3.5 out of 5 stars

Is there such a thing as a mini musical? One suspects the two shows offered at a recent Downtown Urban Arts Festival program -- Carter Quinn Tanis and Marissa Raine Carlin’s “Whiskey, Hope, and The Climate Clock” (roughly 15 minutes) and Howard Ho’s “Sing Truth to Power” (30 minutes) -- are more works in development than finished affairs. But they both managed to showcase smart concepts and catchy songwriting. Ho’s show, about a K-pop star and a wily dictator, had more meat on its bones, but the Tanis/Carlin two-hander about the end of the world exhibited a deftly engaging appeal. — Charles Passy

At La Mama on June 17, 2026; duafnyc.com. (Review date: June 16, 2026)