First Nighter: Harriet Walter's Prospero in Phyllida Lloyd's Blazing "The Tempest" by David Finkle

Among the other tricks Lloyd has up her sleeve is the strung-together detritus (many empty plastic bottles and other junk

First Nighter: Harriet Walter's Prospero in Phyllida Lloyd's Blazing "The Tempest" by David Finkle

First Nighter: Martin McDonagh's Brilliant "Beauty Queen of Leenane" in Brilliant Garry Hynes Revival at BAM by David Finkle

A particular talent McDonagh has is lodging in his plots implications of what's to come so that spectators sense the untenable

First Nighter: Martin McDonagh's Brilliant "Beauty Queen of Leenane" in Brilliant Garry Hynes Revival at BAM by David Finkle

Complaining about her bad leg--the chronic "bone on bone" pain--Mag has no need to do for herself. She has forty-ish daughter

First Nighter: Martin McDonagh's Brilliant "Beauty Queen of Leenane" in Brilliant Garry Hynes Revival at BAM by David Finkle

First Nighter: Harold Prince Shows Off His "Candide" Again for New York City Opera by David Finkle

Much more than just enhancing the revival is longtime Prince choreographer Pat Birch. She's charged with dreaming up all

First Nighter: Harold Prince Shows Off His "Candide" Again for New York City Opera by David Finkle

Just to be exact, this is not the original 1955 version with Lillian Hellman script. (More about that later.) Just to be

First Nighter: Harold Prince Shows Off His "Candide" Again for New York City Opera by David Finkle

First Nighter: Sholem Asch's Inflammatory 1923 "God of Vengeance" at La Mama, Jonny Donahoe's Adorable "Every Brilliant Thing" on by David Finkle

The physical look (as opposed to the Indecent production) isn't convincing, perhaps due to a restrictive budget. Budget may

First Nighter: Sholem Asch's Inflammatory 1923 "God of Vengeance" at La Mama, Jonny Donahoe's Adorable "Every Brilliant Thing" on by David Finkle

Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato have now documented the enterprise but without viewers' ability to participate--a restriction

First Nighter: Sholem Asch's Inflammatory 1923 "God of Vengeance" at La Mama, Jonny Donahoe's Adorable "Every Brilliant Thing" on by David Finkle

First Nighter: Travis Russ's "Gorey," Drew Droege's "Bright Colors and Bold Patterns," The Simon Green-David Shrubsole "Life by David Finkle

"Life is for Living" may only be 70 minutes in length, but it's appreciably more in breadth and depth. Destiny's tot himself

First Nighter: Travis Russ's "Gorey," Drew Droege's "Bright Colors and Bold Patterns," The Simon Green-David Shrubsole "Life by David Finkle

Full of references to pop culture (he's surprised that Mac doesn't recognize the name Nia Peebles), Gerry goes on to ramble

First Nighter: Travis Russ's "Gorey," Drew Droege's "Bright Colors and Bold Patterns," The Simon Green-David Shrubsole "Life by David Finkle

First Nighter: Lot Vekemans's Harsh, Heart-Breaking "Poison," Brooks Reeves's Less Heart-Lifting "The City That Cried Wolf" by David Finkle

A question Vekemans plants in the collective audience mind is whether reconciliation of any kind can develop between people

First Nighter: Lot Vekemans's Harsh, Heart-Breaking "Poison," Brooks Reeves's Less Heart-Lifting "The City That Cried Wolf" by David Finkle

As He and She reluctantly relive their shared past, she reiterates that she grieves every day for her child and grows increasingly

First Nighter: Lot Vekemans's Harsh, Heart-Breaking "Poison," Brooks Reeves's Less Heart-Lifting "The City That Cried Wolf" by David Finkle

Easy Listener: Barbara Carroll, Jay Leonhart, Barb Jungr, John McDaniel, Gabrielle Stravelli, Michael Kanan, Cheyenne Jackson Make Great Music on New by David Finkle

When it comes to gift giving, is there anything better than music? Not much. So for anyone looking around for music to delight

Easy Listener: Barbara Carroll, Jay Leonhart, Barb Jungr, John McDaniel, Gabrielle Stravelli, Michael Kanan, Cheyenne Jackson Make Great Music on New by David Finkle

When it comes to gift giving, is there anything better than music? Not much. So for anyone looking around for music to delight

Easy Listener: Barbara Carroll, Jay Leonhart, Barb Jungr, John McDaniel, Gabrielle Stravelli, Michael Kanan, Cheyenne Jackson Make Great Music on New by David Finkle

First Nighter: Nicky Silver's "This Day Forward" Not All That Forward by David Finkle

Noah is the 40-ish son of Irene and of--spoiler alert? I'm not convinced)--the late Martin. And, boy-oh-boy, is Noah a waspish

First Nighter: Nicky Silver's "This Day Forward" Not All That Forward by David Finkle

One place where loyalty indisputably plays an invaluable part is the theater. Producers, whether commercial or not-for-profit

First Nighter: Nicky Silver's "This Day Forward" Not All That Forward by David Finkle

First Nighter: 'Kingdom Come,' 'Ultimate Beauty Bible' Angrily Go After Women's Issues by David Finkle

I won't hold out for either play being entirely persuasive, but they add substantially to the national discussion of revelations

First Nighter: 'Kingdom Come,' 'Ultimate Beauty Bible' Angrily Go After Women's Issues by David Finkle

In Kingdom Come, Samantha, or Sammy, is an obese young Carson City, Nevada woman for whom it's painful even to get out of

First Nighter: 'Kingdom Come,' 'Ultimate Beauty Bible' Angrily Go After Women's Issues by David Finkle

First Nighter: "Terms of Endearment" Not Endearing on Stage, Gideon Irving Happily Declares "My Name is Gideon," GQ and JQ (W)rap by David Finkle

It's not that either is outright bad (a full Dead Poets Society review can be found elsewhere on The Huffington Post), but

First Nighter: "Terms of Endearment" Not Endearing on Stage, Gideon Irving Happily Declares "My Name is Gideon," GQ and JQ (W)rap by David Finkle

"You must be tolerant of talent," he said, perhaps intuiting the slightly negative reaction I was about to express about

First Nighter: "Terms of Endearment" Not Endearing on Stage, Gideon Irving Happily Declares "My Name is Gideon," GQ and JQ (W)rap by David Finkle

First Nighter: "Party People" Definitely Revolutionary at the Public Theater by David Finkle

To a man and woman, they insist that Malik and Jimmy have rubbed away the raw corners of their not convincingly triumphant

First Nighter: "Party People" Definitely Revolutionary at the Public Theater by David Finkle

Woven into the proceedings rather neatly is a mother-daughter generational divide between then and now, as are any number