Lori Perkins

By Lori Perkins I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen at least seven times (maybe more? At my age, you lose track of time). I always believed that he was best in New Jersey, his native land. But last night at Madison Square Garden surrounded by 20,000 blue voters you could just feel that he was home in a way I’ve never quite felt in the Meadowlands. The concert opened with the Motown Vietnam protest song “War!” followed by “Born in the USA” followed by a powerful jam of his classics. It was uplifting...

By Lori Perkins As a native New Yorker, I recognize the landscape playwright Alex Lin so often explores—the city as the East Coast’s immigrant mecca, where identity, ambition, and belonging are constantly negotiated. I also come from a long line of intermarried immigrant families and strong women, and I’ve seen firsthand how the promise of the American dream can be both alluring and exclusionary. For many, it reveals itself as a system built on transactional power—historically white and...

by Lori Perkins I was genuinely excited to see The Wild Party at City Center on Community Night, especially with the promise of a pre-show “wild party” featuring champagne and appetizers. The atmosphere was festive, though the entertainment itself felt a bit uneven—two bawdy musical numbers (one centered on a nightclub assault, which felt jarringly out of step with expectations) alongside two elegant and engaging burlesque performances. Then came the main event. Based on a 1920s poem and...