All stories by Alexis Soloski on BroadwayStars

Thursday, April 27, 2017

A Doll’s House, Part 2 review – sophisticated sequel offers vibrancy and wit by Alexis Soloski

Golden Theater, New YorkLaurie Metcalf gives a thrilling performance in a speculative follow-up to Henrik Ibsen’s defining 1879 masterworkThere are sofa plays and dinner table plays. Plays…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:31PM
Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Review: Singing and Dancing the Postwar Blues in ‘Bandstand’ by Alexis Soloski

Laura Osnes and Corey Cott star in a new Broadway musical, set in 1945, about a musician, a singer, trauma and healing.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:32PM
Monday, April 24, 2017

Review: Shakespeare for the Very Young (Sheep Ears Included) by Alexis Soloski

“In a Pickle,” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, is “The Winter’s Tale” for 2- through 5-year-olds. More emphasis on the sheep, less on the scary stuff.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:02PM
Friday, April 21, 2017

Hello, Dolly! review – Bette Midler is irresistible in a riotous delight by Alexis Soloski

Shubert theatre, New York Even if the shtick is predictable, Midler – paired with David Hyde Pierce – shines in an exhaustingly energetic revival of the 1964 musical comedyBefore our ben…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:31AM
Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Review: Laura Linney and Cynthia Nixon, Swapping Parts in ‘The Little Foxes’ by Alexis Soloski

This nimble revival of Lillian Hellman’s 1939 drama features Ms. Linney and Ms. Nixon in alternating roles of Southern womanhood.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Monday, April 17, 2017

Review: ‘It Will All Work Out’ Banishes Worry With Razzle-Dazzle by Alexis Soloski

Chris Wells’s chatty, memoirish show at Dixon Place combines outrageous fashion and original songs.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18PM
Wednesday, April 12, 2017

Review: Derek DelGaudio Sets Himself Apart From the Abracadabra Crowd by Alexis Soloski

This magician’s “In & Of Itself” is a solo show about how we see ourselves and how others see us.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Friday, April 7, 2017

Review: In ‘Circus 1903,’ a Littler Big Top Still Offers Some Thrills by Alexis Soloski

Daydream yourselves back to the golden age of circus at Madison Square Garden. It hardly matter that the conceit doesn’t always work.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:31PM
Thursday, April 6, 2017

Review: Is He Ready to Be ‘Daniel’s Husband’? Not Quite. by Alexis Soloski

Michael McKeever’s play, a Primary Stages production at the Cherry Lane Theater, is possibly the first gay marriage tragedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:18PM
Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Present Laughter review – Kevin Kline can't find the funny in a classic by Alexis Soloski

False starts and outmoded techniques make this latest iteration of Noël Coward’s creation seem dated, leaving its star with too much heavy liftingSt James Theater, New YorkDressing gown e…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:06PM

From ‘Camp David’ to ‘Oslo,’ Forging Drama from Diplomacy by Alexis Soloski

We recently discussed stagecraft and statecraft with the authors of past, current and coming plays.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:32PM
Tuesday, April 4, 2017

Sally Field: 'I never felt that I had very many choices. Ever' by Alexis Soloski

The actor, who is on Broadway in The Glass Menagerie, talks about being typecast and struggling to find roles while balancing life as a parentLast fall, Sally Field turned 70. Her celebratio…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:18AM
Monday, April 3, 2017

Amélie review – a creme brulee of a musical: cloying and far too sweet by Alexis Soloski

The Walter Kerr Theatre, New YorkThe Pam MacKinnon-directed adaptation of the whimsical 2001 film struggles to deliver the goods, hemmed in by a saccharine songbook and passionless plotIn Am…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48PM

Review: A Hectic ‘Vanity Fair,’ Starring That Nasty Woman by Alexis Soloski

Kate Hamill and Eric Tucker, the team behind 2014’s “Sense and Sensibility,” are back with a breathless “Vanity Fair” adaptation at the Pearl Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18PM
Thursday, March 30, 2017

Review: A Warrior, Leaning on Shakespeare, in ‘Cry Havoc!’ by Alexis Soloski

Stephan Wolfert describes his experiences during and after the Persian Gulf war of 1991 in this autobiographical solo show.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:54PM

Faith and Identity Clash in ‘The Profane’: An Actors’ Round Table by Alexis Soloski

The play, by Zayd Dohrn, finds conflict between freedom and fundamentalism in a story of a marriage between the children of Middle Eastern immigrants.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:31PM
Sunday, March 26, 2017

Review: ‘Sam & Dede,’ 2 Giants Forming an Unlikely Bond by Alexis Soloski

This play about Samuel Beckett and Andre the Giant is based on fact and the imaginings of the playwright Gino Dilorio.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06PM
Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Review: In ‘Spill,’ an Oil Disaster Seems Too Big for the Stage by Alexis Soloski

An impassioned and overloaded documentary drama by Leigh Fondakowski explores the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:42PM
Monday, March 20, 2017

A Word With: Robert Lepage Discusses His Origins and the ‘Autofiction’ of ‘887’ by Alexis Soloski

Looking backward and working on a smaller scale have helped the Canadian impresario find his place in the world.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:36PM
Friday, March 17, 2017

Review: Robert Lepage Goes Home Again in ‘887’ by Alexis Soloski

In his one-man show at the BAM Harvey Theater, Mr. Lepage reconstructs his childhood in 1960s Quebec City.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:42PM
Thursday, March 16, 2017

Review: Brothers Joined by Fate and Furniture in ‘The Price’ by Alexis Soloski

This ardently acted revival shows Arthur Miller’s 1968 play as a smaller, more stolid work than it wants to be — still just a little out of style.

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

Can Superheroes Sing? The Flash and Supergirl Give It a Whirl by Alexis Soloski

In “Duet,” the March 21 episode of “The Flash,” the two superheroes fall under the sway of a villain, the Music Meister, and fight back with songs.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:24PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Joan of Arc: Into the Fire review – David Byrne salutes martyr with rock musical by Alexis Soloski

Public Theater, New YorkDespite handsome sets and a striking performance from Jo Lampert, this take on the tragic French warrior’s life isn’t quite as wild as it should beTheatergoers sh…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:48PM
Sunday, March 12, 2017

Review: ‘Villa’ Dramatizes a Plot of Chilean Land With a Dark Past by Alexis Soloski

In this play, three women try to figure out a suitable purpose for a site behind a former prison associated with Augusto Pinochet.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Thursday, March 9, 2017

The Glass Menagerie review – Sally Field returns to Broadway in style by Alexis Soloski

Belasco Theatre, New YorkThe Oscar winner makes an indelible impression in an unusual and effective take on Tennessee Williams’s American classicEntering the Belasco Theatre for the Broadw…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48PM
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Review: ‘The Outer Space’ is the Place, for an Unsettled Couple by Alexis Soloski

This new song cycle by Ethan Lipton (“No Place to Go”) imagines a relocation to a spot across the solar system.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM
Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Review: ‘Nibbler,’ About the Sweet Horrors of Youth by Alexis Soloski

Ken Urban’s play blends many genres, including science fiction, sex farce and musical, in this Amoralists production about growing up in New Jersey.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Monday, February 27, 2017

Review: ‘The Penitent,’ a Mamet Hero Battered Like Job by Alexis Soloski

An overlay of defeat hobbles this play about a psychiatrist who refuses to testify on behalf of a patient accused of a crime.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42PM
Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Kid Victory review – dark musical exchanges plausibility for daring themes by Alexis Soloski

Vineyard Theater, New YorkJohn Kander and Greg Pierce’s melancholy production about a teenager recovering from kidnapping, abuse and rape is an admirably offbeat effortWhat good is it sitt…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:24PM

Review: ‘If I Forget,’ Clashing Currents in Jewish Identity by Alexis Soloski

Steven Levenson’s comedy-drama explores multiple and contradictory dimensions of self-perception through its portrait of a family, the Fischers.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48PM
Thursday, February 16, 2017

Evening at the Talk House review – Wallace Shawn's dark comedy plays it safe by Alexis Soloski

Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, New YorkDespite a strong performance from a perfectly cast Matthew Broderick, this play about a play doesn’t cut as deep as it shouldWallace Shawn is a pl…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54PM