All stories by Michael Sommers on BroadwayStars

Thursday, October 4, 2018

The Bacchae: Euripides’ Classical Tragicomedy of Wine, Women, and Wrong by Michael Sommers

★★★ Anne Bogart stages a 2,400 year-old Greek drama with a few modern notes The post The Bacchae: Euripides’ Classical Tragicomedy of Wine, Women, and Wrong appeared first on New…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 02:30PM
Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Final Follies: Primary Stages Trips Over a Trio of A.R. Gurney Comedies by Michael Sommers

★★ Able staging and acting can do only so much with a master author's minor material The post Final Follies: Primary Stages Trips Over a Trio of A.R. Gurney Comedies appeared first on Ne…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Monday, October 1, 2018

Girl From the North Country: A Visit to Desolation Row With Bob Dylan by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Bob Dylan songs are artfully molded into a new musical of melancholy distinction The post Girl From the North Country: A Visit to Desolation Row With Bob Dylan appeared first on…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:44PM
Monday, September 24, 2018

I Was Most Alive with You: Craig Lucas Unleashes a Tsunami of Sorrows by Michael Sommers

★★ A woeful drama (in more ways than one) is performed simultaneously in two languages The post I Was Most Alive with You: Craig Lucas Unleashes a Tsunami of Sorrows appeared first on Ne…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Thursday, September 20, 2018

Beautiful: That Carole King Bio-Show Stays Good to Go and See by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Long-Run Lookback: A smart jukebox musical remains a some kind of wonderful Broadway attraction The post Beautiful: That Carole King Bio-Show Stays Good to Go and See appeared f…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 04:30PM
Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The Emperor: The Curious Decline and Fall of Haile Selassie by Michael Sommers

★★★ Kathryn Hunter conjures up the hothouse atmosphere of a vanished kingdom The post The Emperor: The Curious Decline and Fall of Haile Selassie appeared first on New York Stage Revie…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 02:26PM
Sunday, September 16, 2018

Uncle Vanya: An Americanization of a Russian Classic by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Richard Nelson's new version of Chekhov's intimate classic is artfully understated The post Uncle Vanya: An Americanization of a Russian Classic appeared first on New York Stage…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM
Thursday, September 13, 2018

The Phantom of the Opera: Still Wonderfully Crazy After All These Years by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Long-Run Lookback: That musical madman remains as romantic as ever in his Majestic home The post The Phantom of the Opera: Still Wonderfully Crazy After All These Years appe…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:30PM
Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Naturalists: A Romantic Triangle Shoots Up in the Irish Countryside by Michael Sommers

★★ A play about new love and old crimes amid Ireland's rural greenery strains credulity and patience. The post The Naturalists: A Romantic Triangle Shoots Up in the Irish Countryside app…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM
Sunday, September 9, 2018

Heartbreak House: Framing Shaw’s Upside-Downton Abbey Saga by Michael Sommers

★★ Inconsistent acting styles and a needless frame obscure Shaw's portrait of pre-war English society The post Heartbreak House: Framing Shaw’s Upside-Downton Abbey Saga appeared f…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 06:00PM
Friday, September 7, 2018

The Gospel at Colonus: A Joyful Noise Erupts in Central Park by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A unique piece of musical theater briefly makes an inspirational reappearance The post The Gospel at Colonus: A Joyful Noise Erupts in Central Park appeared first on New York St…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 05:51PM
Wednesday, September 5, 2018

Hershey Felder As Irving Berlin: Say It With Music by Michael Sommers

★★★ Hershey Felder is pretty good in his modest tribute to a great American songwriter The post Hershey Felder As Irving Berlin: Say It With Music appeared first on New York Stage Revi…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Monday, July 30, 2018

The House That Will Not Stand: Southern Women Rattle Their Chains by Michael Sommers

★★★ A thoughtful new drama is drawn from little known social practices of circa 1813 New Orleans The post The House That Will Not Stand: Southern Women Rattle Their Chains appeared f…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:50PM
Tuesday, July 24, 2018

This Ain’t No Disco: Rough Times at Studio 54 by Michael Sommers

★ Glitter ball melodramatics are rolled up into an unworkable musical The post This Ain’t No Disco: Rough Times at Studio 54 appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:44PM
Monday, July 23, 2018

Straight White Men: Nice Guys Get Framed in a Dramatic Diorama by Michael Sommers

★★★ Armie Hammer and others act nicely in an enigmatic Christmas story about privilege The post Straight White Men: Nice Guys Get Framed in a Dramatic Diorama appeared first on New Yor…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:50PM
Sunday, July 22, 2018

Smokey Joe’s Cafe: That Leiber & Stoller Jukebox Lights Up Once More by Michael Sommers

★★★★ An expert, energetic company makes the musical most of several dozen old-school rock 'n' roll tunes The post Smokey Joe’s Cafe: That Leiber & Stoller Jukebox Lights U…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:30PM
Thursday, July 12, 2018

The Saintliness of Margery Kemp: Holy Rolling Amid Medieval Times by Michael Sommers

★★ A so-what comedy about a would-be saint is buoyed up by some enjoyable performances The post The Saintliness of Margery Kemp: Holy Rolling Amid Medieval Times appeared first on New Yo…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:02PM

Gone Missing: Songs and Stories From the Lost & Found Department by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A whimsical little musical about wayward items is expertly rediscovered as a concert The post Gone Missing: Songs and Stories From the Lost & Found Department appeared firs…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 03:35PM
Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Carmen Jones: An Irresistible Musical Charmer Returns to New York by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Forget Rodgers, Kern and Romberg—let's hear it for the team of Bizet and Hammerstein! The post Carmen Jones: An Irresistible Musical Charmer Returns to New York appeared first…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:30PM
Monday, June 25, 2018

Cyprus Avenue: Stephen Rea Meets a Dead Ringer for Gerry Adams by Michael Sommers

★★★ A harrowing dark comedy regards a Belfast man driven mad by a lifetime spent amid violent social conflict The post Cyprus Avenue: Stephen Rea Meets a Dead Ringer for Gerry Adams ap…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:01PM
Thursday, June 21, 2018

Conflict: A Passionate Clash Amid the Politics of 1920s England by Michael Sommers

★★★ Mint Theater Company discovers a worthy 1925 drama from England about the haves and have-nots The post Conflict: A Passionate Clash Amid the Politics of 1920s England appeared firs…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 06:59PM
Wednesday, June 20, 2018

Teenage Dick: Duplicitous Doings at Roseland High School by Michael Sommers

★★★ Shakespeare's Richard III gets reshaped mostly for laughs The post Teenage Dick: Duplicitous Doings at Roseland High School appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:29PM
Sunday, June 17, 2018

Fairview: Reality and Metatheatricality with an African-American Family by Michael Sommers

★★★ Jackie Sibblies Drury unleashes a daring play about race, identity and expectations that gets awkward The post Fairview: Reality and Metatheatricality with an African-American Fami…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:30PM
Thursday, June 14, 2018

All I Want Is One Night: And That’s One Night Too Many by Michael Sommers

★ A British performer digs up Suzy Solidor, a bisexual, cross-dressing French cabaret legend who deserves better The post All I Want Is One Night: And That’s One Night Too Many appea…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:15PM
Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Desperate Measures: A Fiddle-Dee-Dee Wild West Shakespeare Spoof by Michael Sommers

★★★ An old-fashioned, cowboy-country musical-comedy farce is neatly cultivated from Measure for Measure's plot The post Desperate Measures: A Fiddle-Dee-Dee Wild West Shakespeare Spoof…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:14PM
Thursday, June 7, 2018

Fruit Trilogy: Eve Ensler dishes out a talkative triptych by Michael Sommers

★★★ The maker of "The Vagina Monologues" goes experimental with body and soul issues The post Fruit Trilogy: Eve Ensler dishes out a talkative triptych appeared first on New York Stag…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:29PM
Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Dan Cody’s Yacht: A Smart Vessel, Running Short of Its Destination by Michael Sommers

★★★ Anthony Giardina's ambitious new play studies money, privilege, and higher education The post Dan Cody’s Yacht: A Smart Vessel, Running Short of Its Destination appeared fir…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:31PM
Thursday, May 31, 2018

The Boys in the Band: 50 Shades of Gay by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, and a charismatic ensemble leap out of a queer time capsule from 1968 The post The Boys in the Band: 50 Shades of Gay appeared first on New York …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:21PM
Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Dance Nation: A Seriocomic Fandango Celebrates Girl Power by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Clare Barron's unusual new play wildly reflects the mindsets of young teen girls The post Dance Nation: A Seriocomic Fandango Celebrates Girl Power appeared first on New York St…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:15PM
Monday, May 7, 2018

Light Shining in Buckinghamshire: Lessons on How to Lose a Revolution by Michael Sommers

★★★ Writer Caryl Churchill and director Rachel Chavkin deliver a time-melding history lesson at New York Theatre Workshop The post Light Shining in Buckinghamshire: Lessons on How to L…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Thursday, May 3, 2018

Summer and Smoke: Sparks Fly High in a Soulful Romance by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Passionate performances by Marin Ireland and Nathan Darrow ignite Tennessee Williams' rarely-staged romantic drama The post Summer and Smoke: Sparks Fly High in a Soulful Roman…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:14PM