All stories by Charles McNulty on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Review: Sweeney Todd, Sondheim's throat-cutting barber, sets up shop in South Coast Rep's entertaining revival by Charles McNulty

"Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd." These lyrics, sung throughout Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's imperishable 1979 musical, are heeded assiduously by director Kent Nicholson in a solid S…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:52PM[SHARE]

Why Carol Channing was a Dolly for all seasons: Our critic's take by Charles McNulty

How old is Dolly Gallagher Levi? The question arises whenever "Hello, Dolly!" is performed. The character is described in Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker," the basis of the musical's book,…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:52PM[SHARE]

Review: In 'Daniel's Husband,' a gay couple debates marriage. Then Mom and fate arrive by Charles McNulty

"Daniel's Husband," an absorbing drama by Michael McKeever that was a hit off-Broadway, explores the debate on same-sex marriage from a less obvious angle. Set in the "perfectly appointed" h…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:41PM[SHARE]

Review: In 'Daniel's Husband,' a gay couple debates marriage. Then Mom and fate arrive by Charles McNulty

Michael McKeever's poignant drama opens at Fountain Theatre with Bill Brochtrup, Tim Cummings and Jenny O'Hara in a moving, crowd-pleasing production.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:28PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Tony nominations sort out an eclectic, erratic season " with mixed results by Charles McNulty

Long story short: It was a strange Broadway season " one in which old formulas proved unreliable and a few long-shot experiments yielded unexpected rewards. Rendering an up or down verdict o…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:15AM[SHARE]

Aaron Sorkin talks 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and disavowing the white savior role by Charles McNulty

Interior. Restaurant at a Beverly Hills hotel, early March. Music spritzing luxuriously in the background. A publicist finishes her breakfast. In walks a frazzled middle-aged theater critic.…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:14AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Tony nominations sort out an eclectic, erratic season " with mixed results by Charles McNulty

The Tony nominations send a message of support to artists with fresh sensibilities, but occasionally at the expense of worthier work.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:49PM[SHARE]

Aaron Sorkin talks 'To Kill a Mockingbird' and disavowing the white savior role by Charles McNulty

The writer gets snubbed Tuesday by the Tony Awards, but his "How to Kill a Mockingbird" does pick up nine nominations " tying "The Ferryman" for the most nods for any play.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:02PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 29, 2019

Laurie Metcalf in 'Doll's House, Part 2': An acting marvel in one of the year's best plays by Charles McNulty

"A Doll's House, Part 2," which is receiving its world premiere at South Coast Repertory, had its official opening on Thursday at Broadway's Golden Theatre in a separate production confirmin…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:48PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 25, 2019

My brunch with Glenda Jackson: A critic goes another round with Broadway's King Lear by Charles McNulty

After a disastrous tea last year, critic and actress meet again, this time to spar about "Lear." Jackson delves into disagreements with director Sam Gold, a powerful female cast including Ru…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:30AM[SHARE]

My brunch with Glenda Jackson: A critic goes another round with Broadway's King Lear by Charles McNulty

"Gulp!" That was my initial reaction when a publicist asked if I'd like to interview Glenda Jackson to discuss her performance in the new Broadway production of "King Lear." Our previous enc…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:30AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Review: In 'Ink' on Broadway, an insurgent Rupert Murdoch sets out to conquer Fleet Street by Charles McNulty

Bertie Carvel is a chilling media mogul and Johnny Lee Miller is the editor who may lose his soul in James Graham's "Ink," a London import about Murdoch's transformation of British journalis…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:59PM[SHARE]

Review: In 'Ink' on Broadway, an insurgent Rupert Murdoch sets out to conquer Fleet Street by Charles McNulty

The British have a high regard for the state-of-the-nation play, that genre in which dramatists as different as David Hare, Alan Bennett, Richard Bean and Lucy Prebble take the temperature o…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Review: 'Tootsie' gives Broadway its funniest musical since 'Book of Mormon' by Charles McNulty

The hit 1980s film has been revamped as a hilarious stage production for the #MeToo era, smartly navigating new gender politics and starring Santino Fontana in a Tony-worthy turn playing the…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:45PM[SHARE]

Review: 'Tootsie' gives Broadway its funniest musical since 'Book of Mormon' by Charles McNulty

Let's face it: There are more ways these days to get a musical version of "Tootsie" wrong than right. The world has changed since Dustin Hoffman donned a red tousled wig, talked in a smoky S…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:45PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 22, 2019

Review: Annette Bening, Tracy Letts and a question of American morality in 'All My Sons' by Charles McNulty

Arthur Miller's play gets a timely revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company, director Jack O'Brien and costar Benjamin Walker, whose anguish and sorrow help to propel a domestic drama into …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00PM[SHARE]

Review: Annette Bening, Tracy Letts and a question of American morality in 'All My Sons' by Charles McNulty

The carpentry of an Arthur Miller play, all that sawing, hammering and sanding of wood, can sometimes distract from the impressiveness of the house that has been theatrically constructed. "A…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 19, 2019

Review: 'Niceties' at the Geffen turns a college history paper into revolutionary war by Charles McNulty

No contemporary play better captures America's cultural divides than Eleanor Burgess' "The Niceties," in which a standout black student and a distinguished white professor clash over race an…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM[SHARE]

Review: 'Niceties' at the Geffen turns a college history paper into revolutionary war by Charles McNulty

College campuses have become the crucible of the new and expanded culture wars embroiling America, and no contemporary play does a better job of capturing the tenor of this fierce battle tha…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 16, 2019

Review: In 'Tiny Beautiful Things' in Pasadena, an advice columnist mines her own mistakes by Charles McNulty

Nia Vardalos reprises her role in Pasadena Playhouse's profoundly moving adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's "Dear Sugar" columns.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]

Review: In 'Tiny Beautiful Things' in Pasadena, an advice columnist mines her own mistakes by Charles McNulty

Character, the way we conduct ourselves in the world, is in decline in America. Consider the evidence: A president who lies so prolifically that media outlets have assigned teams of reporter…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Review: In 'Poor Yella Rednecks,' humor and pathos in the struggles of Vietnamese immigrants by Charles McNulty

After exploring how his Vietnamese parents met in a refugee camp in America in his breathtakingly original comedy "Vietgone," playwright Qui Nguyen picks up the story of their lives in the u…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]

Review: In 'Poor Yella Rednecks,' humor and pathos in the struggles of Vietnamese immigrants by Charles McNulty

In "Vietgone," playwright Qui Nguyen tells the story of how his parents met after escaping the Vietnam War and landing in the same resettlement camp in Arkansas. It's a tale of traumatic dis…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 7, 2019

Review: 'The White Album,' Joan Didion and the seismic shifts of California in the '60s by Charles McNulty

Director and artist Lars Jan turns a classic Joan Didion essay, "The White Album," into a multimedia performance work featuring Obie-winning actress Mia Barron.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:45PM[SHARE]

Review: 'The White Album,' Joan Didion and the seismic shifts of California in the '60s by Charles McNulty

Joan Didion's 1979 essay "The White Album" is both a classic of new journalism and an artifact of the tumultuous period it chronicles. Composed as a series of high-resolution prose snapshots…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:40PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 4, 2019

Review: Glenda Jackson battles through a brazenly busy 'King Lear' on Broadway by Charles McNulty

Glenda Jackson stars in "King Lear" on Broadway with a cast of powerhouse actresses, including Jayne Houdyshell, Ruth Wilson and Elizabeth Marvel. But the modern, manic production, directed …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00PM[SHARE]

Review: Glenda Jackson battles through a brazenly busy 'King Lear' on Broadway by Charles McNulty

For his Broadway production of "King Lear," built around the one and only Glenda Jackson, director Sam Gold has decided to make use of every luxurious resource at his disposal " sometimes si…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 31, 2019

Review: Unconventional 'What the Constitution Means to Me' supremely argues the case for women by Charles McNulty

Actor and playwright Heidi Schreck, former high school oratorical champion, brings her one woman show, "What the Constitution Means to Me," to Broadway at a time when her old championship to…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:31PM[SHARE]

Review: Unconventional 'What the Constitution Means to Me' supremely argues the case for women by Charles McNulty

When actor and writer Heidi Schreck was a high school student in Wenatchee, Wash., she was racking up college tuition money by giving speeches on the majesty of the Constitution in contests …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:30PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 25, 2019

How Jackie Sibblies Drury brings conceptual brilliance to a play about black caregivers by Charles McNulty

The bottled-up fury of female caregivers grows to seismic proportions in "Marys Seacole," Jackie Sibblies Drury's new play that combines strands of theatrical DNA from Adrienne Kennedy and C…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM[SHARE]

How Jackie Sibblies Drury brings conceptual brilliance to a play about black caregivers by Charles McNulty

At a time when the politics of identity has become a central subject of theatrical inquiry, it's only fitting that African American dramatists have been leading the charge. With their diverg…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM[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