All stories by Alexis Soloski on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Audible Will Bring Back ‘Harry Clarke’ Off Broadway by Alexis Soloski

The production of “Harry Clarke,” a one-man show starring Billy Crudup, is the latest step in the audiobook maker’s investment in contemporary theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:26PM
Monday, February 12, 2018

The problem with immersive theatre: why actors need extra protection from sexual assault by Alexis Soloski

Performers in the experiential show Sleep No More allege that they were sexually assaulted by patrons, raising concerns about the vulnerability of actorsLast week, Buzzfeed published an arti…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:45AM
Monday, February 5, 2018

Review: In This Play, Her Boyfriend Dumps Her. Should She Find Love, or Herself? by Alexis Soloski

Steph Del Rosso’s new play, “Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill Fill,” has breakneck banter and frisky wordplay. But is there anything new to say about a bad romance?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:17PM
Friday, February 2, 2018

Review: In ‘Draw the Circle,’ a Girl Becomes a Man by Alexis Soloski

In his solo show at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Mashuq Mushtaq Deen traces his journey of gender transition through the eyes of onlookers.

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

Review: ‘Field Guide’ Brings Standup to a Dostoyevsky Downer by Alexis Soloski

Rude Mechs boil down the 800 pages of “The Brothers Karamazov” to a searching but silly 80-minute show. Hot tub included.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:42PM
Wednesday, January 31, 2018

A Safer Home for Dangerous Plays by Alexis Soloski

After a near-death experience, the audacious Soho Rep moves back into its longtime home with a typically challenging production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:10AM
Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Review: Putting a ‘Party Face’ on a Suicide Recovery by Alexis Soloski

A celebration doesn’t end well in Isobel Mahon’s play, starring Hayley Mills, at City Center Stage II.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:29PM
Monday, January 15, 2018

Critic’s Notebook: Can Art Change the World? With Song, Dance and Cowboy Clichés Two Shows Offer Different Answers by Alexis Soloski

“Parable of the Sower” is an earnest call to action, while the irreverent “Pursuit of Happiness” finds a Slovenian dance troupe in unfamiliar territory.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:52PM
Thursday, January 11, 2018

John Lithgow: Stories by Heart review – star presence can't save humdrum one-man show by Alexis Soloski

An updated version of the star’s stage performance of both personal tales and published short stories is a disappointingly ordinary experienceAmerican Airlines Theatre, New York Maybe some…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:00PM
Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Review: ‘Electric Lucifer,’ or the Passion of the Bleep Bloop Beep by Alexis Soloski

Take two electronic music concept albums. Add a glamorous performer and lots of spandex. The result: a rock opera battle for the soul of the universe.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:42PM

Adrienne Kennedy, Playwright: Still Quiet, Still Bold, Still Furious by Alexis Soloski

Her new Jim Crow-era play, “He Brought Her Heart Back in Box,” shows that even late in an influential career, she’s not mellowing.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:11PM
Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Review: Everyday Chatter Unveils a Mystery in ‘Say Something Bunny!’ by Alexis Soloski

Alison S.M. Kobayashi was determined to figure out who made a set of puzzling 1950s recordings. Her detective work led to a sneakily moving interactive play.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:29PM

Mean Girls, Frozen and Denzel: what to expect on Broadway in 2018 by Alexis Soloski

Blockbuster movie musicals are set to dominate over the next 12 months while a host of big star names will also be jostling for Tonys2017? Let it go. After an unusually bleak year on Broadwa…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 06:00AM
Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Encounters: Taye Diggs Doesn’t Feel Like Dancing by Alexis Soloski

The “Empire” actor and Broadway star visited his former dance studio. But he never broke a sweat.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:33PM
Monday, December 25, 2017

Critic’s Notebook: And a Child Shall Lead Them … Elsewhere by Alexis Soloski

All our critic wanted was to stop judging and share a holiday show with her daughter. But her pint-size companion had other ideas.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:33AM
Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Robert O’Hara Thinks ‘Men Are Stupid.’ His New Play Shows Just How. by Alexis Soloski

In “Mankind,” the playwright imagines a world in which women are extinct. “You have to go for the throat,” he says.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:12AM

10 More Plays Where the Future Forecast is Grim by Alexis Soloski

Theatrical dystopias are in the air, as playwrights conjure nuclear fallout, insectoid aliens and everyday assassinations.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:12AM
Monday, December 18, 2017

Lust, heartbreak and a 90s jukebox: it's Cruel Intentions – The Musical by Alexis Soloski

The teen riff on Les Liaisons Dangereuses is now an off-Broadway stage show complete with signature cocktails and an Alanis Morissette/REM mash-upOnstage at a cabaret club in New York’s Gr…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:24PM
Friday, December 15, 2017

Encounters: Anna Chlumsky of ‘Veep’ Sniffs Around Bleecker Street for Gifts by Alexis Soloski

Before heading to rehearsals for the Off Broadway play “Cardinal,” Ms. Chlumsky shopped for candles, perfumes and other holiday presents.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:24PM
Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Review: Detoured From ‘La La Land’ for a Comic Stop in ‘Boulder City’ by Alexis Soloski

Jimmy Fowlie’s one-man show satirizes the struggling, self-involved actress played by Emma Stone in the movie.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:33AM
Monday, December 11, 2017

Review: A Gothic Tennessee Williams Mash-Up in ‘Glass Guignol’ by Alexis Soloski

The venerable experimental troupe Mabou Mines incorporates “Frankenstein,” fetishwear and puppetry in excavating the playwright’s obsessions.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:24PM
Thursday, December 7, 2017

Broadway in 2017: box office records broken under the shadow of Trump by Alexis Soloski

Political themes inevitably emerged alongside star turns from Bette Midler and Kevin Kline but despite some promising new plays, disappointment lingered In 2017, Broadway broke record after …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:18AM
Monday, December 4, 2017

SpongeBob Squarepants: The Broadway Musical review – sugar-shock visual pleasure by Alexis Soloski

The Palace Theatre, New YorkAn eclectic selection of original songs, written by everyone from John Legend to Aerosmith, meshes awkwardly with vibrant production design in this entertaining y…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:24PM

Review: A Ruler Loses His Grip in a Speedy ‘Winter’s Tale’ by Alexis Soloski

In this Public Theater Mobile Unit production, streamlining Shakespeare makes the plot turns and mood swings hard to comprehend.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Sunday, December 3, 2017

Downtown Race Riot review: 70s drama is bloody, sexy and not precisely credible by Alexis Soloski

Pershing Square Signature CenterSeth Zvi Rosenfeld draws on a real and frightening event from the bicentennial year but his play feels like an early draft, stronger on sensation than insight…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:06PM
Thursday, November 30, 2017

Review: In ‘Sleep,’ a Wakeful Woman Faces Long, Surreal Nights by Alexis Soloski

The Ripe Time adaptation of Haruki Murakami’s short story focuses on an unnamed housewife who finds exhilaration in sleeplessness

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:04PM
Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Meteor Shower review – patchy laughter in Amy Schumer's Broadway debut by Alexis Soloski

The comedian stars alongside Keegan-Michael Key and Laura Benanti in Steve Martin’s mixed bag of sitcom humor and raunchy jokesBooth Theatre, New YorkSteve Martin’s lump of sight gags, o…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54PM
Monday, November 27, 2017

Critic’s Notebook: Why Plays About Sexual Assault Are Too Murky for Our Own Good by Alexis Soloski

He-said, she-said ambiguities are certainly dramatic. But they also ignore hard truths that we need to hear right now.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:33AM
Sunday, November 26, 2017

Review: Four Women, Four Lifetimes, One Camera in ‘20th Century Blues’ by Alexis Soloski

Susan Miller’s sweet but softhearted play finds old friends challenged when the photographer among them wants to display group images taken over 40 years.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:04PM
Friday, November 24, 2017

Critic’s Notebook: Fool Me Twice? Yes, Please by Alexis Soloski

A pair of magic shows set in unusual sites have even jaded New York audiences happily losing their minds.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:18AM
Monday, November 20, 2017

Review: In ‘Diaspora,’ an Ancient Siege for the Snapchat Age by Alexis Soloski

Toggling between the years 2017 and 73, this play about American Jews on a trip to Israel seems confused about what it is trying to say.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:36PM