All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

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.

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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…

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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…

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Holiday Gift Guide: Theater Tickets by BEN BRANTLEY

Let some masters of eloquence deliver your holiday message.

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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[SHARE]

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

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

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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[SHARE]

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[SHARE]

Theater Review | 'The Great Game: Afghanistan' : The Curtain Rises: Enter, Reality by BEN BRANTLEY

A cycle of a dozen plays follows foreign involvement in Afghanistan, its results and the lack thereof.

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Theater Review | 'Pass the Blutwurst, Bitte': Egon Schiele Seen From Many Angles by BEN BRANTLEY

The performance artist John Kelly channels Egon Schiele in his reprise of “Pass the Blutwurst, Bitte,” at La MaMa.

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: When Familiar Words Are Heard Anew by BEN BRANTLEY

Sometimes a familiar line or phrase can be heard in new ways thanks to an actor’s unexpected interpretation.

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Hath Not a Year Highlights? Even This One? by BEN BRANTLEY

In a year that recapped some of New York theater’s least appealing aspects, a few productions made us remember the singular power of theater to astonish.

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Hath Not a Year Highlights? Even This One? by BEN BRANTLEY

In a year that recapped some of New York theater’s least appealing aspects, a few productions made us remember the singular power of theater to astonish.

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The Importance of Being Astonished by BEN BRANTLEY

Brian Bedford, who seems to pick up a Tony nomination whenever he steps foot on a Broadway stage, has returned to portray Lady Bracknell in "The Importance of Being Earnest."

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Theater Review | 'The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church': Prolific Communication From an Isolated Man by Ben Brantley

The British monologist Daniel Kitson comes to know a dead man through his correspondence.

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: When Political Theater Feels Truly Dangerous by Ben Brantley

The idea of theater as an act (and an instrument) of political defiance is a strange one these days to most Americans.

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Under The Radar Review: 'Diciembre' by Ben Brantley

"Diciembre," at Under the Radar Festival, is a witty, sharply focused vision of a time well past celebration.

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Critic’s Notebook: Rocking a Cradle of Experimental Theater by Ben Brantley

La MaMa, the East Village theater Ellen Stewart created and led, is not a 1960s relic; it continues to produce unexpected and even prophetic art.

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Theater Review | 'Other Desert Cities': Drowning in Domestic Denial in the Sands of Palm Springs by Ben Brantley

Audiences will surely find something wonderful in each of the five performances at the center of Jon Robin Baitz’s new play, “Other Desert Cities,” at Lincoln Center.

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Theater Review | 'John Gabriel Borkman': Ibsen’s Big Chill, With Soul Mates Frozen in Time by Ben Brantley

Ibsen’s “John Gabriel Borkman,” from the Abbey Theater of Ireland, is in production at the Harvey Theater in Brooklyn.

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Theater Review | 'Cymbeline': Simply Shakespeare, No Tangled Web by Ben Brantley

A plucky little troupe is breezily overcoming many of the problems that appear to be plaguing “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” which is next door.

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ArtsBeat: Surface Thrills: Remembering the Costumes of Theoni V. Aldredge by Ben Brantley

More than perhaps any other Broadway costume designer of the past half century, she understood that for a certain kind of show, nothing less than all-out dazzle would do.

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: A Master Class With Christine Ebersole, a Singer of Many Voices by Ben Brantley

Ms. Ebersole, I was reminded with renewed force, is a rarity among musical comedy stars.

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Theater Review | 'The New York Idea': Love in City of Intemperate Mores by Ben Brantley

David Auburn’s version of “The New York Idea” updates a 1906 comedy of mores.

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Theater Review | 'Gruesome Playground Injuries': Love Hurts, and for Some Couples, That’s the Point by Ben Brantley

“Gruesome Playground Injuries” is a blood-spattered twig of a play from the up-and-coming dramatist Rajiv Joseph.

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Theater Review | 'Three Sisters': Russian Ennui, American Idiom by Ben Brantley

A fresh and affecting Classic Stage Company production of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” features Jessica Hecht, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard.

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All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off