All stories by Brittani Samuel on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, May 13, 2026

‘Ragtime’ Star Joshua Henry Is Bringing Broadway to Its Feet by Brittani Samuel and Vincent Tullo

Joshua Henry, a Tony nominee for his thrilling performance in “Ragtime,” credits the demanding role with helping him “feel like I have mastered the voice.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:20AM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 10, 2026

Review: ‘The Receptionist’ Can’t Help You Today by Brittani Samuel

A stale revival of Adam Bock’s cog-in-the-office-machine dark comedy lacks specificity and bite.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:45PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 18, 2026

'My Joy Is Heavy' Review: Hope and Horror Live in the Same House by Brittani Samuel

A full-scale production of the Bengsons' deeply personal memoir musical is delivered via anthemic songs and remnants of home.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 12, 2026

'The Monsters' Review: A Redemptive Sibling Rivalry by Brittani Samuel

Ngozi Anyanwu's searing two-hander follows a brother and sister who train in boxing, side by side.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 21, 2025

Review: A 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' Musical Is a Psychedelic Parable by Brittani Samuel

At Greenwich House Theater, Greta Gertler Gold and Hilary Bell's stage adaptation of Joan Lindsay's novel hovers between reverie and reality.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18PM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 20, 2025

'Saturday Church' Review: Saving Fabulous Souls to Sia's Music by Brittani Samuel and Sara Krulwich

A new musical pulled from the pop star's catalog among others, with a book from Damon Cardasis and James Ijames, tells the story of a Christian teen discovering ballroom and queer expression.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 19, 2025

'Mexodus' Review: A History Musical With Thrilling Loop-the-Loops by Brittani Samuel

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson take viewers south on the Underground Railroad in this electric production that feels like a jam session.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:06PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 3, 2025

An Off Broadway Homecoming for Tarell Alvin McCraney and André Holland by Brittani Samuel and Roger Kisby

"The Brothers Size" at the Shed is speaking to a new generation of audiences. "Unfortunately, parts of the plays are still relevant," McCraney said.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:06PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, June 4, 2025

'A Freeky Introduction' Review: Pleasure Principles by Brittani Samuel

NSangou Njikam's latest offering is an ode to the erotic and the divine, set to winking R&B and hip-hop songs, in a new production by Atlantic Theater Company.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:02AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 28, 2025

The Broadway Review: Broadway's 'Real Women Have Curves' is more jubilant, less jagged than its source by Brittani Samuel

Sergio Trujillo architects a vivacious staging of the beacon Mexican mother-daughter story.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:51AM[SHARE]

The Broadway Review: 'Dead Outlaw' makes beautiful music in the dark by Brittani Samuel

A powerhouse creative team orchestrates a stunning, one-of-a-kind musical about an extraordinarily strange human story.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:36AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 25, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Pirates! The Penzance Musical' needs to trust in stupid by Brittani Samuel

Rupert Holmes' carnivalist revision of Gilbert and Sullivan's patter-filled comic opera undercuts its own funny.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:42AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' is jaw-dropping science fiction with soul by Brittani Samuel

Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin orchestrate an unforgettable, high-octane stage prequel to the knockout Netflix series.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:22AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 22, 2025

The Broadway Review: In 'Floyd Collins,' a truth stranger and scarier than fiction by Brittani Samuel

Tina Landau leads a stately, musically ambitious production of her and co-creator Adam Guettel's doozy of a cave-digging musical.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:01AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 15, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'John Proctor is the Villain' humbles a canonical hero by Brittani Samuel

Kimberly Belflower's richly textured dark comedy is a funny yet sobering wrestle with Arthur Miller's classic.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:22AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 11, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Smash' is a painfully unfunny farce by Brittani Samuel

The inevitable Broadway adaptation of the backstage television drama suffers from a poor script, flat characters and performative progressivism.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:40AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 8, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Boop! The Musical' is a big Broadway joy bomb by Brittani Samuel

The new musical isn't original, but excites nonetheless with glittering stagecraft and a knockout star.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:18AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 7, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'The Last Five Years' is a romance that lacks connection by Brittani Samuel

The first Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown's slender, sublime musical falters from uneven casting.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:23AM[SHARE]
Friday, April 4, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Good Night, and Good Luck' is a straightforward retelling of its source material by Brittani Samuel

A controlled George Clooney steadily leads the ensemble of this digital-heavy dramatization of the Murrow-McCarthy debate.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:58AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Glengarry Glen Ross' won't sell first-timers on Mamet by Brittani Samuel

The third Broadway revival of the dismal real estate drama serves up functional stagecraft and well-executed performances, but can't locate its purpose.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:06AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 28, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' is a queer requiem for Oscar Wilde by Brittani Samuel

Sarah Snook is a masterful shapeshifter in this triumphant one-woman adaptation of Oscar Wilde's once-salacious morality tale. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:54AM[SHARE]
Monday, March 24, 2025

The Broadway Review: A well-acted 'Othello' flounders in a murky pool of direction by Brittani Samuel

Starry performances can't fully salvage director Kenny Leon's indeterminate production of the Shakespearean tragedy.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:40AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 21, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Operation Mincemeat' is a gleeful, MI5-inspired romp by Brittani Samuel

British comedy troupe SpitLip brings a creative spoof of an implausible military operation to Broadway.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:50AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 20, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Buena Vista Social Club' brings ebullient trova music to Broadway but leaves history behind by Brittani Samuel

Marco Ramirez's musical " a transfer from Off-Broadway " skims over pre- and post-Revolution Cuban life, but vividly displays what came of it: incredible music.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:41AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Purpose' investigates the messy men and women who become monuments by Brittani Samuel

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' terrific new contemporary drama is an intimate look into an influential political family's behind-closed-doors behavior.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:46AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 14, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'Redwood' is a good-natured but mundane musical by Brittani Samuel

The Idina Menzel-fueled contemporary musical is a bluff take on grief, bolstered by technology.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:01AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Broadway Review: 'English' beautifully reflects on the frustration of being misunderstood by Brittani Samuel

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi makes her Broadway debut with this smart and sensitive cross-lingual dramatic comedy. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:35PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 30, 2024

The Broadway Review: 'All In: Comedy About Love' is the safest comedy special around by Brittani Samuel

A John Mulaney-led crew of swanky comedic talent brings several of Simon Rich's tidy, funny stories to Broadway. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 04:50PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 20, 2024

The Broadway Review: A 'Gypsy' completely beholden to its beaming star by Brittani Samuel

Audra McDonald's historic turn as the thorny Mama Rose unveils a deeper tragedy of the esteemed character.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:30AM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 12, 2024

The Broadway Review: 'Cult of Love' could use a leader by Brittani Samuel

Leslye Headland's go at living-room drama is Broadway's latest conventional bowl of familial mush.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:59PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 21, 2024

The Broadway Review: 'Death Becomes Her' slays by Brittani Samuel

Director Christopher Gattelli's production of the musical black comedy is an instant hit, dazzling audiences with lush creative design and enchanting leads.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:57PM[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