Maximalism Is Back at the Tonys by Helen Shaw, Léo Hamelin and Laura Salaberry

Our chief theater critic, Helen Shaw, shares her highlights of the Tony Awards on Sunday in New York City.

A Landmark Tonys Win for the Trans Costume Designer Qween Jean by Helen Shaw

Qween Jean won for “Cats: The Jellicle Ball,” becoming the first openly transgender person to win a Tony Award, according to a “Cats” publicist.

June Squibb is one of the oldest actors ever to be nominated for a Tony. by Helen Shaw

In ‘Can I Be Frank?,’ Imitation Is the Sincerest Form of Tragedy by Helen Shaw

Morgan Bassichis, whose solo show “Can I Be Frank?” resurrects an act by Frank Maya, joins others this season who are recreating the works of deceased artists.

‘Girl, Interrupted’ Review: A Musical That’s a Little Too Tranquilized by Helen Shaw

While the 1999 movie went for melodrama, this stage adaptation with songs by Aimee Mann honors the memoir’s coolly clinical prose.

‘Jerome’ Review: Darkness Swallows a Three-Way Romance by Helen Shaw

John J. Caswell’s triangular romance set in the early 1990s speaks to us from the smoking psychic caldera left by AIDS.

Review: ‘The Maids’ Makes a Ruckus but Not Enough Mess by Helen Shaw

Jean Genet’s psychosexual drama gets a social-media-heavy update. But what does it say beyond “internet=bad”?

‘The Emporium’ Review: Thornton Wilder Doesn’t Make the Sale by Helen Shaw

This newly discovered play by Wilder is part picaresque, part fable, featuring a Midwestern boy who dreams of working at a department store in the big city.

Review: In ‘Dad Don’t Read This’ a Playwright (Maybe?) Grows Up by Helen Shaw

Eliya Smith’s disturbing teen dramedy explores the ambivalence and confusion of life on the brink of adulthood.

Tonys 2026 Predictions: Who Will Win? And Who Should? by Helen Shaw

Our chief theater critic looks at this year’s nominees and makes some predictions (and recommendations).

Our Favorite Moments From This Year’s Tony-Nominated Broadway Shows by Helen Shaw, Jesse Green, Laura Collins-hughes, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Sara Krulwich

Here are some of the brilliant moments our writers can’t shake from this year’s batch of Tony-nominated productions.

Revenge, Served Two Ways: Cold in ‘Othello’ and Lukewarm in ‘Hamlet’ by Helen Shaw

Shakespeare’s brooding prince comes off as bored at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. But Bedlam’s lean production of “Othello” is positively thrilling.

Tony Nominations Snubs and Surprises: Lea Michele Left Out, ‘Titaníque’ Shines by Helen Shaw, Jesse Green, Alexis Soloski, Scott Heller, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Laura Collins-hughes

Lea Michele, Adrien Brody and other boldface names were left out, while June Squibb, André De Shields and Layton Williams as an iceberg were among the surprises.

‘Moby Dick’ Review: Robert Wilson’s Last Masterpiece by Helen Shaw

Wilson’s 2024 adaptation of Herman Melville’s classic, with music by the British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, has a short run at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

‘The Lost Boys’ Review: Live, Die, Reprise by Helen Shaw and Sara Krulwich

A Broadway musical adaptation of the 1987 movie gets a lot of mileage from ’80s rocker aesthetics and over-the-top spectacle — until its second half.

Review: ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,’ With Taraji P. Henson and Cedric the Entertainer by Helen Shaw

This revival starring Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson may be uneven at times, but it still unlocks Wilson’s mysterious drama.

Review: ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ Revival Gives Us What We Want by Helen Shaw and Sara Krulwich

Sam Pinkleton’s new revival at Studio 54 gives us the big gay mayhem we want while also maintaining some order via Rachel Dratch’s droll Narrator.

Review: In ‘The Balusters,’ Neighborly Dysfunction Is on the Agenda by Helen Shaw

David Lindsay-Abaire’s comedy about a wealthy homeowners association thrown into disarray makes a case for the same social compact it skewers.

'Proof' Review: Ayo Edebiri as a Math Girl, Interrupted by Helen Shaw

The actress stars as a haunted genius opposite Don Cheadle as her father in David Auburn's 2001 drama. This revival, though, exposes the play's lack of rigor.

Review: 'The Fear of 13,' With Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson, Doesn't Add Up by Helen Shaw

Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson make confident Broadway debuts, but the uneven script makes for a narratively slippery prison drama.

'Death of a Salesman,' With Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf, Is Perfect for Our Time by Helen Shaw

Arthur Miller's classic tragedy returns to Broadway, starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf. Yet again, it is a triumph.

Fanciful and Fabulous: 'Cats: The Jellicle Ball' on Broadway by Helen Shaw and Sara Krulwich

For their 10th life, the cats strut and duckwalk in a reappraisal of Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical, which has shifted to the queer ballroom scene.

Chekhov Plays for an Un-Chekhov Time by Helen Shaw

The directors Michael DeFilippis, Dmitry Krymov and Aleksandr Molochnikov all infuse their current productions with a burning, modern rage.

John Lithgow as Roald Dahl in 'Giant': A Study in Monstrosity by Helen Shaw

In Mark Rosenblatt's play, a powerful portrayal of the beloved children's book author who almost gleefully exposes his bigotry.

Why Are We Obsessed With Antigone? by Helen Shaw, Léo Hamelin and Laura Salaberry

Antigone, an ancient Greek play, is being adapted in several theaters across New York City. Our critic Helen Shaw explains why Sophocles's anti-heroine is such a relevant figure today.

Who Is Antigone? The 2500-Year-Old Rebel With a Cause. by Helen Shaw

"Antigone" gave us the original "bad girl," but its themes go beyond that. How do adaptations keep making Sophocles' ideas about democracy and theater new?

Two Revivals, 'Tru' and 'The Fever,' Tackle the Contagion of the Rich by Helen Shaw

Two monologue revivals " Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Truman Capote and Wallace Shawn's solo " reveal how wealth warps our perceptions. Only one pays dividends.

Review: 'The Wild Party' Has a Ball at City Center by Helen Shaw

Encores! revisits a Jazz Age tale of debauchery, with showstoppers from Jasmine Amy Rogers, Adrienne Warren, Jordan Donica, Tonya Pinkins and others.

Daniel Radcliffe Shines in 'Every Brilliant Thing' on Broadway by Helen Shaw

The actor's fondness for the audience radiates outward in this delightful interactive play about naming and noticing the good in the world.

'Antigone (This Play I Read in High School)' Review: Tragically Uneven by Helen Shaw

Anna Ziegler's feminist take on Sophocles tries to tie in reproductive politics, but the play keeps trampling over its own ideas.

In a Screen-Dazzled World, a Theater Critic Has the Antidote by Helen Shaw

The Times's new chief theater critic is taking up the mantle as the industry moves over rocky ground.

Wallace Shawn's 'What We Did Before Our Moth Days' Is Purgatory Done Right by Helen Shaw

The playwright and his collaborator André Gregory are together again, delivering a sumptuous set of interlinked monologues about life, death and betrayal.

Hamnet, Hamlet and Oscar Wao: Three Lost Boys Across Time by Helen Shaw

In the stage versions of two beloved books, the most impressive moments emerge when the productions stray from the source material.

Review: 'You Got Older,' With Alia Shawkat, Gets a Sharp Revival by Helen Shaw

Clare Barron's gorgeous play, about an unmoored young woman returning home to care for her father, finds a new home at Cherry Lane Theater.

A Downtown Vibe Comes to Broadway This Spring by Helen Shaw

Without the usual flood of new musicals, the playwrights of works like "Becky Shaw," "Dog Day Afternoon" and "Giant" are getting a chance to shine.

'Tragedy of Coriolanus' Swerves Off Course in Brooklyn by Helen Shaw

Theater for a New Audience's reimagining of the Shakespearean tragedy misses an opportunity to engage the play's many echoes with our own tense era.

Milo Rau's 'Hate Radio,' 'Pelicot Trial' and More Theater of the Real by Helen Shaw

Milo Rau's examination of the infamous broadcast that preceded the Rwandan genocide is onstage now. Two other works, including "The Pelicot Trial," arrive in March.

'The Unknown' Review: Sean Hayes Turns One Man Into a Mystery by Helen Shaw

The chameleonic actor takes on several characters in David Cale's solo play about a writer in pursuit of his stalker. Or is it all in his mind?

'The Other Place': Tobias Menzies and Emma D'Arcy in a Psychosexual Sophocles Update by Helen Shaw

In Alexander Zeldin's naturalistic adaptation of "Antigone," Tobias Menzies and Emma D'Arcy star as a feuding uncle and niece.

A Stunning 'King Lear' That Reveals, Finally, a King in Full by Helen Shaw

Ten actors wear the crowns in Karin Coonrod's production, which is rich with twilight revelation, at La MaMa in Manhattan.

Libby Howes, a Promising Young Actress, Left New York in 1981 and Disappeared. What Happened? by Helen Shaw

Libby Howes was an imposing presence onstage with the Wooster Group. But after abruptly leaving New York in 1981 she became a theater world mystery. What happened?

'Ulysses,' 'Watch Me Walk' and Other Festival Shows Revisit the Past by Helen Shaw

"Watch Me Walk," "Ulysses" and other offerings from Under the Radar and the Exponential Festival engage with personal histories and the works of literary lions.

'The Disappear' Review: A Couple on the Rocks and Out of Sync by Helen Shaw

Erica Schmidt's discordant comedy, starring Hamish Linklater and Miriam Silverman, is a farce clumsily straddling two genres.

January Festivals Bring the Weird, Wonderful Shows by Helen Shaw, Sheldon Pearce, Jane Bua, Brian Seibert, Jillian Steinhauer, Richard Brody, Taran Dugal, Justin Chang

Also: "Tartuffe" mania, the guitar stylings of William Tyler and Yasmin Williams, Justin Chang's movies for a new year, and more.

Jim Jarmusch's Ironically Optimistic Family Movie by Richard Brody, Brian Seibert, Sheldon Pearce, Zoë Hopkins, Helen Shaw, Rachel Syme

Also: Graciela Iturbide's tranquil photographs of Mexico, Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson in "Song Sung Blue," the coke-rap of Clipse, and more.

Matthew Broderick Stars as the Titular Grifter in "Tartuffe" by Helen Shaw

It's been the year of Molière, and therefore the year of the liar, the hypocrite, the poseur, the clown.

Memory Speaks in "Marjorie Prime" and "Anna Christie" by Helen Shaw

Helen Shaw reviews "Marjorie Prime," with June Squibb, Cynthia Nixon, and Danny Burstein,

The Best Theatre of 2025 by Helen Shaw

It was a banner year for generation-defining performance, both up- and downtown.

Guanyu Xu's Powerful Photographs of Immigration Limbo by Vince Aletti, Sheldon Pearce, Helen Shaw, Brian Seibert, Leo Lasdun, Richard Brody, Alexandra Schwartz

Also: Alvin Ailey's annual City Center residency, the D.I.Y. virtuoso Jay Som, Alexandra Schwartz's Shakespeare-movie picks, and more.

Tom Stoppard's Radical Invitation by Helen Shaw

The playwright offered a kind of on-ramp to the literary canon, a way into a life of unabashed, unstoppable thinking.