Archives for: " 2014"
Review: Macbeth
Jun 5th
Kenneth Branagh in Macbeth
(©Stephanie Berger)
It’s doubtful you’ll ever see as compelling and visceral a interpretation of Macbeth as the one being performed for much too brief a run at the Park Avenue Armory. Co-starring Kenneth Branagh and Alex… more »
Review: Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Apr 23rd
Neil Patrick Harris in Hedwig and the Angry Inch
(©Joan Marcus)
The colorful title character of Hedwig and the Angry Inch can be described as many things, but loveable is not usually one of them. That is, until now. Starring in the new Broadway pr… more »
Review: The Cripple of Inishmaan
Apr 21st
Daniel Radcliffe in The Cripple of Inishmaan
(©Johan Persson)
His face may be prominently displayed on the Playbill cover and theater marquee, but Daniel Radcliffe melts seamlessly into the ensemble of The Cripple of Inishmaan, Martin McDonagh’s… more »
Review: Of Mice and Men
Apr 17th
James Franco and Chris O'Dowd in Of Mice and Men(©Richard Phibbs) Review: Of Mice and MenJohn Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a beloved classic that is a staple in high school reading lists and has been adapted not once but twice for films… more »
Review: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
Apr 14th
Audra McDonald in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill
(©Evgenia Eliseeva)
Audra McDonald doesn’t look or sound anything like Billie Holiday. So it’s a credit to the five-time Tony Award winner that she perfectly embodies the jazz singer legend… more »
Review: Bullets Over Broadway
Apr 11th
Marin Mazzie in Bullets Over Broadway
(©Paul Kolnik)
Imagine a splashy Broadway musical comedy based on a beloved film, written by its original creator who once toiled for Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows. It’s directed by Susan Stroman, and it’s… more »
Review: A Raisin in the Sun
Apr 4th
David Cromer, Bryce Clyde Jenkins, LaYTanya Richardson Jackson,
Anika Noni Rose, Denzel Washington, and Sophie Okonedo
in A Raisin in the Sun
(©Brigitte Lacombe)
If director Kenny Leon had a less than ideal leading man in Sean Combs… more »
Review: If/Then
Mar 31st
Idina Menzel in If/Then
(©Joan Marcus)
When a performer’s mere opening utterance of “Hello, it’s me” garners huge sustained applause, you know you’re in the presence of a star. Such is the case with Idina Menzel, playing the lead role in If/Then,… more »
Review: Mothers and Sons
Mar 25th
Bobby Steggert, Frederick Weller, Grayson Taylor, and Tyne Daly in Mothers and Sons
(©Joan Marcus)
There’s a distressing air of familiarity about Terrence McNally’s Mothers and Sons, and it’s not only because it’s a sequel to his one-act play Andr… more »
Review: Les Miserables
Mar 24th
Ramin Karimloo in Les Miserables
(©Matthew Murphy)
Les Miserables could well refer to more than a few theater critics, this one included, faced with the prospect of yet again seeing the mega-successful musical based on Victor Hugo’s novel. Arriv… more »
Review: Aladdin
Mar 21st
Courtney Reed and Adam Jacobs in Aladdin
(©Deen van Meer)
When James Monroe Iglehart sings “Friend Like Me” in Disney’s new Broadway musical adaptation of its classic animated hit Aladdin, truer words were never sung. Playing the role of the Genie… more »
Review: Rocky
Mar 14th
Andy Karl in Rocky
(©Matthew Murphy)
You’ll leave the new Broadway musical Rocky humming the score. Unfortunately, it won’t be the wholly unmemorable one by veteran composers Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime, Once on This Island) but rath… more »
Review: All the Way
Mar 7th
Michael McKean, Bryan Cranston, and Brandon J. Dirden in All the Way
(©Evgenia Eliseeva)
Playing Lyndon B. Johnson in Robert Schenkkan’s ambitious historical drama All the Way, Bryan Cranston commands the stage in the same manner that LBJ commande… more »
Review: Kung Fu
Feb 25th
Frances Jue and Cole Horibe in Kung Fu
(©Joan Marcus)
The title of David Henry Hwang’s bio-play about Bruce Lee is ironic in a way that the screen icon would surely have appreciated. It refers not only to the martial arts style for which he was re… more »
Review: The Bridges of Madison County
Feb 21st
Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale in The Bridges of MadisonCounty
(©Joan Marcus)
Is it too much to ask of a show called The Bridges of Madison County that we actually see one of the covered bridges that provide its title?
Sure, Michael Yeargan’… more »
Review: Love and Information
Feb 20th
A scene from Love and Information(©Joan Marcus) Caryl Churchill’s new play Love and Information features more than a hundred characters in some fifty short scenes ranging in length from a few seconds to several minutes, presented in rapid-fire su… more »
Review: Intimacy
Jan 30th
Laura Esterman and Keith Randolph Smith in Intimacy
(©Monique Carboni)
For a play that features, among other things, masturbation, ejaculations, fellatio, anal sex, suggestions of incest and frottage—look up that last one if you need to—Thomas Bra… more »
Review: Outside Mullingar
Jan 24th
Brian F. O'Byrne and Debra Messing in Outside Mulllingar
(©Joan Marcus)
Playwright John Patrick Shanley pours on the Irish blarney in Outside Mullingar, which strains mightily for Moonstruck-style whimsy but mainly falls flat. This shaggy dog roma… more »
Review: King Lear
Jan 22nd
Frank Langella in King Lear
(©Richard Termine)
Following in Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi’s recent footsteps in playing King Lear at BAM’s Harvey Theater, Frank Langella provides further proof that the Bard’s late classic has become an essential m… more »
Review: Machinal
Jan 17th
Rebecca Hall (foreground) with Jason Loughlin and Ryan Dinning (background) in Machinal
(©Joan Marcus)
The Roundabout Theatre Company’s current revival of Sophie Treadwell’s classic 1928 Expressionist drama Machinal represents a marked departure f… more »
Review: Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
Jan 12th
Jessie Mueller and Jake Epstein in Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
(©Joan Marcus)
Baby boomer musical nostalgists have a lot to choose from on Broadway these days. They can see faux versions of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons… more »