The New York Times theater critic, who stepped down after 27 years, recently responded to readers, including one hungry for a do-over on his review of a blockbuster musical.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 01:42PMAfter 27 years on the job, the writer Ben Brantley bids farewell with one last recommendation: Watch a show as if you were a reviewer.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:48AMAfter 27 years and more than 2,500 reviews, The Times’s co-chief theater critic reviews his own tenure and talks about why he’s (quietly) making an exit.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 07:03AMIn a few minutes or a full show, these performers capture heartbreak, fury and laughs. For the words of Samuel Beckett, a disembodied mouth did the trick.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AMSelf-aware, self-conscious or self-deluding, it’s a form as old as theater itself. And it’s flourishing in a time of social isolation.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AMIn this enthralling streaming production of Brian Friel’s 1979 play, an itinerant miracle worker is grounded in a gritty reality.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 03:48PMRichard Nelson’s profound conclusion to his Zoom-format trilogy about the Apple siblings examines the perils of conversation in 2020.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 02:12PMThis streamed reading of Beth Henley’s slice of Southern noir offers scorching portraits of bad faith from Ed Harris, Amy Madigan and Bill Pullman.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PMToday we stream what shows we can find. Back then: James Dean, “Twelve Angry Men” and conclusive proof that Kim Stanley was one of the all-time greats.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AMThis streaming piece by Abigail and Shaun Bengson translates the agonies and ecstasies of lockdown into a cosmic hootenanny at his folks’ house.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 04:36PMThe Berkshire Theater Group put on the first professional musical in the U.S. since the pandemic lockdown, and it’s a revival in every sense.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 02:02PMOur critics discuss the last four months, which thanks to Zoom (and Meryl Streep) have been full of experimentation and playfulness.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:54AMIn Duncan Macmillan’s play, streaming live from the Old Vic, the stars of “The Crown” play a contradictory couple in an age of isolation.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 03:03PMThey’re never gone: Star turns from Ralph Fiennes, Meryl Streep, Gregory Hines and Christopher Plummer still live in the mind’s eye of readers.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 04:54PMFrom the documentary works of Anna Deavere Smith to brief monologues written in this moment of unrest, dramatists are sounding an alarm.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 07:03PMMiranda’s rap. Rylance’s poems. Jackman’s pelvis. And a brassy reunion for Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury. Now set your clock for “Turkey Lurkey Time.”
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PMThe Belarus Free Theater’s livestreaming, mind-bending adaptation of Sasha Sokolov’s poetic novel assumes the bifocal eye-view of a divided self.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 03:54PMFor stuck-at-homes feeling like submerging into the existential depths of no-exit theater, here’s a list of works to read and to watch.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 02:36PMUnforgettable moments lost to time, from Christopher Plummer to Jennifer Holliday, now more than ever remind us of theater’s special resonance.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 06:18AMIn a livestream production of Caryl Churchill’s 1990 tale of riot-torn Bucharest, quarantined Bard acting students grapple with revolution.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 02:03PMThen ask questions of its playwright, Dominique Morisseau, and The New York Times critic who reviewed the first production.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 04:18PMIn 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.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 12:42PMHe was a stalwart member of the group of actors who worked with the director Peter Brook. Mr. Myers died of the novel coronavirus.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 04:24PMThe streaming concert “Take Me to the World,” featuring a gallery of musical stars, honors the probing ambivalence of a master songwriter.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 12:54PMThe 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.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:06AMRemembering an actor of uncommon power who gave heroic stature to a character crippled by depression in “Death of a Salesman.”
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 05:06PMWhat we plan to listen to in perpetuity (or right now) in our Spotify-enabled isolation.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AMTo begin with, don’t call them soundtracks!
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AMA listening guide to the cast albums, playlists and video footprints left behind by 18 Broadway and Off Broadway musicals.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AMOur co-chief theater critics discuss the plays and musicals that reflected and predicted an unstable world.
Linked From The New York Times Subscription at 02:36PMOur chief theater critics have no nickel-plated medallions to hand out, but they find plenty to celebrate among shut-down Broadway offerings.
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