All stories by Charles Isherwood on BroadwayStars

Thursday, October 1, 2015

Review: ‘The Quare Land,’ a Tubcentric Comedy by Charles Isherwood

John McManus’s play tells of a developer who tries to make a deal with a gabby man in his bath.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:27PM

Review: ‘Tabac Rouge,’ James Thierrée’s Dystopia, at BAM by Charles Isherwood

This enigmatic dance-drama, whose set has a vaguely steampunk air, centers on a petulant tyrant and his minions.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:30PM
Wednesday, September 30, 2015

The Week Ahead: ‘Rothschild & Sons,’ a Reimagined Show From a Beloved Songwriting Team by Charles Isherwood

This musical from the songwriters Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick is being described as an “intimate one-act reimagining” of “The Rothschilds,” the 1970 musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:36PM
Monday, September 28, 2015

Review: In ‘Elements of Oz,’ Smartphones Enhance a Celebration of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Film by Charles Isherwood

Using their phones or tablets, audience members can take in special effects, YouTube videos and random arcana with live performances based on “The Wizard of Oz” movie.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:25PM
Sunday, September 27, 2015

Review: ‘Spring Awakening’ by Deaf West Theater Brings a New Sensation to Broadway by Charles Isherwood

Any qualms anyone might have about this being a premature revival will vanish when the cast of both hearing and deaf actors floods the stage.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:34PM
Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Review: ‘Baby Doll,’ a Child-Woman at the Center of a Moral Sinkhole by Charles Isherwood

The McCarter Theater’s production doesn’t stray far from the indelible 1956 movie, but the sexuality feels toned down.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:07PM
Thursday, September 17, 2015

Review: In ‘The Christians,’ a Schism Over Fire and Brimstone by Charles Isherwood

Lucas Hnath’s depiction of a conservative congregation wrestling with radical new ideas mirrors what’s happening now in churches across the country.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:50PM

Review: ‘Hamlet in Bed’ Is Michael Laurence’s Shakespearean Take by Charles Isherwood

Mr. Laurence wrote and stars in this play, in which his character is a Hamlet-obsessed actor who wants to find his birth mother.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:50PM
Sunday, September 13, 2015

Review: In ‘Judy,’ Societal Regression, Circa 2040 by Charles Isherwood

Max Posner’s play depicts the households of three siblings in the future, when everyone seems to spout bizarre thoughts.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:10PM
Thursday, September 10, 2015

Theater Review: Review: ‘Desire,’ Six Plays That Second-Guess Tennessee Williams by Charles Isherwood

This production includes short plays by Beth Henley, Elizabeth Egloff, John Gaure, Marcus Gardley, David Grimm and Rebecca Gilman.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:26PM

Finding That ‘Hamilton’ Magic on Other Stages by Charles Isherwood

Productions include an intriguing-sounding show called “Futurity,” coming in the fall from Soho Rep, and the revival of Sam Shepard’s “Fool for Love.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:22AM
Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Review: ‘The Legend of Georgia McBride,’ From Elvis Impersonator to Drag Queen by Charles Isherwood

A straight young man in the Florida Panhandle finds an unlikely path to prosperity in this Matthew Lopez play at the Lucille Lortel Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:33PM
Sunday, September 6, 2015

Review: ‘The Odyssey’ Takes a Populist Turn as a Musical by Charles Isherwood

Professional actors like Brandon Victor Dixon and amateur entertainers combine to turn this adaptation of Homer’s poem into a vibrant tapestry.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:27PM
Friday, September 4, 2015

The Week Ahead: ‘Desire’ Adapts Tennessee Williams’s Stories Into Short Plays by Charles Isherwood

The Acting Company has put together an evening of Williams’s works by a distinguished roster of American playwrights.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:54AM
Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The Oregon Shakespeare Festival Focuses on Diversity by Charles Isherwood

The troupe has dedicated itself to community outreach and “color-conscious” casting.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:38PM
Friday, August 28, 2015

Theater Review: Review: ‘A Delicate Ship’ Plumbs the What-ifs of Love and Heartbreak by Charles Isherwood

Two men tussle, verbally and philosophically, for the affections of a woman in Anna Ziegler’s memory play about the fragile dynamics of relationships.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:43PM
Thursday, August 27, 2015

Theater Review: Review: In ‘Whorl Inside a Loop,’ Inmates Shape Their Stories by Charles Isherwood

This play by Sherie Rene Scott, one of its stars, and Dick Scanlan, is drawn on their experience working with prisoners on monologues about their lives.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:38PM
Monday, August 24, 2015

Review: In A. R. Gurney’s ‘Love & Money,’ a Grandson Materializes to Claim His Fortune by Charles Isherwood

A young stranger interrupts a wealthy old widow’s plan to give away everything she owns in this new play at the Signature Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:56PM
Friday, August 21, 2015

‘Pericles,’ Lashed by Sorrows, at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival by Charles Isherwood

Joseph Haj’s new production, which includes sections set to music, charts the misfortunes of a prince whose daughter ultimately rescues him from despair.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:30PM
Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Review: ‘Informed Consent’ Tests the Ethics of Genetic Research by Charles Isherwood

This play at the Duke on 42nd Street is about an anthropologist whose deeply personal reasons for pursuing her work lead her into questionable moral territory.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:40PM
Monday, August 17, 2015

Review: In ‘Head Over Heels,’ Jukebox Musical Meets Elizabethan Romance by Charles Isherwood

At the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Jeff Whitty’s merry new work combines a 16th-century poetic tale with the music of the Go-Go’s.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:59PM
Sunday, August 16, 2015

Review: Lynn Nottage’s ‘Sweat’ Examines Lives Unraveling by Industry’s Demise by Charles Isherwood

Lynn Nottage’s new drama, produced at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, examines two generations of factory workers and the decline of industry in the United States.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:38PM
Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Review: In ‘Up Here,’ Boy (and All His Inner Demons and Angels) Meets Girl by Charles Isherwood

This original musical from the married team of Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who won an Oscar for their song “Let It Go,” is making its premiere at La Jolla Playhouse.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:20PM
Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Theater Review: Review: In ‘John,’ Pondering Life’s Mysteries From Gettysburg by Charles Isherwood

The membrane between life and death seems strangely permeable in the Signature Theater’s production of Annie Baker’s appealingly odd drama.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:31PM
Monday, August 10, 2015

Theater Review: Review: ‘Cymbeline’ Unspools Its Many Plot Twists at the Delacorte Theater by Charles Isherwood

This Shakespeare in the Park production stars Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater as a couple torn apart and then reunited.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:37PM
Wednesday, August 5, 2015

The Week Ahead: ‘Significant Other’ Looks at Friendships That End at Marriage by Charles Isherwood

Joshua Harmon’s play, about a young gay man who is losing his best girlfriends to wedding bells, is concluding its run at the Laura Pels Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:31PM
Monday, August 3, 2015

Review: In ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ Teenage Angst Grows Complicated by Charles Isherwood

A note found in a dead teenager’s pocket sets off unpredictable events in the sweet, sad and quite moving new musical making its premiere at Arena Stage in Washington.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:25PM
Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Review: ‘Miss Julie’ Resets a Celebrated Drama in Putin’s Russia by Charles Isherwood

Thomas Ostermeier’s staging of Strindberg’s 1888 tale about a socially forbidden love affair resets the story in the world of Russia’s new billionaires.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:41PM
Monday, July 27, 2015

Review: ‘King Liz,’ at the Top of Her Game and Wanting More by Charles Isherwood

This new play by Fernanda Coppel, part of Second Stage’s Uptown summer season, stars Karen Pittman as a powerful sports agent.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:22PM
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Review: ‘Kafka on the Shore,’ a Metaphysical Odyssey Adapted From Murakami’s Novel by Charles Isherwood

Staged at the Lincoln Center Festival, the play features an array of strange characters who flit among landscapes depicted in illuminated glass boxes.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:44PM
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Theater Review: Review: ‘Threesome,’ at 59E59 Theaters, Examines Sexual Inequality by Charles Isherwood

In Yussef El Guindi’s play, two male photographers attempt a ménage à trois with a female writer, only to encounter unexpected revelations.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM

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 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic