All stories by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI on BroadwayStars

Monday, November 19, 2018

critic’s pick: ‘Christmas Spectacular’ Review: Where Rockettes and Drones Dazzle by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Radio City Music Hall successfully merges old-fashioned showmanship and state-of-the-art technology in this year’s Christmas pageant.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:42PM
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

You Can’t Spell Cher Without Her (and Her and Her) by Elisabeth Vincentelli

How three Broadway actresses capture the essence of one superstar: Thank the costumes, “Burlesque” — and white teeth.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:48AM
Sunday, November 4, 2018

Review: Lenny Bruce’s Shifting Legacy, in ‘I’m Not a Comedian’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Ronnie Marmo wrote and stars in this bioplay about the groundbreaking comic, who died in 1966.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24PM
Friday, November 2, 2018

Review: A ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ That’s More Speedy Than Dreamy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Mobile Unit of the Public Theater focuses on the play’s comic side in this energetic production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48PM
Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Review: In ‘Travisville,’ the Rocky Path of Change in a Southern Town by Elisabeth Vincentelli

William Jackson Harper’s polished debut as a playwright, set in 1964, pits patient negotiation against disruptive activism.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM

Review: Aasif Mandvi Makes You Want to Stop at ‘Sakina’s Restaurant’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Mr. Mandvi, who spent nearly 10 years as a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” brings back his solo comedy act. It returns with new resonance.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Sunday, October 7, 2018

Review: In ‘Evolution of Mann,’ Fumbling Cuteness Goes Only So Far by Elisabeth Vincentelli

An aspiring musical-theater writer is on the hunt for Ms. Right in this familiar romantic comedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Monday, October 1, 2018

Defacing ‘Art’: After 20 Years, the Hit Play Gets a Brash Coat of Paint by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Yasmina Reza’s tidy comedy has been produced in 45 countries and translated into 30 languages. How will it withstand a deconstruction by two experimental theater companies?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:48PM
Friday, September 28, 2018

Welcome to the Playhouse by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“Smugness is lethal,” says the filmmaker Todd Solondz, who, with “Emma and Max,” brings his sharp eye for hypocrisy to the stage for the first time.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18AM
Thursday, September 27, 2018

Review: Shakespeare + Chekhov = ‘Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Bedlam show, stitched together from parts borrowed from Chekhov and Shakespeare, should perhaps be credited to Chekspeare.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:33AM
Thursday, September 20, 2018

Review: Up All Night, With Rebecca Hall as Muse, in ‘Soundstage’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Rob Roth’s new multimedia show uses video to try to capture the relationship between an obsessive fan and the actress who’s the object of his fantasies.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:48PM
Friday, September 7, 2018

A Birthday Tribute to the Other Ingmar Bergman by Elisabeth Vincentelli

A theater festival presented works he directed, stage adaptations of his films, and creations he influenced. Even a “Seventh Seal” for kids.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:48AM
Wednesday, August 29, 2018

Can Critics Learn to Love the Jukebox Musical? by Jesse Green, Ben Brantley, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Scott Heller

They are often Broadway sensations, but jukebox musicals rarely get good reviews. We invited our critics to stop snarking and tell us what they want.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:48AM
Tuesday, August 21, 2018

Review: Besties With Rasputin in ‘Red Emma and the Mad Monk’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

In this winning new musical, a 12-year-old girl is spurred to action by her far-flung imaginary friends.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:48PM
Monday, August 20, 2018

Review: ‘R.R.R.E.D’ is a Bad Hair Day by Elisabeth Vincentelli

A future-shock musical comedy about redhead rights could use a makeover.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Friday, August 10, 2018

Critic’s Notebook: So, You’re Going to Call Your Play _____? by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Naming a show can be tricky. Some recent titles are obscure, others extremely long. And then there’s the weird punctuation. What’s going on?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM
Tuesday, July 31, 2018

What Do 525 Ventriloquists Do at a Convention? Ask Their Dummies by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Scenes from an annual “vent” gathering in Kentucky, where puppets rule and their masters crave respect for an unappreciated art form.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Sunday, July 29, 2018

Review: Mixing the Salty and the Sweet in ‘My Life on a Diet’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Renée Taylor’s solo show, based on her memoir, is about more than food and deprivation, and it’s loaded with one-liners.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:06AM
Sunday, July 15, 2018

Review: In ‘Marie and Bruce,’ It Takes Two to Do This Nihilistic Tango by Elisabeth Vincentelli

In this revival of Wallace Shawn’s 1979 play, a couple’s loathing creates a weird frisson of erotic challenge.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Wednesday, July 11, 2018

How Broadway Got the Beat: The Go-Go’s in 5 Songs by Elisabeth Vincentelli

With “Head Over Heels” in previews, we looked at how five Go-Go’s songs evolved into musical-theater numbers.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM
Sunday, July 1, 2018

Review: ‘Laura Bush Killed a Guy’ Plumbs a First Lady’s Mysteries by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Diverging explanations of her past, her marriage and what’s really on her mind in a solo comedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:24PM
Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Wait, Leonard Bernstein Wrote a ‘Peter Pan’ Musical? by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s not the Mary Martin vehicle you loved as a child. But Bernstein’s version is getting a rare revival at the Bard SummerScape festival.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18AM
Sunday, June 17, 2018

Review: ‘Radio Delirio’ Focuses on a Forgettable Man by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The writer-performer Alessandro Magania narrates the tale of a man disguised as a page-turner, working hard to not be noticed.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:42PM
Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Review: Savoring ‘One Night’ With a Hedonist Extraordinaire by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Jessica Walker delivers a delightful musical portrait of the now forgotten cabaret artist Suzy Solidor

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:48PM
Friday, June 1, 2018

Review: ‘Tchaikovsky: None but the Lonely Heart’ Has Music and Passion. But Not Romance. by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The intimate yet abstract correspondence between Tchaikovsky and a wealthy widow is interspersed with song in a new production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:48PM

the 25 best american plays: The Ones We Left Behind by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green, Laura Collins-Hughes, Alexis Soloski and Elisabeth Vincentelli

Majority rule (mostly). One play per playwright. How we put together the 25 Plays list, and a bid to remember notable writers and favorite works that missed the cut.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:48AM
Friday, May 25, 2018

Review: More than the Couples Are Odd in ‘The Hollower’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Liza Birkenmeier’s play is an alienating exercise in extreme absurdism.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:48PM
Thursday, May 24, 2018

Critic’s Notebook: Who is Neville Longbottom, and Why Should I Care? A Potter Newbie on That Broadway Show by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The stagecraft is impressive, but if you’re not familiar with J.K. Rowling’s world of wizards, “Cursed Child” can be a mystifying slog.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18PM
Friday, May 18, 2018

Review: Isabella Rossellini as Ringmaster in ‘Link Link Circus’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Ms. Rossellini’s latest show explores animals’ thoughts and behaviors using puppets, videos — and, yes, an adorable dog.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:18PM

How Broadway Keeps Trying to Get the Disco Beat by Elisabeth Vincentelli

A brief history in five musicals — and a rating system of disco-dancing emojis.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM
Friday, May 11, 2018

Bikini Bottom by Way of Party City by Elisabeth Vincentelli

How the ‘SpongeBob’ costume designer used found objects — and yes, sequins — to dress an eye-popping array of singing, dancing sea creatures.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM

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
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre