All stories by Alexis Soloski on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Burn This review – Adam Driver ignites patchy Broadway revival by Alexis Soloski

Hudson Theatre, New York A standout performance from the brooding actor is the main selling point of an 80s-set comedy drama that fails to match him A small play about big words – sex, dea…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:30PM
Thursday, April 11, 2019

Critic’s Notebook: The Playboy Club in 2019: Show Tunes and an Identity Crisis by Alexis Soloski

Entertainment for all: On Mondays the club hosts Playboy Live!, a showcase for Broadway talent.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:00AM
Sunday, April 7, 2019

‘Fosse/Verdon’ Is Full of Broadway Legends. Here’s Who’s Who by Alexis Soloski

This series, which debuts Tuesday on FX, includes many midcentury Broadway and film personalities and their works. Here’s a cheat sheet.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:48PM
Thursday, April 4, 2019

Let It Bleed: The Perverse Influence of ‘Titus Andronicus’ by Alexis Soloski

With Taylor Mac’s “sequel” about to open on Broadway, we look at how Shakespeare’s goriest play has seeped into pop culture.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:00AM
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Critic’s Pick: Review: In ‘The White Devil,’ Pick Your Poison by Alexis Soloski

Turns out that a Jacobean tragedy with a bleak worldview and an extensive body count can still be a lot of fun.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:45PM

What the Constitution Means to Me review – a five star Broadway triumph by Alexis Soloski

Hayes Theater, New York Heidi Schreck’s funny, impactful and breathlessly exciting ode to the constitution is one of the year’s best shows Shattering, galvanizing and very funny, Heidi S…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:00PM
Friday, March 29, 2019

‘Fosse/Verdon’ Has Magic to Do. And Undo. by Alexis Soloski

A limited FX series revives two Broadway legends, Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. Will the show razzle dazzle us? Or will it find a new way to tell the story of artists who behave badly?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:00AM
Thursday, March 28, 2019

Review: In ‘The Tragedy of Julius Caesar,’ the Political Thrill Is Gone by Alexis Soloski

Shana Cooper’s revival at Theater for a New Audience is so deep in conversation with itself and its dance battles that it nearly forgets to speak to us today.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:45PM
Sunday, March 24, 2019

Review: A Séance (With Leaf Blowers) in ‘Variations on the Main’ by Alexis Soloski

The final show at Jack’s current location is weird and difficult to parse. But it’s nice to know there’s a place for theater like this in New York.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:42AM
Thursday, March 21, 2019

Ain't Too Proud review – thrilling music but shallow drama in Temptations musical by Alexis Soloski

Imperial Theatre, New York Broadway’s latest jukebox music is electrified by fantastic singing and dancing but let down by some inert storytelling There’s a chilly irony at the shrink-wr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00PM
Wednesday, March 20, 2019

White Noise review – Suzan-Lori Parks provokes and disturbs by Alexis Soloski

The Public Theater, New York The Pulitzer prize-winning playwright has created an absurdist, challenging drama about the fallout from a racially motivated attack by police Slavery ended in 1…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:00PM

He’s the Star of ‘Tootsie’ on Broadway. Wearing Heels Is the Easy Part. by Alexis Soloski

Santino Fontana’s turn as a man in a wig comes at a time when Broadway has been reckoning with the idea that musical comedies need to offer fully realized female characters.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:00AM
Sunday, March 17, 2019

Review: Matt Williams’s Queasy Comedy Serves Up Crudités and Crudity by Alexis Soloski

“Actually, We’re ______” follows four millennials dealing with love and infidelity, but it’s an unfunny play that would rather be a sitcom.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:09PM
Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Review: A Political Stage Drama Gartered and Stockinged as a Relationship Comedy by Alexis Soloski

In ‘Hate___,’ the main characters argue over what it means to be Muslim, but mostly they want to get tangled in the sheets.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:45PM
Monday, March 11, 2019

The Mother review – Isabelle Huppert shines in otherwise stale play by Alexis Soloski

Linda Gross Theater, New York The prolific Oscar nominee has fun playing a woman unmoored by the absence of her husband and son in a dark farce with questionable politics Fatuous and skimpy,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:00PM
Thursday, March 7, 2019

Fleabag review – Phoebe Waller-Bridge triumphs off-Broadway by Alexis Soloski

Soho Playhouse, New York The witty, filthy, tragic one-woman show arrives stateside, with all its jagged edges still intact “I’m not obsessed with sex,” Phoebe Waller-Bridge says, with…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00PM

Adam Driver and Keri Russell Share a Stage and Then, Maybe, Lightsabers by Alexis Soloski

Before the force is with them, Keri Russell and Adam Driver, who will both appear in “Star Wars: Episode IX,” bring an unruly love story to Broadway.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:39AM
Monday, February 25, 2019

Thirty Years Later, Heidi Schreck Has Some Amendments by Alexis Soloski

The playwright and star of “What the Constitution Means to Me” visits the Founding Fathers and talks about breaking up with their creation.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:23AM
Sunday, February 17, 2019

Review: In ‘Spaceman,’ Floating in a Most Peculiar Way by Alexis Soloski

Leegrid Stevens’s play follows an astronaut on her journey to Mars, as she checks her air pressure, fuel levels and mental health.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36PM
Thursday, February 14, 2019

Family Guide: Kids and Culture? There’s So Much to Talk About by Alexis Soloski, Corinna Da Fonseca-Wollheim and Daniel McDermon

Arts writers for The New York Times share their strategies (snacks) and budget-friendly options (outdoor events) in a discussion about introducing children to the arts.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18PM
Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Critic’s Pick: Review: ‘The Shadow of a Gunman’ Is a Comedy That Goes Bang by Alexis Soloski

Sean O’Casey’s tragicomic 1923 play has returned to the Irish Repertory Theater, the first production in a season devoted to his work.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM

Freestyle Love Supreme review – Lin Manuel Miranda's hip-hop improv by Alexis Soloski

Greenwich House Theater, New YorkThe Hamilton creator’s goofily entertaining show has been around since 2004 and in its new Manhattan home, it’s more fun than everLin-Manuel Miranda, the…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:32PM
Sunday, February 10, 2019

Review: ‘The Light,’ an Unexpected Mix of #MeToo and Rom-Com by Alexis Soloski

Loy A. Webb’s tear-struck thesis play starts with an engagement and swerves into the territory of sexual-assault trauma.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:54PM
Thursday, February 7, 2019

A Costume Designer With Low Budgets and High Style by Alexis Soloski

Whether he’s capturing David Lee Roth or Bed-Stuy street style, Montana Levi Blanco’s secret: an anthropological attention to detail and “amazing aggressive shopping.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:18AM
Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Who Needs a Super Bowl Ad? Skittles Ups the Ante With a Broadway Musical by Alexis Soloski

Michael C. Hall, Will Eno and Sarah Benson team up for an unlikely, but very real production of “Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:54PM
Friday, January 25, 2019

Review: In ‘Skin,’ More Than Words and Sometimes Less by Alexis Soloski

The members of Broken Box Mime Theater skip walking against the wind and trapped in a box in favor of pop culture capers and #MeToo inspired riffs.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:12PM

True West review – Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano go south in mediocre drama by Alexis Soloski

American Airlines Theatre, New York Sam Shepard’s most popular play hits Broadway yet again but with underwhelming results True West, that drama of Cain-and-Abel family dynamics and mascul…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM
Monday, January 21, 2019

Backstage, a ‘School of Rock’ Staffer Faces Graduation by Alexis Soloski

Jill Valentine was head guardian for the musical, which closed Sunday, for almost four years, making sure the child actors were fed, watered and rested.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:32PM
Thursday, January 17, 2019

‘Intelligence’ Review: A Diplomatic Mission That’s All Improv, No Comedy by Alexis Soloski

Negotiators try to role-play their way out of global conflict in this gripping play by Helen Banner. It doesn’t always make sense, but can still thrill.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:54PM
Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Choir Boy review – Tarell Alvin McCraney hits high notes on Broadway by Alexis Soloski

Samuel J Friedman TheatreThe Oscar-winning Moonlight writer transfers his musical to a bigger venue and, while there are missteps, the songs bring the house down “Tighten up.” That’s w…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:48PM
Thursday, January 3, 2019

The Clintons, Tootsie and Beetlejuice: what to expect on Broadway in 2019 by Alexis Soloski

The stage will see a host of star names over the next 12 months as well as yet more movie musicals and a much-anticipated drama about the ClintonsIf Broadway strides into 2019 without last y…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:24AM