Bigg Vinny(Host until January 14)

The guest host is very funny and does a great job as the glue between the acts. 

Dancing

Just like at the Moulin Rouge and La Nouvelle Eve (See our review here), and there is a lot of great sexy topless dancing with an excellent soundtrack (AWOLNATION, Gnarls Barkley, etc.). The dancing by Isabella Guinevere is especially impressive. 

Andrii Kalashnyk and Bogdan Kalashnyk – Hand to Hand Acrobats

These two men perform some very impressive formations. It begins with one standing right behind the other. They man in front proceeds to lift the other directly above his head using only his hands. This is an amazing feat. Later on, one of the men places one hand on the other’s head and is lifted up. What an amazing display of strength and control! 

Richard Del Canto and Maryi Del Canto

On about a 4 foot wide circular platform, the performers spin up to 45 mph on roller skates. The man picks up the woman and spins her around just by her legs. Then, to increase the intensity, they use a figure 8 device that puts a loop over each of their heads. He then proceeds to spin her around without using his hand in a fantastic finale. The crowd gave them a standing ovation!

Get tickets now for Rouge at the Strat. 

Cost of a ticket: $120 (VIP)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value (Go with preferred tickets)

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Wally Eastwood – Juggler and Host

This man can juggle. I mean, really juggle. He juggles about 4 ping pong balls using his mouth to launch the balls up. It’s insane. Later in the show, he brings out a piano that plays a note whenever he drops a ball onto it. He very impressively plays “Fur Elise” by Beethoven using about 6 balls. It is truly incredible.

Iouri & Gabor – Ultimate Balancing Act

This impressive duo features a lot of incredible balancing positions. In one of them, the man on top uses just one hand on the other’s head to balance himself. The grandest one was when the man on the bottom held the other one upside down with their heads back-to-back, just using their shoulders. It was unbelievable!

Lioz – Comedy Magic Parody 

Lioz tells the audience that he is going to turn a latex glove that has been blown up into Pikachu. He concentrates on it very hard and then just squeezes it in a way that looks just like Pikachu. He then does the same to a turtle and a baby. It’s oh so funny. Later on, he has an audience member pick a gigantic card, then he puts it inside a normal sized card deck. After shuffling the deck, he removes the large card. He then confesses that he cheated, because the card is marked. The audience erupts in laughter as he is clearly making fun of magicians. His full show follows at 830.

Get tickets to see Lioz Master of Delusion now. 

Russ Merlin – Prop Comedian

Russ Merlin begins his show by trying to find four men that are the same height by looking at the seated audience. He successfully finds 3 and the 4th is 6’3”. Not too shabby. He then invites them all on stage. He goes on to put very funny masks on all them and teach them some basic actions to do when he taps them on the shoulder. In essence, he turns them into his puppets and it makes for a very funny show.

Cost of a ticket: $82 (VIP Middle)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value (Go with the side rear tickets for this small theatre)

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for V – The Ultimate Variety Show!

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Most of the acts are burlesque dancing by characters from Star Wars such as Princess Lea and C3PO. They also include others on the side such as Jabba the Hut and R2D2. 

There are also hilarious performances such when The Emperor strips completely naked and then rides a Death Star wrecking ball as Miley Cyrus sings. 

Also, Chewbacca dancing to “Fuck Her Gently” with Hans Solo was incredibly funny. 

Get tickets now to The Empire Strips Back! 

Cost of a ticket: $89 (Premium)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value (Go with the standard tickets for this small theatre)

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

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Victor (Adan Ponce Palma)

Dressed in a big Italian fat man suit, Victor proceeds to spin plates on a table. He starts with just one, but then builds up to an amazing 10 all at once. It’s quite a sight to see! He also helps out with the crossbow performance by Sylvia Syliva. They have been married for over 50 years! 

Richard Del Canto, Maryi Del Canto, and Yocelynne Navas Stefano

This act features three performers. On about a 4-foot-wide circular platform, the performers spin up to 45 mph on roller skates. Then, the man picks up one of the women and spins her around just by her legs. Then, to increase the intensity, they use a figure 8 device that puts a loop over each of their heads. He then proceeds to spin her around without using his hands in a fantastic finale. The crowd gives them a standing ovation!

Get tickets now for WOW – The Vegas Spectacular!

Cost of a ticket: $60 (Back Section) to $136 (Table and Booth Seating)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value (The back section is recommended for this small theatre)

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Early in Mustard Plug’s set, they play “Vampire” from their 2023 album, Where Did All My Friends Go? It’s an extremely catching song that gets everyone dancing along. “You let a vampire into your house!” 

Later on, they play “Why Does It Have To Be So Hard?” This ska song captures a great question simply. “Why can’t things not be easy? / Why do they have to be so hard?”

Towards the end of the night, they play “Brain on Ska”, which was the first song they ever wrote in 1991. They have played it at every single show since then, making this number 2,077, according to the horn section. 

They follow this with “Mr. Smiley”, which results in the biggest circle pit of the night as everyone sings along to their most popular song on Spotify, which has over 14 million streams. 

To end the set, they play “Beer (Song)” from their 1997 album, Evildoers Beware! It features the fantastic sing-a-long: “Woah oh oh oh!”. It’s a great way to end this night of the Skalidays tour!

Cost of a ticket: $34

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

See a similar setlist here. 

Quinn Delaney

The Pernikoff Brothers open with “Shine” from their 2025 album, Ah Londres. It’s immediately clear that they are talented musicians. Often between songs, the brothers switch instruments, from the bass to the guitar. They joke that they can’t afford two guitars. 

Later on they play “Colorado”. “Let’s never go home, never leave Colorado”. It’s a beautiful song about the Rocky Mountain state. The band is from St. Louis and their father is in the audience tonight. The lead singer comments on how when he would call his father when he is feeling down, he would tell him to stop being such a limp dick.  

Midway into the set, they talk about trying to get a tour of Abbey Road Studios. The response is that they are a working studio, so they don’t do tours. Then they ask to book a session. The response is to send in their material, and they’ll be contacted if an engineer wants to work with them. Soon afterwards, they hear that there is one day available. So, they go and record a bunch of their original songs, which becomes the Ah Londres album, along with a Beatle cover, “Eleanor Rigby”.

Towards the end of the night, they play “Done With Love”. “Maybe I’m done with love / Maybe I’m done / For now / I didn’t expect you to come along / I didn’t expect you to be the one”. It’s a fantastic love song that showcases their talents. 

Cost of a ticket: $40

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Quinn Delaney

Amadeus was first performed in 1979 at the Royal Nation Theatre in London. In 1981, it opened on Broadway. In 1984, the film version starring F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, and Elizabeth Berridge was released. 

In the fictional story, Antonio Salieri is jealous of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He doesn’t want to just be the second-best composer and his thoughts turn to murder. 

David Darrow is outstanding as Mozart, full of life and energy.  Ian Barford (Betrayal, Another Marriage) is excellent as Antonio Salieri, who does everything he can to thwart Mozart’s career.

See the program here. 

Cost of a ticket: $112

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Discounted +

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Good Price > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Amadeus through January 25th. 

Quinn Delaney

Shannon brings her kids to the park early one morning and meets Leah. They get along very well, so they get together later on along with their husbands. Everything is going great until the topic of guns comes up. Leah and her husband own guns while Shannon and her husband are strongly anti-gun. Can these couples still be friends despite this issue? 

Stephanie Alison Walker has written an excellent play combining comedy with an exploration of this very topical and relevant issue. The audience is at full attention watching to see what will happen next. The play seems to give equal time to both sides, but the ending seems to lean slightly on one side. 

Tonight is the understudy performance. Laura Michele Erle is superb as Shannon, who is open and willing to learn more about guns. Avery Kiefer is excellent as her husband, who is appalled by his wife even being open to learn more. Tierra Matthews is great as Leah, who is very friendly and calmly teaches Shannon about firearms. Malachi Marrero is so funny as Leah’s husband when he tries to make friends with Shannon’s husband.

You’ll definitely be thinking and discussing this play long after watching it.  

Cost of a ticket: $37

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value

Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Good Price > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Friends with Guns through December 7th!  

Quinn Delaney

Arthur is running a donut shop in Uptown. He’s looking to hire someone new when Franco walks in with a whole bunch of ideas about how to improve it. Arthur hires him, but he is resistant to any changes. As times goes on, Franco opens up and shares the novel he has written. They both keep secrets from each other which are slowly revealed. 

This is a fantastic production. Firstly, it’s a great ensemble play written by Tracy Letts (Bug, Linda Vista) . Secondly, it’s right in The Artistic Home’s wheelhouse, a character driven plot. 

Scott Westerman is great as Arthur, who is very comfortable with his routine. John N. Williams is great as Franco, who urges him to make some changes. Reid Coker is excellent as the owner of the store next door who wants to expand by buying the donut shop. It’s really funny when he brings in his cousin, John Wehrman, as backup for a fight. Kristin Collins (Witch, The Pavilion) and Kevin Aoussou are superb as the local police officers investigating a break-in. Barbara Roeder Harris (Rasheeda Speaking) is funny as the donut shop regular. Adam Schulmerich (A View From the Bridge, Rasheeda Speaking) and Michael Bayler are intimidating as the “friends” of Franco. 

The stage is set up in the middle with the audience on opposite sides. See it twice to experience both angles!

Cost of a ticket: $42

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional –

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Superior Donuts through December 13th! 

Quinn Delaney

Ali is a 17-year-old growing up in Hell’s Kitchen, a neighborhood on the west side of Midtown Manhattan.  She lives with her mother, who is very protective of her. When Ali starts dating a man older than her, her mother calls the police which results in the man being arrested. At the same time, Ali is taking piano lessons from an older lady in the building which she develops a passion for. 

The story is semi-autobiographical. Alicia did live in Manhattan Plaza with her single mom, but her father wasn’t in her life at all. Also, Alicia began learning piano at 6 years old, not 17 like in the musical.  

The music is the highlight of the show. “Girl on Fire” is the first big hit in the first half and it’s a truly joyous moment. 

In the second half, when the father sings “Fallin'” to the mother, it is a fantastic showcase of Desmond Sean Ellington’s vocal talent. 

Towards the end of the show, the mother sings “No One” to her daughter. It’s a beautiful song used expertly. This song has over 1.1 billion streams on Spotify. 

At the end, Ali sings “Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down”. It’s an impressive performance by Maya Drake. It would have been nice if they could have used the Jay-Z version of the song, but it probably wouldn’t make sense in the story. 

Cost of a ticket: $182 (Orchestra Center)

PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Good Value –

Rating Scale: Exceptional > Good Value > Discounted > Go for Free > Don’t Bother

Get tickets now for Hells Kitchen through November 30th!

Quinn Delaney