alegría del batallón. Scalera then concluded this section by playing Mazurka glissando by the celebrated Cuban zarzuela composer, Ernesto Lecuona.

Also exquisite were two selections from the French Romantic repertory, beginning with “Ô Souverain, ô juge, ô père,” from Act III of Jules Massenet’s lesser-known, 1885 opera, Le Cid, based on the play by Pierre Corneille and succeeded by “Salut! demeure chaste et pure” from Charles Gounod’s enduring 1859 opera, Faust. Scalera closed this portion of the program by playing the Berceuse, here arranged for piano, from Benjamin Godard’s Jocelyn of 1887. The tenor ended the program proper thrillingly with “Che gelida manina” from Giacomo Puccini’s marvelous La bohème of 1896.

After a standing ovation, the tenor returned to perform an incredible series of encores, starting with Eduardo di Capua’s "I' te vurria vasà" and followed by a medley of songs with Spanish lyrics for which Flórez accompanied himself on the guitar, including "Bella enamorada,” “La flor de la canela, and “Fina estampa.” More familiar was the delightful 1954 song by Tomás Méndez, "Cucurrucucú paloma." He then sang "Ah! mes amis, quel jour de fête! ... Pour mon âme" from Donizetti’s La Fille du Régiment, which is the aria that brought him stardom. After delivering "Be My Love" by Nicholas Brodszky which Mario Lanza sang in the1950 movie, Toast of New Orleans, he finished gloriously with the unforgettable "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti’s L'elisir d'amore.

Musical Review—“High Spirits” at Encores with Katrina Lenk and Philippa Soo

Details: Parent Category: Film and the Arts; Category: Reviews; Published on Monday, 23 February 2026 16:20; Written by Kevin Filipski

High Spirits

Music, Lyrics, and Book by Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray

Directed by Jessica Stone; choreography by Ellenore Scott

Performances February 4-15, 2026

New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street, NYC

nycitycenter.org

Katrina Lenk and Philippa Soo in High Spirits (photo: Joan Marcus)

High Spirits is the kind of musical that Encores was made for, since it premiered on Broadway in 1964 but has rarely been seen since. A tuneful adaptation of Noel Coward’s classic ghost comedy Blithe Spirit, High Spirits is a buoyant if conventional show that’s probably too old-fashioned to succeed in today’s musical climate. But for a couple of weeks at City Center with a terrifically agile cast, it fills the bill.

Novelist Charles Condomine lives with his second wife Ruth in his well-appointed Hampstead Heath home, where the memory of Charles’ first wife, the free-spirited Elvira, is palpable. One evening, Charles plans a séance to get ideas for a new story, but it works too well in the hands of the eccentric medium Madame Arcadi—Elvira’s spirit materializes, although only Charles can see her. Soon, Elvira tries her damnedest to ruin Charles’ current marriage or even his life—but after Elvira tampers with Charles’ car, it’s Ruth who takes it for a drive, and soon Madame Arcadi has returned to Hampstead to help Charles with a much bigger problem: the ghosts of both dead wives.

If you know Coward’s play, you know how it turns out, but there’s fun in the musical’s comic twists and turns: Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray expanded the role of Madame Arcadi, giving the redoubtable Andrea Martin opportunities to go overboard at Encores. Still, the witty banter of the original—mostly intact in the musical—doesn’t really need any added songs. If Martin and Gray provide entertaining, sometimes tasty interludes, only “Home Sweet Heaven”—in which Elvira enumerates all the fun she’s having in the afterlife, hanging out with everyone from Bernini and Proust to St. Theresa and Joan of Arc—has satiric bite.

Jessica Stone’s Encores staging—which continues the half-staged, half-concert format that the series perfected decades ago—centers on the orchestra, conducted by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, which sounds glorious throughout. The starry cast includes the aforementioned Martin and Rachel Dratch (the Condomines’ maid Edith); though both are consummate physical comedians, their shtick becomes distracting—but at least Martin has a showstopping second act song, “Something Is Coming to Tea.” Campbell Scott is the suave narrator, named Noël Coward, while Stephen Pasquale makes an amusingly exasperated Charles.

Finally, there are two of our top musical performers taking flight as Charles’ wives. Philippa Soo is a delightful Ruth, singing beautifully and showing impressive comic chops along with a happy gift for physical comedy that smartly stops short of mugging. And Katrina Lenk, a force of nature as the cheeky Elvira, is obviously having a great time—her effortlessly powerful voice and impeccable timing are the primary reason why High Spirits still resonated at Encores.

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