All stories by Alexis Soloski on BroadwayStars

Monday, September 24, 2018

The First Annual Trump Family Special review – outrageous musical can't outdo Donald by Alexis Soloski

Triad theater, New YorkThis musical parody stars Gina Gershon as Melania and is stuffed with unsubtle humour, but no parody is as shocking as the president himselfDemocracy in shambles? Why …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:06PM
Friday, September 14, 2018

A Word With: Why William Jackson Harper of ‘The Good Place’ Can’t Quit the Theater by Alexis Soloski

Mr. Harper, best known for his sitcom role, is making his debut as a playwright.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48AM
Thursday, September 13, 2018

Review: In ‘The Naturalists,’ a Farm and a Family Evolve by Alexis Soloski

Fine performances elevate Jaki McCarrick’s slow-paced Irish drama, which owes a big debt to Chekhov and O’Casey.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:18PM
Friday, September 7, 2018

Review: Nature and Song Bring Electricity to ‘Gospel at Colonus’ by Alexis Soloski

With its focus on exiles finding protection and outcasts earning redemption, this revival of the 1983 production feels more timely than ever.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18PM
Thursday, September 6, 2018

Review: In ‘Private Peaceful,’ a Night of Memories and a Death at Dawn by Alexis Soloski

A solo show about a World War I soldier counting down the hours to his execution for cowardice.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48PM

16 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:48PM
Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Their Latest Risk: Household Objects Playing Shakespeare by Alexis Soloski

For more than 30 years, the British troupe Forced Entertainment has been challenging audiences to imagine bigger. And sit longer.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48AM
Monday, September 3, 2018

socializing with: George Salazar, a ‘Be More Chill’ Star, Heats Up Online by Alexis Soloski

How did an Off Broadway actor wrangle so many followers on Instagram? He hid in the bathroom.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PM
Thursday, August 30, 2018

8 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18PM
Thursday, August 16, 2018

Pretty Woman review – Broadway romcom transfer is a tasteless disaster by Alexis Soloski

Nederlander Theater, New YorkThe dated gender politics of the Julia Roberts hit fail to receive an upgrade in a shallow musical that falls apart on stageTuneful, schlocky, and deeply offensi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:04PM
Monday, August 13, 2018

He Used to Move Pianos. Now He Moves Audiences. by Alexis Soloski

Stephen Payne, a longtime understudy, gets his first Broadway starring role in “Straight White Men.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:04PM
Monday, August 6, 2018

Review: Whimsy, Horror and Missing Bones in ‘Hunter John and Jane’ by Alexis Soloski

Two lost souls (one literally back from the afterlife) meet in a gritty city park in Amina Henry’s overstuffed but empathetic play.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:18PM
Friday, August 3, 2018

Learning Lines. And Crossing Them. by Alexis Soloski

A brief (recent) history of plays, films and TV shows exploring the fraught, sometimes predatory relationship between directors and their charges.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM
Thursday, August 2, 2018

Review: Mike Birbiglia Has a ‘New One.’ It’s Funny Until It Isn’t. by Alexis Soloski

Mr. Birbiglia’s solo show about becoming a father is at first excruciatingly funny and then just kind of excruciating.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:04PM

6 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:12PM
Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Homeland's Mandy Patinkin: ‘Reality, for me? Not so good’ by Alexis Soloski

The outspoken star, who has recorded a ‘prayer for peace’, gives a few clues about how the show might end – and says why he’s more comfortable with fantasy than the real world“Let�…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48AM
Thursday, July 26, 2018

Head Over Heels review – Go-Go's jukebox musical packs a power-pop punch by Alexis Soloski

Hudson Theatre, New YorkA zippy, frothy combination of songs from the Go-Go’s and a bawdy Shakespearean comedy plot delivers goofy, if forgettable, funJust your everyday genderqueer pastor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54PM
Monday, July 23, 2018

Straight White Men review – Armie Hammer skewers male privilege in dark comedy by Alexis Soloski

Hayes Theater, New YorkA subversive look at masculinity boasts canny, self-aware performances and a shrewd dissection of gender rolesAt the end of the pre-show announcement for the Broadway …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18PM
Monday, July 16, 2018

Review: ‘Fire in Dreamland’ Is a Parable of Love and Licorice by Alexis Soloski

Rinne Groff’s new play, at the Public Theater, brings arguments about art and relationships to Coney Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Sunday, July 15, 2018

Review: A Stranger, Sexier Version of ‘Peter Pan’? It’s Leonard Bernstein’s. by Alexis Soloski

In this production of J.M. Barrie’s 1904 play, Bernstein’s neglected score brings out the characters’ melancholic desires.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:48PM
Thursday, July 12, 2018

12 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18PM

Review: ‘Gone Missing,’ Now a Poignant Reminder of a Career Cut Short by Alexis Soloski

The death of the show’s composer, Michael Friedman, makes this musical about loss an accidental and indispensable elegy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:48AM
Tuesday, July 10, 2018

Review: Mummenschanz Offers Wonder, and a Grumpy Trash Bag by Alexis Soloski

This Swiss mime troupe’s show “you & me” is like the Muppets, but heavily influenced by French surrealism and a few psychotropics.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:18PM
Friday, July 6, 2018

In This Play About Race, ‘People Need to Be Uncomfortable’ by Alexis Soloski

There have been complaints that “Fairview,” currently at Soho Rep, goes too far and complaints that it doesn’t go far enough.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PM
Thursday, July 5, 2018

10 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18PM
Monday, July 2, 2018

Review: ‘Conflict’ Reaches Across the Decades and the Aisle by Alexis Soloski

A play from 1925 that argues, as one character says, “for giving the best in human nature a chance.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18PM
Thursday, June 28, 2018

7 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18PM

Fun Home review – Alison Bechdel's childhood trauma revisited with songs by Alexis Soloski

Circle in the Square Theater, New YorkBased on a graphic novel memoir about growing up gay in a funeral home, this smart, sophisticated Broadway musical includes one astonishing performanceF…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:54AM
Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Critic’s Notebook: Sleights of Hand With Cards, Coins and a Colander by Alexis Soloski

The magicians Joshua Jay and Vitaly Beckman, both in one-man shows in Manhattan, are exploring uses of enchantment. And kitchen supplies.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:18PM
Thursday, June 21, 2018

Review: In ‘American Weather,’ the Heart is a Lonely Voter by Alexis Soloski

If Chris Green’s puppet theater piece is a work of political theater, it is abstract and unemotional in a time that seems anything but.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PM
Wednesday, June 20, 2018

For ‘Mary Page Marlowe,’ Six Actresses Share One Role by Alexis Soloski

They portray the title character in this play by Tracy Letts. In a conversation, they talked about their work and the production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM