All stories by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI on BroadwayStars

Sunday, December 14, 2014

Charming Brit import ‘Every Brilliant Thing’ enrolls audience to catalog the best in life by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Technically speaking, “Every Brilliant Thing” is a solo show. But actor Jonny Donahoe spends a lot of time chatting with various people — his character’s parents, teacher and partner…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:30PM

1960s musical about singing rabbi makes a wobbly comeback by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Persistence, thy name is “Soul Doctor”! Every time you think this good-natured but clunky biomusical about Shlomo Carlebach, the singing rabbi, is down for the count, it pops up again....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

‘Battlestar’ babe Tricia Helfer gets back to being dangerous by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Viondra Denninger, the spaceship captain’s wife in Syfy’s new futuristic miniseries, “Ascension,” is a handful — scheming, icy-blond and prone to bodacious butt cleavage. Clearly, …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:06AM
Thursday, December 11, 2014

Drag is alive but a little worse for the wear in ‘Christmas With the Crawfords’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The best place to see “Christmas With the Crawfords” isn’t a theater, but in the back of a small, festive bar. The show’s campy drag humor and fleeting moments of...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Armory show makes a splash with reflective pool, piano by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Park Avenue Armory’s Drill Hall is gigantic — a 55,000-square-foot space that begs to be filled with awe-inspiring projects. Just last June the venue hosted a production of “Macbet…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:37PM
Monday, December 8, 2014

Ayad Akhtar delivers boring play of ideas with ‘The Invisible Hand’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“The Invisible Hand” gives us guns, terrorism, violence, hostages — even a daring escape attempt with nail clippers. But don’t worry, there’s nothing here to send your blood pr…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Bradley Cooper’s 6 best talk-show appearances by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Bradley Cooper is currently setting Broadway on fire playing the title role in “The Elephant Man” — a deformed Victorian chap whom the erstwhile Sexiest Man Alive plays without makeup.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:08PM
Sunday, December 7, 2014

Bradley Cooper shows off serious acting chops in ‘Elephant Man’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

No wonder Bradley Cooper picked “The Elephant Man” for his return to Broadway. This is a labor of love for the star, who chose it for his acting school master’s...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:00PM
Friday, December 5, 2014

Truman Capote’s ‘A Christmas Memory’ too thin as a musical by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Truman Capote’s 1956 short story “A Christmas Memory” is one of his most popular works — it’s been made into TV specials, radio plays, an opera and this musical. But...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:02PM

‘Peter Pan Live!’ didn’t bring much to the table by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Nothing went horribly wrong during NBC’s live telecast of the musical “Peter Pan.” Allison Williams didn’t embarrass herself in the cross-dressing title role. The wires held up durin…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:51AM
Thursday, December 4, 2014

Old-school magic revue ‘The Illusionists’ only half-wows B’way by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“The Illusionists” seems so much like a Vegas revue that you half expect that it comes with an all-you-can eat buffet. And when we say Vegas, we mean something old-school...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Emma Stone revitalizes the already excellent ‘Cabaret’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When “Cabaret” opened in April, Alan Cumming dialed it up to 11 as the provocative Emcee of the show’s seedy Kit Kat Club. He was the production’s darkly charismatic guide,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Monday, December 1, 2014

The 7 worst major character deaths on ‘The Walking Dead’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Warning: Spoilers ahead Was anybody really surprised that Beth (Emily Kinney) went down in the midseason finale of “The Walking Dead”? That poor waif has had a target on her...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:29PM

‘Kinky Boots’ star Annaleigh Ashford dishes on her new cabaret show by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Annaleigh Ashford is funny as hell. The gifted comedienne brought down the house nightly (and netted a Tony nod) in Cyndi Lauper’s “Kinky Boots.” She’s even more hilarious in her...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:14PM
Saturday, November 29, 2014

John Epperson brings back his fabulous drag alter ego Lypsinka by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Lypsinka has been a New York icon for almost 30 years. And she’s never uttered a single word. Not that the flamboyant, highly theatrical redhead has nothing to say. It’s...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:00AM
Friday, November 28, 2014

‘Our Lady of Kibeho’ a look at prophetic visions in 1981 Rwanda by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Katori Hall made a noisy entrance on Broadway in 2011 when her drama “The Mountaintop” opened with Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett. Problem was, that play — about Martin...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:00AM
Monday, November 24, 2014

Bumpy ‘Good Wife’ fall finale ends with a cliffhanger by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Despite some bright spots, the fall finale of “The Good Wife” wasn’t among the series’ finest moments. This sleek sedan of a show ran more like a Kia last night...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:27PM

Kneehigh’s ‘Tristan & Yseult’ is tragically, beautifully brilliant by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It just doesn’t seem possible, let alone right, that a tragic love story could be so fantastically fun. Yet here you are, face aching from grinning, at a show based...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

Joy Behar’s solo outing is solid if predictable standup by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Joy Behar sure has a mouth on her. No wonder she named her new solo show after it. With a career that extends more than 30 years — 16 of...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:47PM

9 women who’ve played men convincingly (or not) onscreen by Elisabeth Vincentelli

From Mary Martin to Cathy Rigby, Peter Pan has traditionally been played by a woman. The latest is Allison Williams, who’ll don the green tights and pointy hat during NBC’s...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:26PM
Sunday, November 23, 2014

Madness works in off-Broadway play ‘A Particle of Dread’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s hard to know what’s going on during Sam Shepard’s new play — but “A Particle of Dread (Oedipus Variations)” always holds your interest. Having the great Irish star Steph…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Thursday, November 20, 2014

Glenn Close and John Lithgow too restrained in ‘Delicate Balance’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

This new “A Delicate Balance” is like a Christmas fruitcake that’s been left out too long: It’s boozy and loaded with goodies — Glenn Close! John Lithgow! — but it’s...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Off-broadway revival of ‘Allegro’ strikes a lovely chord by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Rodgers and Hammerstein were on a roll by 1947: “Oklahoma!” and “Carousel” were huge hits, and they hoped “Allegro” would make it a threepeat. Alas, with its “Our Town”-like …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:39AM
Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Young Jean Lee subverts typical family drama in ‘Straight White Men’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The only predictable thing about playwright Young Jean Lee is how unpredictable she is. Her “Lear” featured gorgeous period costumes, but no king. The wordless “Untitled Feminist Proje…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:00PM
Monday, November 17, 2014

Simon Stephens explores teenage violence in clichéd but effective ‘Punk Rock’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“Punk Rock” received pretty good reviews when it premiered in London five years ago. Maybe our British friends haven’t seen as many teen dramas as we have, because the play...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:39PM

Bill Condon helps revive cult musical ‘Side Show’ on Broadway by Elisabeth Vincentelli

NO matter how passionately someone sings “I will never leave you/I will never go away,” that promise may or may not be kept. But when Violet and Daisy Hilton belt...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Hugh Jackman is wasting his time, and ours, in ‘The River’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If “The River” was playing some dinky little theater with a bunch of unknowns, it’d be dismissed as flimsy and gimmicky. But “The River” is on Broadway, starring the ultra-likable,…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Friday, November 14, 2014

Jill Flint looks back on Lana and Kalinda’s relationship on ‘The Good Wife’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The most mysterious character on “The Good Wife” is slinky investigator Kalinda Sharma (Archie Panjabi) — but a close second may be FBI Special Agent Lana Delaney (Jill Flint), who’s…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:28PM
Thursday, November 13, 2014

Magical ‘Christmas Spectacular’ remains a beloved NYC traditon by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The “Radio City Christmas Spectacular” seems to have been around forever. OK, not exactly forever, but since 1933, when the show started spreading holiday cheer in razzmatazz fashion. An…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Wednesday, November 12, 2014

‘Grand Concourse’ explores faith and forgiveness in a soup kitchen by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Set in a Bronx soup kitchen, “Grand Concourse” is something of a morality tale. But while Heidi Schreck’s new play is about big issues like faith and forgiveness, it has...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Despite brilliant casting, ‘Lost Lake’ lacks urgency by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Put two hard-up characters in one play, add tension, and chances are they’ll overcome their differences to share a valuable lesson of some kind. It’s the law of dramatic catharsis....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM