All stories by Brittani Samuel on BroadwayStars

Friday, November 17, 2023

‘Arcadia’ Review: Artistic Ambition Gets Thrown Into Chaos by Brittani Samuel

Bedlam’s revival of Tom Stoppard’s time-traveling mind-bender of a play is a meditation on uncertainty.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:54PM

The Broadway Review: Monty Python’s ‘Spamalot’ serves broad hilarity at breakneck speed by Brittani Samuel

Goofiness is at an all-time high in director Josh Rhodes’ iteration of the time-cherished musical comedy.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 08:51AM
Tuesday, November 14, 2023

The Broadway Review: Broadway’s ‘Harmony,’ traditional but still on time by Brittani Samuel

Bruce Sussman and Barry Manilow’s conventional new musical does a rudimentary but essential job of reviving a dead historical act.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:40AM
Friday, November 3, 2023

The Broadway Review: In ‘I Need That,’ a home cluttered with rubbish and a play void of resonance by Brittani Samuel

Theresa Rebeck’s latest theatrical venture is one of her limpest — a frustratingly monotone, predictable and seasonless dose of comfort theater.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 07:50AM
Monday, October 30, 2023

How Savion Glover and Tony Goldwyn Are Creating a New Pal Joey by Brittani Samuel

In this new version of the classic Rodgers and Hart musical, Joey is now a Black nightclub singer played by Ephraim Sykes.

SOURCE: Playbill at 02:07PM
Thursday, October 26, 2023

‘The Great Gatsby’ Review: A Musical Take on Tragic Desire by Brittani Samuel

This new version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic remains largely faithful to the novel, but it trades subtle prose for a straightforward production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:55PM
Wednesday, October 4, 2023

The Broadway Review: In ‘Jaja’s African Hair Braiding,’ micro braids and macro laughs by Brittani Samuel

Jocelyn Bioh’s latest slice-of-African-immigrant-life comedy invites audiences into the glorious maelstrom that is a Black woman’s braiding shop.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:06AM
Friday, September 29, 2023

The Broadway Review: Clearing the fog from ‘Melissa Etheridge: My Window’ by Brittani Samuel

Melissa Etheridge’s self-penned show is full of luster, vulnerability and pride — so full it almost aches for an editor.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:00AM
Thursday, September 28, 2023

The Broadway Review: ‘Purlie Victorious’ delivers a masterful sermon on satire by Brittani Samuel

The revival of Ossie Davis’ killingly funny and perceptive 1961 play is as close to Biblical scripture as Black theater gets.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:22AM
Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Four Theater Artists to Watch This Fall by Laura Collins-Hughes, Alexis Soloski, Brittani Samuel and Rhoda Feng

We spoke with two actors and two playwrights who will be in the spotlight this season.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:07AM
Thursday, August 3, 2023

Broadway’s dazzling ‘Back to the Future’ musical is a feast for the eyes — less so the ears by Brittani Samuel

Awe-inspiring visual effects and hilarious performances drive this theatrical adaptation of the iconic film

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:00PM
Monday, July 24, 2023

Review: Spending an eventful, but hackneyed evening at ‘The Cottage’ by Brittani Samuel

Sandy Rustin’s version of a drawing room farce falls short of both feminism and comedy.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:00PM
Thursday, July 20, 2023

Review: The memefication of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos in ‘Here Lies Love’ by Brittani Samuel

David Byrne’s immersive musical is a thrilling pageant of theatrics, but abstracts Filipino history better than enacting it.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:00PM
Tuesday, July 18, 2023

In Richard Hollman’s Play, the Back and Forth of a Friendship by Brittani Samuel

Richard Hollman’s tender, site-specific play explores the awkward resumption of a Covid-interrupted friendship over a deceptively innocent game of catch.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:04PM
Wednesday, June 28, 2023

‘Grief Hotel,’ an Absurdist Play With a Touch of Anemia by Brittani Samuel

Liza Birkenmeier’s abstract play is a unique exploration of romantic relationships but suffers from sleepy direction and a lack of character enrichment.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:37PM
Monday, June 26, 2023

Review: ‘Just For Us’ is an incisive comedy for everyone by Brittani Samuel

Alex Edelman’s solo show about his drop-into a white nationalist meeting entertains and illuminates.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:00PM
Thursday, June 22, 2023

Review: ‘Once Upon a One More Time’ thrillingly weds fairy-tale princesses and pop by Brittani Samuel

The musical of Britney Spears songs hits all the right notes of zaniness, creativity and unbridled joy.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 09:00PM
Monday, June 19, 2023

Ato Blankson-Wood and Marcel Spears Are a Pair of Hamlets for the (Modern) Ages by Brittani Samuel

Blankson-Wood plays the Danish Prince at Free Shakespeare in the Park's Hamlet this summer, while Spears stars in Fat Ham on Broadway.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:43AM
Thursday, June 1, 2023

Review: The devil’s in the details of ‘Grey House’ by Brittani Samuel

Levi Holloway’s horror opened on May 30 at Broadway’s Lyceum Theatre.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 08:44PM
Friday, May 26, 2023

‘Bernarda’s Daughters’ Review: Sisters Grieve a Father, and a Home by Brittani Samuel

In her adaptation of Lorca, Diane Exavier emphasizes the importance of belonging to a place, and how painful it is to consign memories of it to the grave.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:12PM
Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Old-age pageantry and new-age sentiment clash in ‘New York, New York’ by Brittani Samuel

A run-of-the-mill big Broadway extravaganza that knows where, but not when, it is.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 10:05PM
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

Review: ‘Summer, 1976’ longs for dramatic heat by Brittani Samuel

David Auburn’s eventless play bargains on feverish nostalgia and a paper-thin portrayal of friendship.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 11:11PM
Monday, April 24, 2023

Review: In ‘Good Night Oscar,’ Sean Hayes masters the role of maestro by Brittani Samuel

Entering the Broadway production of “Good Night, Oscar,” I knew nothing about playwright Doug Wright’s titular figure, Oscar Levant, but I left caring for the crotchety old man as if h…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 10:40PM

Review: In ‘Good Night Oscar,’ Sean Hayes masters the role of maestro by Brittani Samuel

Such is the magic of “Good Night, Oscar” and, specifically, actor Sean Hayes’ virtuosic turn as the accomplished Jewish pianist and talk show personality riddled with various mental il…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 08:00PM
Sunday, April 23, 2023

Review: ‘Prima Facie,’ an astounding triumph of theater beyond any reasonable doubt  by Brittani Samuel

Since the establishment of modern democracy, several men — and fewer women — have inked policies that govern civic activity, yielding black-and-white legal truths of what constitutes a c…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 10:10PM

Review: ‘Prima Facie,’ an astounding triumph of theater beyond any reasonable doubt by Brittani Samuel

The weight of “Prima Facie” lies squarely on actor Jodie Comer’s capable shoulders.

SOURCE: Broadway News at 08:00PM
Thursday, April 20, 2023

Review: ‘The Thanksgiving Play’ is more predictable appetizer than satiric meal by Brittani Samuel

Satire is one of the American theater’s greatest tools. At its best, the genre is both an effective pedagogical tool for change and a sharply-aimed weapon for critical analysis. Larissa Fa…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 10:42PM
Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Review: ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ is a raucous (intentional) disaster  by Brittani Samuel

In theater, catastrophes are usually reserved for dramatic works. But in Broadway’s “Peter Pan Goes Wrong,” calamity drives farce forward. British co-conspirators Henry Lewis, Jonathan…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 10:21PM
Thursday, April 13, 2023

Review: Aaron Sorkin’s revival of “Camelot” trades wizardly magic for moralism by Brittani Samuel

Few would call the Middle Ages a period of thriving liberal democracy, but in Aaron Sorkin’s modernized upgrade to Lerner & Loewe’s 1960 classic “Camelot,” the quest for equality…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 10:25PM
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

Review: ‘Fat Ham’ is a meaty new play, but this production won’t stick to your bones by Brittani Samuel

Few scenarios are ripe with as much drama as a Black family barbecue. Secrets, revenge and war (usually over the best dishes, but war nonetheless) play out over a steaming grill and a good b…

SOURCE: Broadway News at 11:45PM
Thursday, April 6, 2023

Review: Laughing, and Crying, in the Face of ‘Grief’ by Brittani Samuel

In his solo show about the death of his teenage children, Colin Campbell recounts his calamitous relationship with the darkest of emotions.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:48PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater