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Friday, May 5, 2017

Brantley in Britain: 'Angels in America,' Still Stretching Toward the Heavens by Ben Brantley

A 25th-anniversary revival at the National Theater in London confirms its place in the pantheon of great American dramas.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:36AM[SHARE]

Thursday, May 4, 2017

Brantley in Britain: Review: 'The Ferryman' in Jez Butterworth's Ireland by Ben Brantley

This play, directed by Sam Mendes, overflows with characters, plots and life itself.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:36PM[SHARE]

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

2017 Tony Awards: Our Theater Critics Discuss the Nominations by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

The co-chief theater critics Ben Brantley and Jesse Green, on the nominated plays, musicals and actors.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:06PM[SHARE]

Monday, May 1, 2017

Brantley in Britain: Stoppard Classics, Reborn for an Age of Uncertainty by Ben Brantley

Bright revivals in London find the prescience in a young playwright's tomfoolery. All that, and Daniel Radcliffe.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:54PM[SHARE]

Sunday, April 30, 2017

Brantley in Britain: Review: A Souped-Up 'Dreamgirls' Roars in London by Ben Brantley

Amber Riley owns center stage without even seeming to try in Casey Nicholaw's high-octane revival of this Supremes-inspired musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:48PM[SHARE]

Thursday, April 27, 2017

Review: A Sequel Asks, Who's Knocking on the Door at 'A Doll's House'? by Ben Brantley

Lucas Hnath's "A Doll's House, Part 2," funny and illuminating, dares to wonder what Ibsen's Nora Helmer has been up to since she slammed that door.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Review: A Scam Artist's Masterwork in 'Six Degrees of Separation' by Ben Brantley

Corey Hawkins soars as a great pretender in this otherwise earthbound revival of John Guare's masterwork.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM[SHARE]

Monday, April 24, 2017

Review: 'Anastasia,' a Russian Princess With an Identity Crisis by Ben Brantley

This epic musical about an amnesiac princess suffers from its own identity crisis.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM[SHARE]

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Review: 'The Antipodes' and Ambiguous Brainstorming by Ben Brantley

In this endlessly fascinating work, Annie Baker, the author of "The Flick," considers the art and necessity of fabulation.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Review: Some Sugar but Not Enough Spice in This 'Chocolate Factory' by Ben Brantley

Christian Borle is the eccentric Willy Wonka in this tentative musical based on the Roald Dahl children's classic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Thursday, April 20, 2017

Review: 'Hello, Dolly!' Is Bright, Brassy and All Bette by Ben Brantley

In this rose-colored revival of the 1964 war horse "Hello, Dolly!," Bette Midler provides a dazzling lesson in star power

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

'Indecent' Pays Heartfelt Tribute to a Stage Scandal by Ben Brantley

Paula Vogel makes her long-awaited Broadway debut, telling the story of a Yiddish drama shut down in 1923.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48PM[SHARE]

Monday, April 17, 2017

Review: A Star Is Born (and Born and Born) in 'Groundhog Day' by Ben Brantley

A beloved movie is adapted to the musical stage with feverish imagination " and a magnetic Andy Karl shooing away the shadow of Bill Murray.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:12PM[SHARE]

Sunday, April 16, 2017

Review: Lost and Found in a Steve Earle Soundscape in 'Samara' by Ben Brantley

This uncanny play from the great experimentalist Richard Maxwell brings to mind Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name, but with more to say.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM[SHARE]

Thursday, April 13, 2017

Review: 'Oslo' Fills a Large Canvas in a Thrilling Production by Ben Brantley

Bartlett Sher's masterly production of J.T. Rogers's drama about the Oslo Accords is reborn as the colossus it was always meant to be.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM[SHARE]

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Review: In 'War Paint,' Sing a Song of Face Creams by Ben Brantley

Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole find the human factor in a repetitive musical about battling cosmetics magnates.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM[SHARE]

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Review: Kevin Kline Serves Ham in Soignée Silk in 'Present Laughter' by Ben Brantley

A bouncy revival of a NoÃ«l Coward classic re-establishes the Tony-winning Mr. Kline as one of the great physical comedians.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Monday, April 3, 2017

Review: 'Amélie' Is Easy to Listen To, but Never Really Sings by Ben Brantley

This mild-mannered musical adaptation of the famously divisive 2001 French film is unlikely to inspire similarly passionate responses.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM[SHARE]

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Review: 'The Play That Goes Wrong' Upends a Whodunit by Ben Brantley

This knockabout farce from London trades on the perverse comfort of watching things go smash in a safe, contained environment.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM[SHARE]

Saturday, April 1, 2017

Five Must-See Shows if You're in New York This Month by Ben Brantley

Offerings include a matchmaker named Dolly (embodied by a little old diva named Bette) and a new work from Annie Baker.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:42AM[SHARE]

Friday, March 31, 2017

Review: A Mesmerizing 'Hairy Ape' Brings Existentialism to Park Avenue by Ben Brantley

In this visually ravishing production, Bobby Cannavale steps into a part that has been waiting for him for decades.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Monday, March 27, 2017

Review: John Leguizamo Turns Nutty Professor in 'Latin History for Morons' by Ben Brantley

In this harshly funny performance piece, a stand-up artist translates thoughts about Latino history into hyperkinetic action.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM[SHARE]

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Review: 'Sweat' Imagines the Local Bar as a Caldron by Ben Brantley

Lynn Nottage's bracingly topical play explores the working-class anger and anxieties that put Donald J. Trump in the White House.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM[SHARE]

Thursday, March 23, 2017

Review: Return of the Little Copter That Wowed in 'Miss Saigon' by Ben Brantley

The singing scenery of "Miss Saigon" is back on Broadway, with political corrections and a newly proportioned cast.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:32PM[SHARE]

Review: Encores! Serves a Bathtub Martini in 'The New Yorkers' by Ben Brantley

Cole Porter's lost musical from 1930 raises a glass to the giddy heyday of Prohibition and high (really high) society.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:03PM[SHARE]

Monday, March 20, 2017

Review: Plunging Into Polyamory With 'How to Transcend a Happy Marriage' by Ben Brantley

Two long-married couples take a walk on the wild side in Sarah Ruhl's comedy of lust, friendship and animal sacrifice.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM[SHARE]

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Review: 'The Terrifying' Has Paranoia and the Feeling Something's Wrong by Ben Brantley

A monster devours your sense of security in this scream-filled Julia Jarcho evisceration of classic horror movies at Abrons Arts Center.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM[SHARE]

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Review: 'Joan of Arc' and the Monotony of Sainthood by Ben Brantley

In David Byrne's inert new musical, France's favorite saint storms England with power chords.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM[SHARE]

Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Review: Songs Say What a Family Can't in 'Sundown, Yellow Moon' by Ben Brantley

Voices are seldom raised in Rachel Bonds's beautifully acted play, and big, confrontational truths mostly remain unspoken.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:12PM[SHARE]

Monday, March 13, 2017

Review: Big Dreams, Bright Ideas in 'The Light Years' by Ben Brantley

The Debate Society's leisurely and copiously detailed production contemplates two Chicago World's Fairs, and everything in between.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:32PM[SHARE]

Review: In 'The Moors,' Where Heathcliff Fears to Tread by Ben Brantley

This whimsical exploration of the world created by the writing of Charlotte, Emily and Anne BrontÃ« gets an alternately intriguing and irritating production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:32PM[SHARE]

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