All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

Theater Review | 'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson': Ideal President: A Rock Star Just Like Me by BEN BRANTLEY

There’s not a show in town that more astutely reflects the state of this nation than “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” the rowdy political carnival that opened on Broadway.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: When Page Meets Stage by BEN BRANTLEY

The production of "Gatz" has stirred memories of other shows adapted from well-known literary works. And it has made me appreciate how hard it is to capture a novel's sensibility on stage.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Talkback: When Page Meets Stage by BEN BRANTLEY

The production of "Gatz" has stirred memories of other shows adapted from well-known literary works. And it has made me appreciate how hard it is to capture a novel's sensibility on stage.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'La Bête': Making Chaos Rhyme With Class, Er, Gas by BEN BRANTLEY

Mark Rylance brings polished crudeness to the Broadway revival of “La Bête.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Books of The Times: Sondheim’s Rhymes and Reasons by BEN BRANTLEY

“Finishing the Hat,” a self-portrait of Stephen Sondheim as an obsessive lyricist, is about a dynamic, unending process: it’s about finishing, not having finished.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Wings': The Shadows of an Airborne Life by BEN BRANTLEY

In the Second Stage Theater’s revival of Arthur Kopit’s “Wings,” Jan Maxwell plays a woman whose perceptions are splintered after a stroke.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Driving Miss Daisy': Stooped and a Bit Slow, but Still Standing Tall by BEN BRANTLEY

A revival of “Driving Miss Daisy” at the Golden Theater shows off two titans of Broadway: James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review: In Far Over Their Heads: Life at the Pool’s Bottom by BEN BRANTLEY

“Penelope,” from the Druid Theater, tells the story of the men trying to woo the title character after her husband, Odysseus, goes off to the Trojan War.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review: In Far Over Their Heads: Life at the Pool’s Bottom by BEN BRANTLEY

“Penelope,” from the Druid Theater, tells the story of the men trying to woo the title character after her husband, Odysseus, goes off to the Trojan War.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Angels in America': This Time, the Angel Is in the Details by BEN BRANTLEY

“Angels in America” returns for a revival by the Signature Theater Company in a production that feels cozier, more accessible and less startling than it did when it opened in N…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Talkback: Better Off Off Broadway? by BEN BRANTLEY

Why some plays are better scaled for Off Broadway than on.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Merry Wives of Windsor': A World of Silliness, but No Winking This Time by BEN BRANTLEY

The Shakespeare’s Globe production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” at Pace University, treats this low-rent farcical war horse with a little respect.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'In the Wake': A Whirlwind of Words and Passions by BEN BRANTLEY

Lisa Kron’s “In the Wake” at the Public Theater is a more conventionally naturalistic play than Ms. Kron’s memoir pieces, “Well” and “2.5 Min…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'In the Wake': A Whirlwind of Words and Passions by BEN BRANTLEY

Lisa Kron’s “In the Wake” at the Public Theater is a more conventionally naturalistic play than Ms. Kron’s memoir pieces, “Well” and “2.5 Min…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Merry Wives of Windsor': A World of Silliness, but No Winking This Time by BEN BRANTLEY

The Shakespeare’s Globe production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor,” at Pace University, treats this low-rent farcical war horse with a little respect.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown': Here’s Your Valium, What’s Your Hurry? by BEN BRANTLEY

The musical adaptation of “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,” at the Belasco Theater on Broadway, has a serious case of attention deficit disorder.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Critic’s Notebook: Big Fish in Small Theaters Often Find a Big, Scary Ocean on Broadway by BEN BRANTLEY

Some successful Off Broadway shows just can’t make it on Broadway.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Critic’s Notebook: In Boston, Listening to a Young Playwright Adept at Silence by BEN BRANTLEY

Annie Baker’s distinctively bittersweet sounds of silence are echoing throughout the Boston Center for the Arts, where three of her plays are being performed, with considerable skill …

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | ‘Notes From Underground’: Dostoyevsky’s ‘Sick Man’ Hits YouTube by BEN BRANTLEY

Yale Repertory mounts a “Notes From Underground” for the Internet age.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | ‘The Merchant of Venice’: Love and Dirty, Filthy Ducats by BEN BRANTLEY

Daniel Sullivan’s production, full of clarity and subtlety, makes its premiere on Broadway after a summer in Central Park.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'Lingua Franca': And Noisily Flows the Arno by BEN BRANTLEY

Fans of Peter Nichols, one of the finest and most underrated British dramatists of the second half of the 20th century, will definitely find elements to savor in “Lingua Franca.ȁ…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'A Free Man of Color': A Gaudy Swashbuckle Through History by BEN BRANTLEY

John Guare’s historical comedy “Free Man of Color,” at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, tosses up bright balls of allusion and prays they’ll land in a coherent patter…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: When the Stage Goes Two-Dimensional by BEN BRANTLEY

In scenic design these days, the biggest thing in the theater is film - or to be precise, digital projections.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review: With Her, It’s Love at First Sound by BEN BRANTLEY

Kelli O’Hara plays the big-hearted telephone operator in a revival of “Bells Are Ringing.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'The Break of Noon': He’s Born-Again but Still Obnoxious by BEN BRANTLEY

The road to salvation is flat and narrow in “The Break of Noon,” Neil LaBute’s single-tone study starring David Duchovny.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | Two Plays by Harold Pinter: Essence of Pinterland, a Terrain Both Warm and Flecked With Ice by BEN BRANTLEY

In first-rate productions of two Harold Pinter plays, five performers quietly send off distress signals with a fluency that leaves you grinning at such stylishly realized discomfort.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Review | 'The Red Shoes': Dance-Struck Little Girls: Run! Run in Horror! by BEN BRANTLEY

The Kneehigh Theater’s adaptation of “The Red Shoes” presents a raw view of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Holiday Gift Guide: Theater Tickets by BEN BRANTLEY

Let some masters of eloquence deliver your holiday message.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: When the Stage Goes Two-Dimensional by BEN BRANTLEY

In scenic design these days, the biggest thing in the theater is film - or to be precise, digital projections.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: Speaking the Same Language by BEN BRANTLEY

Why good productions of Shakespeare and Pinter require actors to speak the same language.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

Theater Talkback: Speaking the Same Language by BEN BRANTLEY

Why good productions of Shakespeare and Pinter require actors to speak the same language.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM

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