All stories by David Cote on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 22, 2023

Review: Soggy Film-to-Stage ‘Monsoon Wedding: The Musical’ by David Cote

Director Mira Nair turns her own layered 2001 film into a sitcom that transitions awkwardly into musical numbers.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM
Sunday, April 23, 2023

Review: Jodie Comer Sees Both Faces of the Law in the Powerful Prima Facie   by David Cote

Comer’s astoundingly fluid, musical and passionate performance leaves nothing on the field. 

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:24PM
Wednesday, April 19, 2023

‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ Is a Magical Comedy Disaster  by David Cote

This play-within-a-play is full of topsy-turvy chaos that makes you think of Basil Fawlty stumbling into a community theater. Comparisons to British comedy icons—from Monty Python to Might…

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:00PM
Sunday, April 16, 2023

Camelot’s Round Table Looks Pretty Square at Lincoln Center  by David Cote

This revival — with a new book by Aaron Sorkin — is spare, drab and somehow takes the Lerner and Loewe classic both too literally and not seriously enough.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:46PM
Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Review: “Shucked” Pops Loudly on Broadway, Despite Some Empty Calories by David Cote

In this — wait for it — corny new musical, the score makes a case for country as a natural Broadway genre and the cast turns in strong performances. Shame about the plot, though.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:00PM
Thursday, March 23, 2023

Review: Bad Cinderella’s Glass Slipper? More Like a Moldy Croc by David Cote

A book by Emerald Fennell (who wrote and directed 'Promising Young Woman') and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber must have screamed cross-generational synergy on paper. But it’s TikTok meets gr…

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:00PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Review: Off Broadway Sways to Reggae Beat in ‘The Harder They Come’  by David Cote

Suzan-Lori Parks reshapes the 1972 Jimmy Cliff movie into a jukebox musical, but its outlaw charge has gone missing.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 07:00PM
Thursday, March 9, 2023

Review: A Decluttered Doll’s House Speaks to Our Alienated Times  by David Cote

A chilly, restrained minimalism marks this Broadway adaptation of Ibsen, starring Jessica Chastain.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM
Sunday, March 5, 2023

Review: Adult Fairytale ‘The Trees’ Gets to the Root of Modern Angst  by David Cote

Existential upheaval is fun in this magic-realist mini-epic from Agnes Borinsky that moves the beyond theatrical binaries of comedy and tragedy.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:30PM
Tuesday, February 28, 2023

Review: Anton Chekhov Gets An R Rating With ‘The Seagull/Woodstock, NY’ by David Cote

Chekhov’s 1895 comedy gets a cheerfully vulgar refurbishing (and a perfect Parker Posey), but part of the shock is how by-the-book Thomas Bradshaw's rework is.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM
Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Spring Theater Preview: A Dozen Great Shows Bloom On Broadway (And Off) by David Cote

A pop star becomes a demon barber, a TV assassin turns attorney, and Hamlet gets a Black, queer makeover — those are just a few of the miraculous transformations the theater has in store t…

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 02:21PM
Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Review: Send West Village Café Musical ‘Cornelia Street’ Back To The Kitchen by David Cote

A talented cast is trapped by cringe material in this show about quirky urbanites trying to survive in New York City, with songs from Mark Eitzel of American Music Club and a book by British…

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:00PM
Thursday, February 9, 2023

‘Pictures From Home’ Review: Unfocused And Underexposed by David Cote

Sharr White's Broadway adaptation of Larry Sultan's photo memoir is part sitcom — with laugh lines for Nathan Lane — and part family weepie. There's no intimacy amidst the broad strokes …

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:30PM
Monday, January 23, 2023

Review: God And Man At Applebee’s In ‘Field of Mars’ by David Cote

Riffing on the origin of humanity, Richard Maxwell crams a lot into a family restaurant.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 12:36PM
Monday, December 12, 2022

Review: Sondheim’s Brilliant Flop ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ Is Smartly Revived by David Cote

Thanks to superlative casting (including Daniel Radcliffe) and canny direction, this elegant, emotionally searching production may be the finest 'Merrily' you’ll ever see.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 07:00PM
Monday, December 5, 2022

Review: ‘A Beautiful Noise’ Is A Portrait of The Rock Star As Depressed Senior Citizen  by David Cote

This sloppy Broadway embrace of Neil Diamond is a jukebox musical in search of a plot.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:38AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2022

Fall Arts Preview 2022: Theater You Won’t Want to Miss by David Cote

New York theater rolls into fall again with a packed schedule of Broadway, off-Broadway, and experimental theater.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:51AM
Friday, July 29, 2022

Review: Robert Icke’s ‘Oresteia’ Skillfully Brings Greek Tragedy to Today’s Crises by David Cote

At Park Avenue Armory, writer-director Robert Icke transforms Greek tragedy 'Oresteia' for a more postmodern audience.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 12:08PM
Monday, July 25, 2022

Review: A Weak Adaptation of a Rapidly Aging ‘The Kite Runner’ at Hayes Theater by David Cote

The bestselling novel 'The Kite Runner' has been adapted marvelously for screen and now for stage yet a weak adaptation does it no justice.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 12:02PM
Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Review: Danai Gurira Carves a Bloody Path Through an Otherwise Lacking ‘Richard III’ by David Cote

Shakespeare adaptations come with a certain pressure, with some more successful than others. ‘Richard III’ struggles to make the cut.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 03:45PM
Monday, July 11, 2022

Review: ‘Into the Woods’ Still Casts a Sensational Spell on Broadway by David Cote

Revivals of Sondheim can be mixed business due to the pressure of his legacy yet some revivals. 'Into the Woods' does his legacy justice.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 01:47PM
Thursday, June 30, 2022

Review: Robert Icke’s Production of ‘Hamlet’ Misguidedly Embraces the Prince’s Incel-Nature by David Cote

Robert Icke's production of 'Hamlet' at Park Avenue Armory is nearly four hours and it's mostly Hamlet throwing a weird little fit.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:39AM
Monday, June 27, 2022

Review: ‘Epiphany’ Is a Clouded Insight With Pops of Clarity That Some Audiences Might Like by David Cote

An excellent cast with a so-so story, 'Epiphany' has great moments that don’t quite come together, but could appeal to some.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 12:39PM
Wednesday, June 8, 2022

Review: Sarah Silverman’s ‘The Bedwetter’ More Than Deserves a Spot on Broadway by David Cote

The combined genius of Sarah Silverman, Joshua Harmon, and the late Adam Schlesinger brings you back to childhood at Atlantic Theater..

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 02:58PM
Thursday, May 26, 2022

Review: ‘Fat Ham’ Is a Well Done Pulitzer Winning BBQ-Infused Interpretation of ‘Hamlet’ by David Cote

Playwright James Ijames adapts Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' to modern North Carolina following the drama of a family-owned BBQ restaurant.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:00PM
Thursday, May 19, 2022

Review: ‘Golden Shield’ Is a Courtroom Drama That Aims For Layered Nuance, Lands on Confusing Audiences by David Cote

An ambitious play, 'Golden Shield' attempts to weave Chinese censorship law, political dissidence, and family drama, to varying success.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:25AM
Wednesday, May 4, 2022

Review: ‘A Case for the Existence of God’ Finds What Connects Us All and Holiness in Humanity by David Cote

At Pershing Square Signature Theatre, 'A Case for the Existence of God' takes a direct look at the lives of seemingly very different men.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:42AM
Friday, April 29, 2022

Review: Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga’s ‘Macbeth’ Is Chic but Incomprehensible by David Cote

At Longacre Theatre featuring Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga, director Sam Gold takes on Shakespeare's Macbeth. Incoherent yet star-studded.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 04:00PM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Review: ‘A Strange Loop’ Gracefully Explores Issues of Queer, Black Identity by David Cote

At Lyceum Theatre, a production of 'A Strange Loop' pulls audiences in as it tackles coming into your own as a Black gay man.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:31AM
Monday, April 25, 2022

Review: Director Lileana Blain-Cruz Brings ‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ to a Modern Audience by David Cote

The 1942 allegory returns to the stage with Director Lileana Blain-Cruz and star Gabby Beans at Lincoln Center Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:00PM
Sunday, April 24, 2022

Beanie Feldstein Grabs the Spotlight, Unsteadily, in Funny Girl by David Cote

Beanie Feldstein turns the story of Funny Girl from the rising up and wising up of a great, if troubled, trouper into the wish-fulfillment fable of a moderately gifted young lady.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:46PM

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