First Nighter: City Center Encores! Series Where's Charley? All-Singing, All-Dancing, All-Lovable by David Finkle

First Nighter: Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark Turns Off the Past by David Finkle

<em>Spider-Man</em> exemplifies a larger story -- the transformation of the Great White Way from a collection of buildings dedicated to advancing the art of theater to nothing le…

First Nighter: Kurt Elling Fools Around With Time at Birdland by David Finkle

Whenever I hear Kurt Elling, I'm reminded of firsts, the shock of the suddenly and compellingly new. His approach to a song is all that -- previously unexplored, unfamiliar.

First Nighter: A. R. Gurney's Black Tie Diverts as it Disappoints by David Finkle

First Nighter: Brooke Shields Reviews Her Life at Feinstein's at Loews Regency by David Finkle

What she wants the world to understand is that she did have a happy childhood. She isn't the hard-bitten survivor her publicized past might suggest.

Review: The Old Masters by David Finkle

Sam Waterston, Brian Murray, and Shirley Knight deliver first-rate performances in Simon Gray's compelling play about the art world and an unusual domestic arrangement.

First Nighter: Steve Ross's Brilliant Oak Room Take on Romance and Rhythm Then and Now by David Finkle

Steve Ross -- currently the undisputed monarch of Manhattan cabaret -- is currently performing his own "Rhythm & Romance" in New York City through February 12.

Review: Molly Sweeney by David Finkle

Geraldine Hughes, Ciaran O'Reilly, and Jonathan Hogan deliver excellent performances in the Irish Rep's excellent revival of Brian Friel's mesmerizing work.

First Nighter: Dmitri Hvorostovsky in Met's Ravishing Simon Boccanegra by David Finkle

During the first night of this season's Metropolitan Opera revival of the 1995 Giancarlo del Monaco production, the cast followed some straight-forward advice with prodigious rewards.

Review: The Misanthrope by David Finkle

The Pearl Theatre serves up a problematic production of Moliere's caustic comedy.

First Nighter: Ibsen's John Gabriel Borkman Unleashes Acting Blizzard by David Finkle

<em>John Gabriel Borkman</em> is one of the rarely revived Ibsen works, which may be a reason to see it now. On the other hand, this treatment won't serve as a strong argument f…

First Nighter: Jon Robin Baitz's "Other Desert Cities" is Red-Hot by David Finkle

Review: The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church by David Finkle

Daniel Kitson proves to be a galvanic storyteller in this enchanting 90-minute monologue at St. Ann's Warehouse.

The Discerning Eye: Stephen Conroy's First-Rate Portraits at the Marlborough Gallery by David Finkle

The Scottish figure painter Stephen Conroy remains extremely intrigued with the male figure -- and with himself. For that reason others should be just as intrigued.

Michael Feinstein: Top-of-the-Heap Singer, Equally Important Music Archivist-Historian by David Finkle

If <em>Michael Feinstein's American Songbook</em> accomplishes anything -- it indisputably does -- it's that his commitment to the task of perpetuating the music is at least equa…

First Nighter: Tim Miller's Fiery Anti-Prop 8 "Lay of the Land" by David Finkle

First Nighter: David Campbell From Down Under Goes Way Up and Over by David Finkle

David Campbell is back and anyone interested in what a singer can do to energize a crowd has to hope he sticks around this time. In other words, catch him if you can.

Saturday Shoppers View Ralph Lauren's New Madison Avenue Mansion by David Finkle

Ralph Lauren just built the first mansion on the Upper East Side since 1918 and reached the zenith he's aimed for since the '60s when he started hawking wide ties.

Next Fall: Geoffrey Naufft's Top-Drawer Gay Play Moves to Broadway by David Finkle

Hardly enough can be said about Geoffrey Nauffts's<em> Next Fall</em>, which is both remarkably simple and exceedingly complex.

Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers is Important Stage Documentary by David Finkle

The intent behind these stage documentaries is to inform. Although billed as plays, these theatrical entries aren't that. They're news reports outfitted with theatrical accoutrements.

The Scottsboro Boys: New Kander-Ebb Musical, Old Kander-Ebb Formula by David Finkle

Tunesmiths Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk: Writing 'Em Like They Used To by David Finkle

Perhaps Kerrigan and Lowdermilk will get through to the larger public soon, possibly not--for the simple reason that they devote their tandem time to writing scores for musicals.

Barb Jungr: Top-Flight Cabaret and Concert Artist by David Finkle

In just about every field, there are practitioners and then there are artists. In the still-cogent cabaret area, this distinction is usually between singers and those who take singing to a …

The Boys in the Band: Still Offering a Gay Old Time by David Finkle

Matt Crowley's dark comedy, <em>The Boys in the Band</em>, opened at Manhattan's Theatre Four on April 14, 1968, little more than a year before the Stonewall Inn fracas.

Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano: Viewing "This Thing Called Love" From a Cabaret Stand-Point by David Finkle

The husband-wife team of Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano are currently doing the living-room honors in Manhattan's Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel through the first week of March.

John David California's Novel Attempt to Best J. D. Salinger: Read It and Weep by David Finkle

What's missing is the effortless character charisma Salinger provided. It does no damage to the 1951 bestseller. <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em> continues to stand on its own, un…

Hilary Kole Deserves to Be Your Valentine by David Finkle

Everyone should want to listen to and look at Hilary Kole in an understated black cocktail dress and high-heeled gold-strap shoes and tresses flowing past her shoulders.

Late-Breaking Bulletin: Frenchmen Don't Wear Berets by David Finkle

Frenchmen sell berets. But Frenchmen don't buy them. Tourists do. In order to indicate they've been in France. One possible theory is that Frenchmen sell berets in order to spot foreigners m…

Brian Dillon's Informative The Hypochondriacs: Read It and Become Symptomatic by David Finkle

In <em>The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives</em>, Brian Dillon goes into gory detail in describing the afflictions -- or presumed afflictions -- gripping the nonet.

J. D. Salinger Remembered With Gratitude and Suspicion by David Finkle

The only book my mother ever forbade me to read was <em>The Catcher in the Rye</em>. Perhaps if she'd used reverse psychology, I wouldn't have become an avid Salinger fan.

The Real Tyne Daly Stands Up at Manhattan's Feinstein's at Loews Regency by David Finkle

Tyne Daly has been acting for 49 years. She relays the astonishing fact during her current and irresistible cabaret act at Feinstein's at Loews Regency.