All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Critic’s Notebook: London Theater Journal: It's About Time by Ben Brantley

Abi Morgan's "Lovesong" is playing at London's Lyric Hammersmith Theater, which is probably the wettest house in town, given all the tears being shed there.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:38AM
Tuesday, January 31, 2012

ArtsBeat: London Theater Journal: Big Ideas in Small Spaces by Ben Brantley

Reviews of three productions at very small theaters in London, notably the two-character drama "Constellations," starring Sally Hawkins and Rafe Spall.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:09AM

Theater Review | 'Matilda': ‘Matilda,’ by the Royal Shakespeare Company in London by Ben Brantley

“Matilda,” the hit musical in London, follows Roald Dahl’s young character as she fights a sadistic headmistress.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:27AM
Thursday, January 26, 2012

Theater Review: Cynthia Nixon in ‘Wit,’ at Manhattan Theater Club by Ben Brantley

Cynthia Nixon stars in Manhattan Theater Club’s revival of “Wit,” Margaret Edson’s play about a terminally ill English professor.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM

ArtsBeat: London Theater Journal: Comfortably Mousetrapped by Ben Brantley

Ben Brantley sees "The Mousetrap" in London for the first time to see how the longest-running play in modern history is holding up.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:30AM
Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Theater Review: Kevin Spacey’s ‘Richard III,’ Staged by Sam Mendes - Review by Ben Brantley

Kevin Spacey cuts like a buzz saw in “Richard III” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Theater Review | 'The Road to Mecca' : ‘Road to Mecca’ at American Airlines Theater - Review by Ben Brantley

A new production of Athol Fugard’s “Road to Mecca” stars Rosemary Harris as a sculptor in 1970s South Africa.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Monday, January 16, 2012

Theater Review | ‘World of Wires': ‘World of Wires’ at the Kitchen — Review by Ben Brantley

Jay Scheib’s “World of Wires,” at the Kitchen, is part of a performance trilogy about the mind-scrambling overlap of natural and technology-generated worlds.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:46PM
Thursday, January 12, 2012

Theater Review | 'The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess': Audra McDonald in ‘The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess’ - Review by Ben Brantley

Audra McDonald brings thunder to “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess,” a stripped-down version of the original opera, at the Richard Rodgers Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM

ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: The Stage, the Screen and the Screen on Stage by Ben Brantley

Can film and theater live happily together in the same room? More and more recently these two separate (and arguably equal) art forms are attempting to practice cohabitation.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:00PM
Sunday, January 8, 2012

Theater Review | 'It’s Always Right Now, Until It’s Later': ‘It’s Always Right Now, Until It’s Later’ - Review by Ben Brantley

The monologuist Daniel Kitson returns to St. Ann’s Warehouse with a one-man show about two people who never knew each other in 19th-century England.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Friday, January 6, 2012

Theater Review | 'Super Night Shot': Gob Squad’s ‘Super Night Shot’ at Under the Radar - Review by Ben Brantley

In Gob Squad’s “Super Night Shot,” part of the Under the Radar Festival at the Public Theater, passers-by are enlisted to appear in an instant film.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:49PM

Theater Review: Toshiki Okada’s Under the Radar Entry at Japan Society - Review by Ben Brantley

“Hot Pepper, Air Conditioner, and the Farewell Speech,” a triptych of short plays that is being performed as part of the Under the Radar festival, is written and directed in hypnotic sty…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:33PM
Thursday, January 5, 2012

Theater Review | 'Alexis. A Greek Tragedy': ‘Alexis. A Greek Tragedy,’ in Under the Radar - Review by Ben Brantley

“Alexis. A Greek Tragedy,” a production of the Italian troupe Motus at the Under the Radar festival, is an invigorating portrait of youthful rebellion in contemporary Greece.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24PM
Thursday, December 29, 2011

The Year Ahead: Kevin Spacey in ‘Richard III’ at Brookyn Academy of Music by Ben Brantley, Charles Isherwood and Patrick Healy

A look at some of the theatrical offerings of 2012, including Kevin Spacey in “Richard III,” Audra McDonald and Norm Lewis in “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess” and a revival of “Me…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:20PM
Wednesday, December 21, 2011

ArtsBeat Blog: Theater Talkback: Giving Credit Where It's Overdue by Ben Brantley

I am throwing open the door for those who feel they have been unsung in Times theater reviews.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:15PM
Thursday, December 15, 2011

Traditional Theater, Sometimes With Stealth Bombs by Ben Brantley

It has been a year in the theater for putting new and explosive life into classic vessels.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:24PM
Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Theater Review | 'Lysistrata Jones': ‘Lysistrata Jones’ at Walter Kerr Theater - Review by Ben Brantley

“Lysistrata Jones” is a throwback to the perishable good-time musicals in which peppy kids delivered of-the-moment jokes and lively dances.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:05PM
Sunday, December 11, 2011

Theater Review | 'On a Clear Day You Can See Forever' : ‘On a Clear Day You Can See Forever’ at St. James - Review by Ben Brantley

A new version of “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” appears to have given everyone who appears in it — including its charismatic star, Harry Connick Jr. — a moaning case of the dee…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Thursday, December 8, 2011

Arts & Leisure: How Hugh Jackman’s Two Sides Make Women Swoon by Ben Brantley

The fantasy of Hugh Jackman: your dream lover, your gay best friend, and no embarrassing meltdowns.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:00AM
Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Theater Review | 'Once': ‘Once,’ the Musical, at New York Theater Workshop - Review by Ben Brantley

The talented creators of “Once,” a musical inspired by the 2006 film starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, faced a big problem that they’ve only partly resolved.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Sunday, December 4, 2011

Theater Review | 'The Cherry Orchard': ‘Cherry Orchard’ With Turturro at Classic Stage - Review by Ben Brantley

John Turturro and Dianne Wiest star in Andrei Belgrader’s heartbreakingly funny production of Chekhov’s “Cherry Orchard,” at the Classic Stage Company.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM

Theater Review | 'Misterman' : Cillian Murphy in ‘Misterman’ by Enda Walsh - Review by Ben Brantley

The electrifying Cillian Murphy seems to inhabit every millimeter of the wasteland in which he has been let loose in “Misterman,” Enda Walsh’s one-man play.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Friday, December 2, 2011

Theater Review: ‘Elective Affinities’ With Zoe Caldwell - Review by Ben Brantley

“Elective Affinities,” a one-woman show with Zoe Caldwell, explores an aristocratic character with a warm demeanor and a chilly heart.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:00PM
Thursday, December 1, 2011

Theater Review | 'Bonnie & Clyde': ‘Bonnie & Clyde,’ With Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan - Review by Ben Brantley

Frank Wildohorn’s “Bonnie & Clyde” is a modest, mildly tuneful musical biography of Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:30PM
Friday, November 25, 2011

Theater: Theater Ticket Gift Recommendations by Ben Brantley by Ben Brantley

Why not give the gift that says it all for you? I mean theater tickets, of course.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:09AM
Sunday, November 20, 2011

Theater Review | 'Wild Animals You Should Know': ‘Wild Animals You Should Know,’ by Thomas Higgins - Review by Ben Brantley

“Wild Animals You Should Know,” by Thomas Higgins, centers on an erotically charged relationship among Boy Scouts at a wilderness camp.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM

Theater Review: ‘Seminar,’ by Theresa Rebeck, With Alan Rickman - Review by Ben Brantley

“Seminar,” a new comedy by Theresa Rebeck, concerns aspiring novelists who sign up for classes with a celebrated fiction guru, played by the droll Alan Rickman.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:01PM
Thursday, November 17, 2011

Theater Review: Kim Cattrall Stars in ‘Private Lives’ - Review by Ben Brantley

Richard Eyre’s revival of Noël Coward’s “Private Lives,” which stars Kim Cattrall and Paul Gross, is frothier, broader and sillier than its immediate Broadway predecessor.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:02PM

Under the Tree, Orchestra or Mezzanine by Ben Brantley

Theater Ticket Gift Recommendations

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:28PM
Monday, November 14, 2011

Theater Review | 'Burning' : Thomas Bradshaw’s ‘Burning’ at Acorn Theater - Review by Ben Brantley

“Burning,” Thomas Bradshaw’s Off Broadway debut, is a tale of rampaging erotic impulses and misplaced artistic ambitions, set in the 1980s and the present.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic