All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

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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Theater Review: ‘The Witch of Edmonton’: Black-Magic Woman by Ben Brantley

This seldom-seen Jacobean drama, based on an actual incident in 17th-century England, has been given an insightful production by the Red Bull Theater company at Theater at St. Clement’…

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Theater Review | 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark': Good vs. Evil, Hanging by a Thread by Ben Brantley

This show is not only the most expensive musical ever to hit Broadway, but it may also rank among the worst.

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: Good Glitch, Bad Glitch by Ben Brantley

When something goes wrong during a show, the illusion of reality that has been created on stage can fall apart before your eyes.

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Theater Review | 'Compulsion': The Young Girl Pulls the Strings in This Relationship by Ben Brantley

In “Compulsion,” a dynamic Mandy Patinkin meets his match in a puppet version of Anne Frank.

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Theater Review | 'Diary of a Madman': Send in the Russian Clown and His Pain and Alienation, Too by Ben Brantley

Geoffrey Rush, who plays the title character in Gogol’s “Diary of a Madman” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, reminds us that it’s a fine, fine line that divides …

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Revivals Are Nice, but Revel in the New by BEN BRANTLEY

Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” returns, the “South Park” team tries Broadway, and Chris Rock turns up in a play.

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All Over London, Love Hurts by BEN BRANTLEY

Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Rebecca Hall have taken to the London stage and audiences are lining up.

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Theater Review | ‘Frankenstein’: It’s (Gasp!) Alive, Not to Mention Peeved by Ben Brantley

Mary Shelley’s monster is birthed onstage in London by the Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, who has a keen sense of the trappings of life in this world.

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: When Shakespeare's Comedies Draw Tears by Ben Brantley

Sometimes it’s hard not to tear up during Shakespeare’s comedies.

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Theater Talkback: When Shakespeare's Comedies Draw Tears by Ben Brantley

Commentary on suddenly tearing up during scenes in Shakespeare's comedies

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Theater Review | ‘Frankenstein’: It’s (Gasp!) Alive, Not to Mention Peeved by Ben Brantley

Mary Shelley’s monster is birthed onstage in London by the Oscar-winning director Danny Boyle, who has a keen sense of the trappings of life in this world.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM[SHARE]

London Theater Journal: Punished By Fame by Ben Brantley

At the closet-sized Finborough Theater, a novelist with a double life discovers that a knighthood comes with blackmail attached in "Accolade."

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All Over London, Love Hurts by Ben Brantley

Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Rebecca Hall have taken to the London stage and audiences are lining up.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM[SHARE]

ArtsBeat: London Theater Journal: Punished By Fame by Ben Brantley

The wages of celebrity are being assessed all over London in productions that should give weighty pause to those who would be stars.

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Been Back to the Old Neighborhood? by BEN BRANTLEY

David Lindsay-Abaire’s “Good People,” a very fine new play starring Frances McDormand and Tate Donovan, is one of the more subtly surprising treats of this theater season.

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Theater Review | 'That Championship Season': The Champs Reunite, Bearing the Nation’s Scars by Ben Brantley

A revival of “That Championship Season” has Kiefer Sutherland making his Broadway debut.

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Theater Review | 'Peter and the Starcatcher': Peter Pan (the Early Years), With Bounding Main and All by Ben Brantley

“Peter and the Starcatcher” brings to the stage Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson’s popular prequel to “Peter Pan.”

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Theater Talkback: The Urge to Fly by Ben Brantley

How do you feel about the art of flying as part of the art of theater?

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Reasonable Discourse After a Child Is Murdered. Is That Reasonable? by BEN BRANTLEY

Author: Bryony Lavery
Producers: MCC Theater, Robert Lupone, Bernard Telsey, William Cantler, John G. Schultz, Hal Newman, Zollo/Paleologos and Jeffrey Sine, Roy Gabay, Lorie Cowen Levy and Beth Smith, Peggy Hill, Thompson H. Rogers, Swinsky/Filerman/Hendel, Sirkin/Mills/Baldassare, Darren Bagert

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Here Lies the Ruin of a Love by BEN BRANTLEY

Author: William Nicholson
Producers: Susan Quint Gallin, Stuart Thompson, Ron Kastner, True Love Productions, Mary Lu Roffe, Jam Theatricals

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Flash of 70's Sequins by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: Ben Gannon, Robert Fox

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A Tough, Sad Maid Comes to Broadway by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: Carole Shorenstein Hays, HBO Films, Jujamcyn Theaters, Freddy DeMann, Scott Rudin, Hendel/Morten/Wiesenfeld, Bergére/Fox Theatricals/Manocherian, Roger Berlind, Clear Channel Ent…

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There's Trouble in Emerald City by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: Marc Platt, Universal Pictures, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt, David Stone

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Odd Brits A-Leaping With Bodies or Brains by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: Boyett Ostar Productions, Nederlander Presentations Inc., Freddy DeMann, Jean Doumanian, Stephanie McClelland, Arielle Tepper, The National Theatre of Great Britain

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Twain's Tale, With Music for the Ear and Eye by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: Roundabout Theatre Company, Todd Haimes, Ellen Richard, Julia C. Levy, Deaf West Theatre, Ed Waterstreet, Bill O'Brien, Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum

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A Cozy Little McShtetl by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: James L. Nederlander, Stewart F. Lane/Bonnie Comley, Harbor Entertainment, Terry Allen Kramer, Bob Boyett/Lawrence Horowitz, Clear Channel Entertainment

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Sis, Today the Village, Tomorrow the World by BEN BRANTLEY

Producers: Roger Berlind, Barry and Fran Weissler, Edwin W. Schloss, Allen Spivak, Clear Channel Entertainment, Harvey Weinstein

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Festivals in Review: Warring Relatives and Joking Rabbis by Ben Brantley, Charles Isherwood, Eric Grode and Jason Zinoman

Four plays at two New York festivals, Under the Radar and Coil, offer a range of themes, styles and even language.

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Onstage, the Irreverent (and Maybe Irresistible) by BEN BRANTLEY, CHARLES ISHERWOOD, ERIK PIEPENBURG and SCOTT HELLER

Critics and writers for The New York Times write about shows and performances they are looking forward to seeing on New York stages in 2011.

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Onstage, the Irreverent (and Maybe Irresistible) by BEN BRANTLEY, CHARLES ISHERWOOD, ERIK PIEPENBURG and SCOTT HELLER

Critics and writers for The New York Times write about shows and performances they are looking forward to seeing on New York stages in 2011.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM[SHARE]

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