All stories by Alexis Soloski on BroadwayStars

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Theater Review: Review: ‘Sancho: An Act of Remembrance,’ at BAM Fisher by Alexis Soloski

In his solo show, Paterson Joseph plays an 18th-century gentleman said to have been the first black Briton to vote.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:04PM
Tuesday, December 15, 2015

These Paper Bullets review – Green Day's Billy Joe Armstrong tackles Shakespeare by Alexis Soloski

Atlantic Theater, New YorkRolin Jones updates Much Ado About Nothing to swinging London, as Benedick and Claudio lead a band and play Beatles-esque songs by the Green Day frontmanRolin Jones…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:10PM
Friday, December 11, 2015

The Color Purple review – Jennifer Hudson and Cynthia Erivo star in stripped-down musical by Alexis Soloski

Bernard B Jacobs theater, New YorkJohn Doyle’s streamlined version of Alice Walker’s novel features fine performances from a vocally confident Hudson and the remarkable ErivoYou won’t …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:45AM
Thursday, December 10, 2015

Review: ‘How to Get Into Buildings’ Finds Love Amid a Crash, a Duel and Soups of the Day by Alexis Soloski

Trish Harnetiaux’s play, at the Brick Theater in Brooklyn, explores relationships in a nonlinear, absurdist manner.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:32PM
Wednesday, December 9, 2015

The best (and worst) US culture 2015: Theatre by Alexis Soloski

We asked our critics to pick best and worst moments from the year’s cultural offerings. Alexis Soloski chose the genius of Hamilton and hubris of star casting“I wanna be in the room wher…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:10AM
Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Review: ‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’ From Irish Repertory Theater by Alexis Soloski

Charlotte Moore directs a cozy adaptation of this Dylan Thomas prose poem.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:00PM
Monday, December 7, 2015

Lazarus review – Bowie's baffling starman lands off-Broadway by Alexis Soloski

New York Theater WorkshopCo-written by and featuring songs by David Bowie, this jukebox musical based on The Man Who Fell to Earth is a thrilling theatrical odyssey – and almost impossible…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:56PM

Review: Chen Shi-Zheng’s ‘Double It,’ Feats of Derring-Do, With Vignettes by Alexis Soloski

This chamber spectacle, described as “a living room circus,” features a cast of 12 Chinese acrobats and martial artists at the Baruch Performing Arts Center.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:46PM
Sunday, December 6, 2015

School of Rock review: musical's revamp on stage pleasant but no great shakes by Alexis Soloski

Winter Garden TheatreAndrew Lloyd Webber returns to Broadway with adaption of film but stage version missing charisma Jack Black brought as Dewey FinnPay no attention to the title. School of…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:37PM

Review: In ‘Quantum Joy,’ Observing the Unreliable Nature of Reality by Alexis Soloski

Victor Morales uses his programming skills to create virtual worlds that ostensibly illustrate concepts in physics like uncertainty.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:37PM
Thursday, December 3, 2015

China Doll review – Mamet and Pacino's troubled two-hander falls flat by Alexis Soloski

Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, New YorkAl Pacino’s querulous lion routine pulls in the crowd but he’s doomed to repeat the same old shtick in Mamet’s lacklustre Broadway transferDavid Mame…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:15PM
Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Jennifer Hudson, Without a Safety Net, Prepares for ‘The Color Purple’ by Alexis Soloski

The singer and actress will appear on Broadway for the first time in this stripped-down version of the musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:36AM
Sunday, November 29, 2015

Review: In ‘Gluten!’ the Fashion Is in the Hazmat Suits by Alexis Soloski

This dystopian comedy by Stephen Kaliski at 59E59 Theaters follows a couple apartment hunting after half the population has died from environmental toxicity.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:38PM
Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Jackie Hoffman Kvetches Her Way to Royalty in ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ by Alexis Soloski

The actress, known for her tart comebacks and acerbic perspective, steps into her first lead role, as Princess Winnifred in a revival of “Once Upon a Mattress.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:46PM
Monday, November 23, 2015

Important Hats of the Twentieth Century review – cap doesn't quite fit by Alexis Soloski

Manhattan Theatre Club at New York City CenterYou’ll take your hat off to the concept – a time-travelling fashion designer – but the execution is less impressive in this zany but uneve…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:33PM
Friday, November 20, 2015

Lois Smith’s Year of Working Constantly by Alexis Soloski

A professional actress since 1952, Ms. Smith has never been busier, now coming to Playwrights Horizons in the futuristic “Marjorie Prime.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:10AM
Tuesday, November 17, 2015

George Takei: 'So many people don’t know this chapter of American history' by Alexis Soloski

The Star Trek actor debuts on Broadway in Allegiance, a new play about Japanese Americans placed in internment camps after the bombing of Pearl HarborGeorge Takei is still best known for pla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 09:09AM
Monday, November 16, 2015

Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom review – Joel Schumacher's dystopian gaming drama by Alexis Soloski

Flea Theater, New YorkThe blockbuster director goes low-budget to take on Jennifer Haley’s vision of gaming gone wrong, which remains more sensational than it is complexWhat has the intern…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:16PM
Sunday, November 15, 2015

Misery review – Bruce Willis seems aloof in stage chiller with little suspense by Alexis Soloski

Broadhurst Theatre, New YorkActor appears to inhabit a different world from co-star Laurie Metcalf in adaptation of Stephen King novelImmensely successful as an advertisement for the worst b…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:09PM

Incident at Vichy review: a dignified revival of Arthur Miller drama by Alexis Soloski

Signature Theater, New YorkDirector Michael Wilson stays faithful to pessimistic stage rendition set during second world war – even though it may not be one of playwright’s best worksThe…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:09PM
Thursday, November 12, 2015

A View from the Bridge review – Miller reinvented with visceral power by Alexis Soloski

Lyceum Theatre, New YorkDirector Ivo van Hove delivers a thrillingly claustrophobic version of Arthur Miller’s classic, with an extraordinary performance by Mark Strong as a man who has be…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:45PM
Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Henry IV review – all-female Shakespeare play thrills and frustrates by Alexis Soloski

St Ann’s Warehouse, New YorkHarriet Walter is authoritative as the king, and it’s wonderful to hear Shakespeare’s words performed by women, but the prison setting muddles the playSt An…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:25PM

When a star doesn't know the script, send for the earpiece by Alexis Soloski

China Doll will open two weeks late, with Al Pacino reportedly using an earpiece to feed him lines – and he wouldn’t be the first star to need technical assistanceIn Misery, the Broadway…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:55PM

Review: In ‘The Bachelors,’ Three Men Are Mired in Frat-Boy Misogyny by Alexis Soloski

Caroline V. McGraw’s dark comedy is set in a former fraternity house whose denizens work for a living but otherwise behave in disconcerting ways.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:46AM
Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Review: With ‘Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery,’ Lloyd Suh Takes on a Legacy by Alexis Soloski

This play is adapted from “The Mysterious Affair at Styles,” Agatha Christie’s first Hercule Poirot novel.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:14PM

A Visit to the Strange, Secretive World of David Bowie’s ‘Lazarus’ by Alexis Soloski

The Belgian director Ivo van Hove, Michael C. Hall and Cristin Milioti talk, and avoid talking about, this new musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:26AM
Monday, November 9, 2015

Review: In ‘tiger tiger,’ a Quest for Answers in a Mauling by Alexis Soloski

Jessica Almasy’s play, at Dixon Place, shifts from an interview with a guilty tiger to a look at the teenagers who survived an attack.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:34PM
Sunday, November 8, 2015

Allegiance review: George Takei can't save Broadway's mediocre pledge by Alexis Soloski

Musical revisits an important and shameful past of the internment of Japanese Americans but story on stage fails to deliver distinctive and rich performances The forced internment of 120,000…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:08PM
Thursday, November 5, 2015

On Your Feet! review – the rhythm is gonna get you, eventually by Alexis Soloski

Marquis Theatre, New York… but before you get to that stage you have to negotiate the Gloria Estefan musical’s gold lamé costumes, a cringeworthy conga and a very bad wigIs the rhythm g…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:21PM

Review: In ‘Fight or Flight,’ Whine, Women and Songwriter by Alexis Soloski

The French film actor Mathieu Amalric makes his American stage debut in this play adapted from an Éric Reinhardt novel.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:40PM

Equality, Then What? New Plays Explore Modern Gay Life by Alexis Soloski

Several works explore topics concerning domesticity rather than the fight for marriage and other rights.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:26AM