All stories by Charles McNulty on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 2, 2022

Review: An oddly cast Martha and George expose fragility in Edward Albee's shatterproof play by Charles McNulty

Calista Flockhart and Zachary Quinto star in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' at the Geffen Playhouse.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:25PM[SHARE]

Commentary: Are Broadway megastars obsolete? Not while Hugh Jackman and Patti LuPone are around by Charles McNulty

Fans are flocking to see Hugh Jackman in 'The Music Man' and Patti LuPone in 'Company.'

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 28, 2022

A mesmerizing 'Hadestown' at the Ahmanson makes an old tale feel startlingly new by Charles McNulty

"Hadestown," Anaïs Mitchell's Tony- and Grammy-musical reimagining the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, arrives in Los Angeles with a cast that includes Tony-winner Levi Kreis as Hermes.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:07PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 26, 2022

Review: Black, queer and laceratingly honest, 'A Strange Loop' liberates Broadway by Charles McNulty

Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical triumphantly arrives on Broadway.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 14, 2022

Review: Phylicia Rashad beautifully directs 'Blues for an Alabama Sky' at Mark Taper Forum by Charles McNulty

Phylicia Rashad leads a revival of Pearl Cleage's play about artists and activists at the convergence of the Great Depression and the Harlem Renaissance.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 5, 2022

Review: Dark side of Walt Disney brought to weird life in Lucas Hnath's drama, now playing in L.A. by Charles McNulty

The strange, intriguing "A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney" has its West Coast premiere at the Odyssey Theatre.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:41PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 31, 2022

Review: 'I'll Be Seein' Ya,' a new play by Jon Robin Baitz, fumbles an old tune by Charles McNulty

Starring Christine Lahti, "I'll Be Seein' Ya" is seeing its digital world premiere from Center Theatre Group.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:21PM[SHARE]
Friday, March 25, 2022

Commentary: In 'Alma' and 'Apartment Living,' kitchen-sink realism returns to the theater L.A.-style by Charles McNulty

Two new plays, Boni B. Alvarez's 'Apartment Living' and Benjamin Benne's 'Alma,' throw a spotlight on the lives of everyday Angelenos.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:52PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Holland Taylor brings the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards' story to the stage one last time by Charles McNulty

Acclaimed television and stage actress Holland Taylor will reprise her Tony-nominated 'Ann' one last time " at Pasadena Playhouse.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:01PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 14, 2022

Review: 'Trayf,' a sweet-natured buddy comedy in a mitzvah van, explores Jewish identity by Charles McNulty

'Trayf,' which recently saw its West Coast premiere at the Geffen Playhouse, is an unorthodox tale of two 18-year-old Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:21PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Review: A stunningly staged 'Lehman Trilogy' critiques and romanticizes American capitalism by Charles McNulty

"The Lehman Trilogy,' which dramatizes the rise and fall of a banking giant, arrives at the Ahmanson Theatre fresh from its heralded Broadway run.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:42PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Review: Rogue Machine is back with a winner in Daf James' 'On the Other Hand, We're Happy' by Charles McNulty

Spread the word: Buzzy playwright Daf James' "On the Other Hand, We're Happy" gets a stellar U.S. premiere at L.A.'s Matrix Theatre.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:11PM[SHARE]

Review: At South Coast Repertory, 'Paris' aims to deliver what we sorely need: some laughs by Charles McNulty

Set in 1973 Atlanta, Pearl Cleage's 'What I Learned in Paris' sets romance against the backdrop of the election of Atlanta's first Black mayor.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:00AM[SHARE]

Harvey Fierstein " warts, ego and all " in his juicy memoir 'I Was Better Last Night' by Charles McNulty

Playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein reveals how a chubby gay kid from Brooklyn became a Broadway powerhouse and LBGTQ crusader.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 24, 2022

Review: 'Detained' confronts the many cruelties of the immigration system by Charles McNulty

The world premiere of 'Detained,' France-Luce Benson's docudrama, at the Fountain Theatre, explores the plight of longtime U.S. residents held in immigration detention.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:52PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Review: East West Players revives a disturbingly timely 'Assassins' by Charles McNulty

Snehal Desai of East West Players directs 'Assassins,' Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's darkly comic musical about presidential assassins.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:54AM[SHARE]
Sunday, February 20, 2022

Review: Bryan Cranston tests the bounds of free speech in 'Power of Sail' at the Geffen Playhouse by Charles McNulty

With Bryan Cranston and Amy Brenneman starring in the West Coast premiere of 'Power of Sail' at the Geffen Playhouse, what could go wrong? Well ...

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:46PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 17, 2022

Review: Jeremy O. Harris' 'Slave Play' awakens the Mark Taper Forum with a jolt by Charles McNulty

"Slave Play," which confronts America's race problem through depiction of experimental sex therapy, is a controversial work making its West Coast debut.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:34PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 14, 2022

Review: The theater world is finally ready to experience Alice Childress' 'Trouble in Mind' by Charles McNulty

First staged in 1955, the play " in a new production at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego " gives rise to enduring questions about racism in American theater.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:45PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 4, 2022

Review: 'Teenage Dick,' a high school-set riff on 'Richard III,' treats disability sensitively without sentimentality by Charles McNulty

Mike Lew's latest takes inspiration from Shakespeare's history play to explore how a character gets to play the villain without apology.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:36PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 30, 2022

Nadal, Djokovic and how character shaped the plot of the Australian Open by Charles McNulty

2022 Australian Open singles champions Rafael Nadal and Ashleigh Barty flip the usual script and prove it's possible to be good and great.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:05PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 24, 2022

Review: A drag queen is born: 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie' arrives at the Ahmanson by Charles McNulty

Layton Williams and "RuPaul's Drag Race" winner Roy Haylock reprise their roles in the North American premiere of the West End musical.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:31PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 14, 2022

What makes Joel Coen's Shakespeare unique: His 'Macbeth' is haunted by other movies by Charles McNulty

Joel Coen's 'The Tragedy of Macbeth,' with Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, carves out its own space in the history of Shakespeare onscreen.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, January 7, 2022

How 'A Raisin in the Sun' made Sidney Poitier's Broadway legacy unforgettable by Charles McNulty

The late actor will be remembered for his prodigious film legacy, but Poitier's contributions to theater should not go unforgotten.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:16PM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 6, 2022

A livestreamed 'Clyde's' starring Uzo Aduba is the next best thing to being in a theater by Charles McNulty

Starring Uzo Aduba, Lynn Nottage's latest play offers a modern spin on the tale of good versus evil.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:24PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 17, 2021

Ten reasons to be grateful in another sputtering theatrical year by Charles McNulty

2021 didn't quite go as planned for stage performances, but our critic has several memories to cherish.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:06PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 10, 2021

How Steven Spielberg's 'West Side Story' finally solved the problem of 'I Feel Pretty' by Charles McNulty

Stephen Sondheim regretted the original song's lyrics. For the revamped film, Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner came up with an ingenious solution.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:48PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 3, 2021

Review: An eager-to-please 'Christmas Carol' noisily reopens the Ahmanson Theatre by Charles McNulty

The Old Vic production of the Charles Dickens holiday classic stars Bradley Whitford as Scrooge.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:29PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 2, 2021

Review: 'The Band's Visit' brings its musical poetry to Dolby Theatre by Charles McNulty

David Yazbek and Itamar Moses' Tony-winning production has its Los Angeles premiere.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:17PM[SHARE]

The major miscalculation behind 'Succession's' unspectacular season by Charles McNulty

In Season 2, HBO's Emmy-winning drama walked a tightrope of savage comedy and Shakespearean drama. In Season 3, it's lost its balance.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, November 26, 2021

How Stephen Sondheim changed theater forever " one musical masterpiece at a time by Charles McNulty

A critic's tribute to Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, a master of storytelling in song.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:47PM[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