Chron Commons

If The Catastrophic Theatre had not produced this brilliant play, what other theatre would have? ... The Catastrophic Theatre has a huge hit on its hands with Mayer's There Is a Happiness That Morning Is so I highly recommend that you get your tickets before the run sells out.

Sex, drugs, and rock ’n roll Dutch-style pretty much sums up the monumentally epic life and times of Herman Brood and Bluefinger, boldly and masterfully brought to the stage by visionary Jason Nodler, artistic director of The Catastrophic Theatre.

Bluefinger is so good that it could and should run for years, whether here or Off-Broadway or both.  It is better than American Idiot, which I reviewed on opening night, and could make a huge splash in a smaller New York venue.

The Designated Mourner is one of the most riveting, disturbing, most brilliantly produced plays of the season. Jason Nodler's direction is simple, almost cinematic in its intimacy, and intense, overwhelmingly and fiercely frightening in its purposefully claustrophobic presentation. This is the kind of theatre that makes me love live theatre and I believe you will embrace it wholeheartedly as well. 

We witness the ins and outs, the humor, the brilliance, and all of the peculiarities of the manic depressive personality of Daniel Johnston. This proves to be a brilliant character study, amazingly and memorably realized by Matt Brownlie, a wonderful musician in his own right, but here working out another day in the life of the songs and struggles of Daniel Johnston...all in all, Life is Happy and Sad is a powerful peek into the life of Daniel Johnston's journey as the musician's cult hero. And the play deeply touches all of us who have ever struggled to be heard and appreciated as artists and musicians.