All stories by Charles McNulty on BroadwayStars

Monday, June 28, 2021

Echo Theater at 25: How Chris Fields gave L.A. a place for offbeat plays to thrive by Charles McNulty

Artistic director Chris Fields spills the secrets of Echo Theater Company's success as it marks a milestone anniversary with 25 alumni performing 25 monologues by 25 alumni playwrights.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:44PM

Review: In 'Tevye in New York!' at the Wallis, 'Fiddler' fiddles once again by Charles McNulty

Tom Dugan stars in this new show, which imagines the lives of the characters from "Fiddler on the Roof" after they move to America.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:44PM
Friday, June 25, 2021

Review: Killer cast, talented creatives. What went wrong with 'Off Broadway'? by Charles McNulty

Torrey Townsend's streaming play, presented by Jeremy O. Harris, takes aim at the systemic racism, sexism and hypocrisy in theater.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:52PM
Monday, June 21, 2021

Review: L.A. theater is back with a boundary-breaking 'Octoroon' outdoors at the Fountain by Charles McNulty

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' celebrated 'An Octoroon' has its Los Angeles premiere at the Fountain Theatre's new outdoor stage.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:47PM
Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Coming to an L.A. stage: Proof we're in a golden age of American playwriting by Charles McNulty

Forget musicals. The time is now for the American play, and 'An Octoroon' is just one of many groundbreaking works by women and writers of color.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:28PM
Thursday, June 10, 2021

Commentary: Center Theatre Group needs more than a new leader. It needs to blow up the status quo by Charles McNulty

Michael Ritchie is stepping down as artistic director of L.A.'s most important theater company. What can his replacement — or replacements — do differently?

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:14PM
Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Column: Anti-vaxxers don't deserve coddling. Why theaters should require proof of vaccination by Charles McNulty

What's wrong with using incentives to increase the vaccination rate? The opportunity to see that new musical should be a reward, not a right.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:55PM
Thursday, May 13, 2021

A brilliant Sterling K. Brown in 'The Normal Heart' makes a powerful casting point by Charles McNulty

Casting a straight actor in landmark gay role isn't a misstep. It's a recognition of shared struggle.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:13PM
Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Cut the intermission, please. Why I hope the pandemic ends a theatrical tradition by Charles McNulty

What ticket buyer wants to spend unnecessary time in a crowded lobby or cramped restroom? Even more important: the broken spell of storytelling onstage.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:15AM
Thursday, May 6, 2021

Can the haunted house be reinvented for a digital stage? This L.A. theater tries by Charles McNulty

In Geffen Playhouse's "Someone Else's House," multimedia artist Jared Mezzocchi opens the door to his family's haunted 200-year-old New England house.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:19AM

Review: I went to the theater for the first time in 14 months. UCLA's 'Encounter' is what I needed by Charles McNulty

Theater has returned to UCLA's Royce Hall, pairing perfect strangers in a private encounter.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:19AM
Sunday, May 2, 2021

As we return to normal, a new plague: stage fright in the theater of daily life by Charles McNulty

With the next chapter of the pandemic comes a fear of returning to the roles we all used to perform, even among friends.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:23PM
Friday, April 23, 2021

Happy birthday, William Shakespeare! You're not as old as you seem by Charles McNulty

Celebrating Shakespeare's birthday may seem retrograde, but his plays reveal what drama can do. Here's how I advise students to read the work.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:25PM
Thursday, April 22, 2021

Theater gets its weird back. How REDCAT and CAP UCLA shows celebrate the offbeat by Charles McNulty

A James Baldwin-William F. Buckley Jr. debate is fodder for a REDCAT presentation, and CAP UCLA's "Plastic Bag Store: The Film" mixes gravity with whimsy.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:56PM
Monday, April 19, 2021

Commentary: Is Scott Rudin's apology enough? A new era demands more by Charles McNulty

Scott Rudin apologized after allegations of abusive workplace behavior, but he's not the only one. Broadway, it's time to straighten up your act.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:12AM
Friday, April 16, 2021

Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman's 'Assassins' gathers a killer roster of performers by Charles McNulty

A doc illuminates the dark hold of Sondheim's 'Assassins' in a Classic Stage Company benefit reminding us why theater has been such a pandemic loss.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:36PM
Wednesday, April 14, 2021

With Josh O'Connor and Lupita Nyong'o, 'Romeo and Juliet' speaks to our fractured society by Charles McNulty

Two new versions — a National Theatre film coming to PBS and a Public Theater podcast out now — bring new life to Shakespeare's romantic tragedy.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:51PM
Wednesday, March 24, 2021

Representation isn't just about visibility. Shootings remind us it's about life and death by Charles McNulty

What role can art play in opening eyes to the humanity of people different from ourselves? After the Atlanta-area shootings, the answer is urgent.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:42AM
Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Commentary: Museums and movie theaters are reopening, but you won't see me in one. Not until summer by Charles McNulty

COVID-19 restrictions are loosening for cultural institutions even though health experts urge caution. We've haven't yet won the fight.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:22PM
Friday, March 12, 2021

His Sondheim show was a COVID-19 casualty, but Michael Michetti hasn't lost his 'Passion' by Charles McNulty

A year ago Michael Michetti, one of L.A. theater's most accomplished directors, was about to open the Stephen Sondheim musical "Passion" at Boston Court Pasadena. Then the pandemic hit.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:28PM
Saturday, March 6, 2021

Review: In 'The Gaze ... No Homo,' a Black and queer actor navigates the white theater world by Charles McNulty

Center Theatre Group streams "The Gaze ... No Homo," a Larry Powell play examining the possibilities of Black queer work in white environments.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:04PM
Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Theaters hit the one-year anniversary of shutdown. How are artists keeping afloat? by Charles McNulty

Daniel Fish, Culture Clash, Dael Orlandersmith, Richard Maxwell, Annie Dorsen and Lars Jan reveal much loss — but also see a way forward.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:37PM
Friday, February 12, 2021

Review: 'Yorick' is 'Hamlet' with haunting puppets and a smoky Malbec voice. It's ingenious by Charles McNulty

REDCAT's digital production of 'Yorick, La Historia de Hamlet' miniaturizes Shakespeare's tragedy into an ingenious hourlong show.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:14AM
Tuesday, February 9, 2021

Christopher Plummer, a reading actor, found divinity in Shakespeare's words by Charles McNulty

The reading actor isn't a thing of the past, but a refined literary sensibility is valued less than social media savvy today.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:14PM
Monday, February 8, 2021

Commentary: What 'Hamlet' has to say about Trump's impeachment trial by Charles McNulty

As the Senate impeachment trial gets underway, Shakespeare's tragedy illuminates the politics of rebellion and the quest to maintain a grip on power.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:15PM
Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Adrienne Kennedy influenced generations of playwrights. An online festival shows why by Charles McNulty

Adrienne Kennedy, a Black playwright who's more influential than produced, is celebrated in a rare digital festival not to be missed.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:54PM
Monday, January 25, 2021

Commentary: How to define theater in the digital era? I'll know it when I see it by Charles McNulty

Theater has suffered from placelessness in the digital era. Mark O'Rowe's "The Approach" roots us somewhere theatrically real.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:40PM
Thursday, January 21, 2021

Commentary: Presidential inaugurations are theater. What a difference this new cast makes by Charles McNulty

Same stage, different script: For a theater critic watching President Biden's inauguration, the most notable part of the performance is its humility.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:32AM
Thursday, January 14, 2021

Commentary: Times are bad, so keep your uplift. Give me 'Crime and Punishment' and 'The Godfather' by Charles McNulty

The nation's overlapping crises have sparked the notion that audiences want to be uplifted, more than anything else. I disagree.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:36PM
Monday, January 11, 2021

Review: Searching for the spirit behind 'Hello, Dolly!' and 'La Cage aux Folles' by Charles McNulty

Pasadena Playhouse streams "You I Like: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Herman," in which paying tribute to the Broadway composer proves harder than it might seem.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:32PM
Saturday, December 12, 2020

In a year of losses, something gained: Theater, artfully filmed by Charles McNulty

This was the year that streaming versions of "Hamilton," "What the Constitution Means to Me" and "Ma Rainey" proved stage stories can shine on-screen.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:53PM

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
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
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
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards