All stories by Karl Levett on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

The Prophet of Monto by Karl Levett

John Paul Murphy's two-hander take on contemporary Dublin lowlife—heavy with words, light on action—is almost redeemed by two sterling performances.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Graham & Frost by Karl Levett

In Belinda McKeon's new play, set in the remnants of a Brooklyn restaurant, the menu is decidedly limited.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

St. Nicholas by Karl Levett

The appeal of Conor McPherson's one-man play is in its value as a prologue of uncertain promise to a playwright's remarkable career.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Photograph 51 by Karl Levett

The DNA of Anna Ziegler's new play reveals an engrossing story by a talented writer. This tale of a lone, wondrous woman amidst a casual conspiracy of males makes for compelling theater.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

The Memorandum by Karl Levett

Vaclav Havel's 1965 absurdist comedy of bureaucracy run rampant in a Communist regime has lost a measure of its punch in the intervening years.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Looking At Christmas by Karl Levett

In this amiable romantic comedy, a Christmas gift from Steven Banks, a little more "naughty" would enliven the prevailing "nice."

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Michael & Edie by Karl Levett

Rachel Bonds' new drama, which speaks of damaged lives, is strong on sensitivity but weak on structure. Still, she's a playwright to watch.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Nearly Lear by Karl Levett

Susanna Hamnett bravely introduces Shakespeare's "King Lear" to younger audiences, but the results are mixed.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Vice Versa by Karl Levett

This exercise in absurdism at the Under the Radar festival is over the top and wholly diverting.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

NY Review: 'My Scandalous Life' by Karl Levett

Thomas Kilroy's absorbing picture of Lord Alfred Douglas, Oscar Wilde's lover, is a must for Wilde fans, even if Oscar remains offstage much of the time.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

A World Apart by Karl Levett

Playwright Susan Mosakowski's imagination of a contemporary Abelard and Heloise story unfortunately strains credulity.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

disOriented by Karl Levett

Kyoung H. Park's new play about the trials of the Korean immigrant in America is too heavy-handed, with dialogue awash in soapy clichés, to sustain interest.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM

Mimic by Karl Levett

This moral fable of contemporary Ireland—written, performed, and accompanied at the piano by Raymond Scannell—is a story that more often bewilders rather than informs.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM
Thursday, July 12, 2012

NY Review: 'Himself and Nora' by Karl Levett

"Himself and Nora," a NYMF offering, is a conventional but intelligent James Joyce bio-musical by Jonathan Brielle, with Matt Bogart as the famous writer.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:13AM
Thursday, June 21, 2012

NY Review: '3C' by Karl Levett

David Adjmi's "3C," a quirky deconstruction of a popular sitcom presented at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, is a psychotic version of "Three's Company."

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM
Monday, June 18, 2012

NY Review: 'The East Village Chronicles' by Karl Levett

The two nights of short plays that comprise "The East Village Chronicles," part of the East Village Theater Festival, demonstrate the form’s limitations.

SOURCE: Backstage at 12:11PM
Wednesday, June 6, 2012

NY Review: 'Murder in the First' by Karl Levett

Dan Gordon’s “Murder in the First,” starring Chad Kimball as a condemned murder at Alcatraz, is a feel-good documentary rescued by an engrossing production.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:00AM
Sunday, May 20, 2012

NY Review: 'She's of a Certain Age' by Karl Levett

This sketchy play by Susan Charlotte on serious issues that women face is given an anemic treatment, despite the talent of two of its protagonists.

SOURCE: Backstage at 09:57AM
Monday, April 16, 2012

NY Review: 'Pinocchio's Ashes' by Karl Levett

"Pinocchio's Ashes," an absurdist play overstuffed with moral fiber from Scandinavian American Theater Company, introduces Danish scribe Jokum Rohde to NYC.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:30AM
Wednesday, April 11, 2012

NY Review: 'Julius Caesar' by Karl Levett

The Acting Company’s modern-dress “Julius Caesar” is a speedy, well-spoken Shakespearean production, strong on clarity but less so on emotion.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM
Sunday, April 1, 2012

NY Review" 'The Taming of the Shrew' by Karl Levett

Theatre for a New Audience's Wild West take on Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" has a rollicking style that can't accommodate the "taming" itself.

SOURCE: Backstage at 03:00AM
Saturday, March 10, 2012

NY Review: 'Pericles, Prince of Tyre' by Karl Levett

American Bard Theater Company's production of the rarely seen part-Shakespearean "Pericles" gets high marks for invention but lower for spoken delivery.

SOURCE: Backstage at 06:48AM
Wednesday, March 7, 2012

NY Review: 'Eternal Equinox' by Karl Levett

Joyce Hokin Sachs' engrossing play about the Bloomsbury Group, from Grove Theater Center, is thrown off balance by one unconvincing characterization.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:30AM
Tuesday, March 6, 2012

NY Review: 'I Heart Alice Heart I' by Karl Levett

Writer-actor-director Amy Conroy's play about two Dublin lesbians named Alice, at Irish Arts Center, is a gem, with a quietly spoken, touching authenticity.

SOURCE: Backstage at 05:41AM
Monday, February 13, 2012

NY Review: 'The Broken Heart' by Karl Levett

Many theater hearts will be gladdened, not broken, by director Selina Cartmell's consummate production of John Ford's wondrous but rarely seen 1629 revenge drama at Theater for a New Audie…

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:38AM
Sunday, February 5, 2012

Professor Bernhardi by Karl Levett

This production of a rarely presented Arthur Schnitzler play is dogged by an unwieldy translation and a large, uneven cast but features a title performance of genuine distinction.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:30AM
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

One Thousand Blinks by Karl Levett

Playwright Nick Starr displays an overactive imagination in this muddled sci-fi fantasy, whose characters are mere puppets and which is stuffed with everything except logic.

SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AM
Tuesday, January 10, 2012

The London Merchant or, The History of George Barnwell by Karl Levett

This cautionary 1731 play by George Lillo, never before seen in New York, is the forefather of every "she done him wrong" drama.

SOURCE: Backstage at 12:33PM
Thursday, December 29, 2011

NY Review: 'The Pirates of Penzance' by Karl Levett

Under the ever-enterprising Albert Bergeret, New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players delivers a cheery account of this classic comic operetta, strong on song and good-natured humor.

SOURCE: Backstage at 03:48AM
Friday, December 9, 2011

James X by Karl Levett

In this theatrical accusation, written and performed by Gerard Mannix Flynn, an Irishman details in exuberant language the horrendous damage inflicted upon him by church and state.

SOURCE: Backstage at 07:30AM
Monday, December 5, 2011

Friends Don't Let Friends by Karl Levett

James Presson's would-be comedy about television's sitcom industry has a split personality, strangely trying to mix satire with Henrik Ibsen without much success.

SOURCE: Backstage at 03:57AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards