Thursday, March 28, 2013

A Dream Play

NAATCO tackles Strindberg's A Dream Play. Click here for my review of this epic fail.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Happy Birthday

The TACT company unearths an Anita Loos play from 1946, Happy Birthday, then stops in front of the obstacle. My review of this missed opportunity is here.

Friday, March 22, 2013

It's a Bird…It's a Plane…It's Superman

Encores! brings back Charles Strouse and Lee Adams' goofball musical about the Man of Steel. Goes to show that even a lesser Encores! is great fun. Click here for my review.

Hands on a Hardbody

So much potential in Hands on a Hardbody, so much self-sabotage. Yes, it's the musical in which people try to win a truck by keeping a hand on it at all times opens on Broadway, and it's better than you think it is, but not as good as it could have been. My review's here.

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Maybe it's because I don't fetishize either Holly Golightly or Game of Thrones, but I liked Emilia Clarke in the new Breakfast at Tiffany's adaptation. My review's here.

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Mound Builders

Signature's revival of Lanford Wilson's The Mound Builders is the epitome of meh. My review's here.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike redux

Christopher Durang's comedy Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is the rare example of a show that's better after its transfer to Broadway. My review's here.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Detroit '67

Dominique Morisseau's play Detroit '67 overcomes its stereotyped characters to be an appealing show. Full review here.

The Lying Lesson

I suppose there's a point in Craig Lucas' new play, The Lying Lesson, but it's just not all that interesting. My review's here.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Flick

Annie Baker's latest, The Flick, sees her working on a bigger canvas, but the story still feels small. She's getting a pass, but it's the last one. My review's here.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Trevor

Nick Jones took an oddball premise — showbiz chimp wants to get back in action — and took it to its logical conclusion in the excellent Trevor. Unless they extend it, you've got only a week left to catch the show! My review's here.

Friday, March 08, 2013

Ann

Holland Taylor wrote and starred in her bioplay of Ann Richards, Ann. I prefer the performer to the writer. Full review here.

Thursday, March 07, 2013

The North Pool

There's no delicate way to put this: Rajiv Joseph's new play, The North Pool, is embarrassingly bad. More details on this fiasco here.

Jackie

From what I understand, Jackie is the first Elfriede Jelinek play to get a professional production in the US. It was worth the wait. Click here for my review.

Wednesday, March 06, 2013

Talley's Folly

An old-fashioned romance blooms in Lanford Wilson's Talley's Folly, just revived by the Roundabout with Danny Burstein and Sarah Paulson. My review's here.

Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Old Hats

Bill Irwin and David Shiner get back together for more inspired clowning in Old Hats at Signature. Me love!

Monday, March 04, 2013

Belleville

Amy Herzog's latest, Belleville, opened yesterday at New York Theatre Workshop. I still think 4000 Miles is her best play to date. Click here for the full review.

Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, originally written for a 1957 CBS broadcast, had its belated Broadway premiere yesterday -- with a new book by Douglas Carter Beane. My review's here.

Friday, March 01, 2013

Passion

Is it too much to ask for some passion in Passion? Is this Sondheim musical even worth reviving without a super-bold approach? My review of John Doyle's new production is here.

The Revisionist

Hard to think of Jesse Eisenberg's new play The Revisionist as anything other than a perverse vanity project: He cast himself in a caricature of an Eisenberg role then added Vanessa Redgrave to the mix, even though she was wrong for her own part. My review's here.