writing
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The title of Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) tells you almost everything about the plot and almost nothing about what makes the musical so affecting. Yes, two strangers meet. Yes, there is a cake. Yes, they carry it through New York. But beneath that deliberately whimsical premise is a funny, tender story about loneliness,…
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There are musicals that tell a story about America. There are musicals that celebrate America. And then there is Ragtime, which asks America to sit down, be quiet, and listen to the stories it has spent more than a century trying not to hear. I saw Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Ragtime on July 29, and I absolutely…
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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway is an undeniably impressive production from a technical standpoint, but as a complete theatrical experience, I found it much less satisfying than I expected. There is a great deal to admire in the staging, lighting, and special effects, yet those elements are doing most of the heavy lifting.…
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I saw Proof at the July 1 matinee, which feels like the correct way to see a play about genius, grief, and familial distrust: in the middle of the day, when the sun is behaving like an overconfident undergraduate and Broadway is full of people carrying tote bags, iced coffee, and unresolved maternal narratives. David Auburn’s Proof has always…
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There are some plays that entertain. There are some plays that impress. And then there are plays that reach into your chest, grab hold of something deeply human, and refuse to let go long after the curtain falls. On the evening of June 13, 2026, I had the privilege of seeing Death of a Salesman, and…
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On June 13, 2026, I had the opportunity to see Dog Day Afternoon on Broadway, and it delivered one of the most enjoyable afternoons of theatre I have experienced in quite some time. Like many theatergoers, I came into the production with a deep appreciation for the iconic 1975 film. Adapting a beloved movie for the stage…
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There is a conference room in every mid-sized law office in America with bad carpet, worse coffee, and a court reporter who has seen things. I have spent a meaningful percentage of my adult life in rooms like this, and I am here to tell you that it is the finest playwriting education money can…
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There is a particular kind of theatrical magic that does not announce itself with spectacle, but instead sneaks up on you, disarming, intimate, and ultimately overwhelming. Every Brilliant Thing is precisely that kind of experience. In its current New York run, it finds a near perfect steward in Daniel Radcliffe, whose performance is as unguarded as it…
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There is always a quiet question hanging over stage adaptations of major screen properties. Not whether they will sell, but whether they will justify their existence as theatre. Stranger Things: The First Shadow answers that question with surprising confidence. This is not a decorative extension of a brand. It is a production that understands the grammar of…
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There is a peculiar confidence that arrives with consensus. Once a winner is announced, something subtle shifts. Conversation tightens. Opinions harden. People begin speaking not about what they experienced, but about what is now established. The work has been named, categorized, filed. This is the moment criticism quietly exits the room. Consensus feels like understanding because…
Brian Brijbag 