All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, May 20, 2020

Race, Schooling and Inequality: Let’s Watch ‘Pipeline’ by Ben Brantley

Then ask questions of its playwright, Dominique Morisseau, and The New York Times critic who reviewed the first production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18PM
Thursday, April 30, 2020

Review: Same Apple Family, New Kind of Theater by Ben Brantley

In Richard Nelson’s “What Do We Need to Talk About?,” a familiar clan poses resonant questions about how we connect in the age of social distancing.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:42PM
Monday, April 27, 2020

Bruce Myers, Actor With Voice of a ‘Stradivarius,’ Dies at 78 by Ben Brantley

He was a stalwart member of the group of actors who worked with the director Peter Brook. Mr. Myers died of the novel coronavirus.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:24PM

Review: For Sondheim’s 90th Birthday, a Collage of Aching Voices by Ben Brantley

The streaming concert “Take Me to the World,” featuring a gallery of musical stars, honors the probing ambivalence of a master songwriter.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:54PM
Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Falling in Love Again With ‘All About Eve’ by Ben Brantley

The magical kingdom of Broadway is shuttered, but our critic returned to it — or rather a version of it that opened his eyes, Bette Davis wide, to New York theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:06AM
Thursday, April 16, 2020

Brian Dennehy Found the Tragic Grandeur in Ordinary Lives by Ben Brantley

Remembering an actor of uncommon power who gave heroic stature to a character crippled by depression in “Death of a Salesman.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

20 Broadway Musical Albums to Listen To by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

What we plan to listen to in perpetuity (or right now) in our Spotify-enabled isolation.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM

Six Tips for Listening to Original Cast Recordings by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

To begin with, don’t call them soundtracks!

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM

The 2019-2020 Broadway Cast Albums: A Listening Guide by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

A listening guide to the cast albums, playlists and video footprints left behind by 18 Broadway and Off Broadway musicals.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM
Monday, April 6, 2020

Off Broadway’s Season Shook Up Norms of Life and Theater by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

Our co-chief theater critics discuss the plays and musicals that reflected and predicted an unstable world.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:36PM
Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Who Says You Can’t Give Tony Awards in an Abbreviated Season? by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

Our chief theater critics have no nickel-plated medallions to hand out, but they find plenty to celebrate among shut-down Broadway offerings.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:42PM
Friday, March 27, 2020

Turn the Living Room into a Stage: Read Plays Out Loud by Ben Brantley

It’s a tradition this drama critic would highly recommend to those looking for ways to find magic in empty hours.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:42PM
Friday, March 20, 2020

In ‘Viral Monologues,’ Theater Mutates Into Online Deliverance by Ben Brantley

Funny, scary and necessary, this series of taped soliloquies contemplate the way we live now, in isolation.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:24PM
Thursday, March 12, 2020

Now You Know: A Critic’s Guide to Sondheim by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

An opinionated take on the songwriter’s major works, from a delayed debut to a Pulitzer Prize- winning classic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:06AM

Stephen Sondheim, the Man Who Felt Too Much by Ben Brantley

Why did it take so long for the composer to be unambivalently embraced? Maybe because ambivalence is what he’s embraced most of all.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:06AM
Monday, March 9, 2020

Review: Lies of Love and Memory Swirl Through ‘Unknown Soldier’ by Ben Brantley

This thoughtful, history-spanning portrait of elusive identities testifies to the versatility of its composer, Michael Friedman.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:03PM
Friday, March 6, 2020

‘Girl From the North Country’ Review: Bob Dylan’s Amazing Grace by Ben Brantley

This ravishing and singular musical, written and directed by Conor McPherson, hears America singing — Dylan — during the Great Depression.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:24AM
Monday, March 2, 2020

Review: In ‘The Hot Wing King,’ a New Recipe for a Family by Ben Brantley

Katori Hall’s genial play, built around a cooking contest in Memphis, uses a sitcom structure to explore black masculinity.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:54AM
Wednesday, February 26, 2020

Review: ‘Dana H.’ Maps a Harrowing Journey Into Hell by Ben Brantley

Lucas Hnath’s brilliant, boundary-melting play, starring a marvelous Deirdre O’Connell, is a first-person account of the violent kidnapping of his mother.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:03AM
Monday, February 24, 2020

Review: Partying With the Khmer Rouge in ‘Cambodian Rock Band’ by Ben Brantley

Lauren Yee’s ambitious, tonally mixed play uses bait-and-switch tactics to approach the dark heart of a genocidal regime.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:03PM

How Laurie Metcalf Became the Sarah Bernhardt of Broadway by Ben Brantley

She may seem self-effacing, but it takes skill and smarts to be Nora and Hillary and, next, Martha in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:03PM
Thursday, February 20, 2020

‘West Side Story’ Review: Sharks vs. Jets vs. Video by Ben Brantley

Ivo van Hove’s attention-splintering revival of the immortal 1957 musical features new choreography, a ravishing orchestra and smothering visual effects.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:36PM
Wednesday, February 19, 2020

The Prophecies of Beckett and Caryl Churchill Haunt London’s Stages by Ben Brantley

Compelling revivals make “Endgame” (with Alan Cumming and Daniel Radcliffe) and “Far Away” feel more unsettlingly relevant than ever.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:12PM
Thursday, February 13, 2020

Review: A Long Night as Tony Kushner Revisits ‘The Visit’ by Ben Brantley

This murky and tedious reworking of Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s dark fable of love and lucre is illuminated by Lesley Manville’s dazzling star turn.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:32PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Review: In ‘Leopoldstadt,’ Tom Stoppard Reckons With His Jewish Roots by Ben Brantley

In what he says will probably be his last work, a master playwright finds urgent lessons for the present in the past of a Viennese family.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:48PM
Monday, February 10, 2020

Review: In ‘Hamlet,’ Ruth Negga Rules as a Player Prince by Ben Brantley

Yaël Farber’s stunning, Dublin-born interpretation of this eternal classic finds the dizzying layers of performance that rule all our lives.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42PM
Wednesday, February 5, 2020

‘Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice’ Review: Four on a Mattress, With Songs by Ben Brantley

The New Group’s musical adaptation of Paul Mazursky’s 1969 movie, featuring Suzanne Vega, doesn’t smirk but it doesn’t soar, either.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18AM
Thursday, January 30, 2020

‘Medea’ Review: Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, Torched by Love by Ben Brantley

Simon Stone’s contemporary spin on the classic tale of marital vengeance feels more clinical than tragic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM
Monday, January 27, 2020

‘Hamilton’ Makes a Curious Cameo in Trump Impeachment Trial by Ben Brantley

John Bolton’s new memoir is titled “The Room Where It Happened,” nearly the same as a song from Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway hit.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:33PM
Thursday, January 23, 2020

Review: The Comforts of the Cozy Scare in ‘The Woman in Black’ by Ben Brantley

This ingenious, bare-bones adaptation of Susan Hill’s Gothic novel — a long-running hit in London — allows audiences to take charge of their fear.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM
Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Review: Shrinking Lives at a Big Box Store in ‘Paris’ by Ben Brantley

Racism is a stealth force in Eboni Booth’s astute study of the (mostly) quiet desperation of minimum-wage workers in Vermont.

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

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic