All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

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
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
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
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
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
Wednesday, April 5, 2017

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

A bouncy revival of a Noël 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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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

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
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
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
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
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
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

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 Brontë gets an alternately intriguing and irritating production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:32PM
Sunday, March 12, 2017

Review: ‘Come From Away,’ a Canadian Embrace on a Grim Day by Ben Brantley

This musical pushes emotional buttons as it portrays a town’s efforts to accommodate travelers whose planes were diverted to a Canadian town after the 9/11 attacks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Thursday, March 9, 2017

Review: Dismantling ‘The Glass Menagerie’ by Ben Brantley

The director Sam Gold and his cast, led by an intrepid Sally Field, have deconstructed the Tennessee Williams classic. But don’t expect the pieces to be reassembled.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:36PM
Thursday, March 2, 2017

Review: In ‘Significant Other,’ the Gay Best Friend Is the Odd Man Out by Ben Brantley

Joshua Harmon’s comedy, at the Booth Theater, tells of a gay man’s turmoil as he watches wedding bells break up his gang of gal pals.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM
Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Review: A ‘Sweeney Todd’ That Gets Into Your Face by Ben Brantley

This musical about a demonic barber could be more penetrating, but still respects the original story’s depiction of madness.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:03PM

Ethan Lipton: Have Rocket, Will Travel by Ben Brantley

Mr. Lipton teams up with Leigh Silverman to bring “The Outer Space” to Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:54PM

5 Must-See Shows if You’re in New York This Month by Ben Brantley

March brings a set of rivalrous blue-collar workers, a resentful stoker on an ocean liner and, oh yes, one very angry barber.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:18AM
Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Review: In ‘Linda,’ the Lures and Snares of Leaning In by Ben Brantley

Contemporary womanhood has its challenges, and this play explores many of them, like sexual harassment, eating disorders, Ophelia complexes and more.

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

Review: In ‘The Skin of Our Teeth,’ the End of the World as We Know It by Ben Brantley

The Theater for a New Audience’s revival of Thornton Wilder’s apocalyptic comedy feels surprisingly appropriate for a world threatened by climate issues and packed with refugees.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Monday, February 27, 2017

Review: ‘Wakey, Wakey’ Stars Life and Death by Ben Brantley

There are echoes of Samuel Beckett in this short, resonant tragicomedy, written by Will Eno and featuring Michael Emerson.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42PM
Thursday, February 23, 2017

Review: ‘Sunday in the Park With George,’ a Living Painting to Make You See by Ben Brantley

Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford star in the marvelous revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s musical, at the newly restored Hudson Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18PM
Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Review: In ‘Kid Victory,’ Rescued but Not Free by Ben Brantley

This dark musical by Greg Pierce and John Kander examines the ordeals of a teenager trying to recover from a drugged captivity.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48PM

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