All stories by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Creepy vampire play will make your blood run cold by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The vampire story has been done to death — but “Cuddles” puts a fantastic spin on it. So fresh does the blood flow that this creepily inventive British import makes...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:00PM
Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Hallucinations abound in heavy-handed ‘Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, America, Kuwait’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Two American grunts in their early 20s are holed up in a wrecked bunker in an unnamed desert. They’re bored out of their minds, fruitlessly trying to get a signal...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:07PM

‘Smash’ takes the stage and shows it’s a real ‘Bombshell’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Forget the Tony Awards — Monday night’s “Bombshell” wiped them off our brains. The one-night-only concert benefit, which sold out the huge Minskoff Theatre in minutes, raised $800,00…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:07PM
Monday, June 8, 2015

Choreographer Blanca Li has put Beyoncé and Coldplay through their paces by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Not many choreographers have worked with Beyoncé, Daft Punk, Jean Paul Gaultier and Pedro Almodóvar — and been produced in opera houses and culture temples around the globe. Enter Blanca…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:18PM

Women and the British rule the Tony Awards by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At the 2015 Tony Awards, it paid to be either a woman or British. Or a British woman like Dame Helen Mirren, who won the night’s first award — and...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:16AM
Sunday, June 7, 2015

Introducing the Baloneys: Theater’s Worst of the Year by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It was the best of times…and the worst of times. Broadway had a record-breaking 2014-’15 season, with a whopping $1.365 billion in ticket sales. Too bad everything that glittered was…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:19PM
Thursday, June 4, 2015

Why Steve Guttenberg was desperate to do Shakespeare by Elisabeth Vincentelli

As Steve Guttenberg learned, not every theater company wants to do Shakespeare with the star of “Police Academy.” Having been AWOL from Broadway since 1990’s “Prelude to a Kiss,” G…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:37PM

4 ways to get your Shakespeare fix for free in NYC this summer by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Shakespeare’s the undisputed king when it comes to summer theater in New York. Along with Steve Guttenberg’s “Henry IV, Part 1” in Riverside Park, here’s where else you’ll find t…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:16PM
Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Mary-Louise Parker is the only reason to see ‘Heisenberg’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Mary-Louise Parker is the only reason to see “Heisenberg.” The play’s flimsy and contrived, but it provides the chance to experience her peculiar pull. Not everybody enjoys Parker’s …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

Alan Cumming rides his wave of popularity to a cabaret run by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There’s no “Cabaret” in Alan Cumming’s cabaret. But then you can’t blame him for skipping those ultra-familiar tunes in his Café Carlyle debut, “Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Son…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:13PM
Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Jesse Eisenberg takes his familiar geeky character to the brink in ‘The Spoils’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Probably no one does tense, awkward nerd better than Jesse Eisenberg. We’ve seen him play that type in the movies “The Social Network” and “Adventureland,” and in the off-Broadway …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Monday, June 1, 2015

Former foes reunite post-apartheid in BAM’s ‘A Human Being Died That Night’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When one of the two characters in a play is nicknamed Prime Evil, things are bound to get tense. And so they do in the quietly gripping show “A Human...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:48PM
Saturday, May 30, 2015

Meet the banker who traded in her briefcase for Broadway by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Geneva Carr is really good at playing moms. She can do nice ones, as in the AT&T ads where she fretted about rollover minutes. But she’s even better in Robert...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:10AM
Thursday, May 28, 2015

Robert Creighton shines as ‘Cagney’ in well-made bio-musical by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If “Chaplin” could make it to Broadway, so could “Cagney.” Both musicals profile Hollywood icons, but while “Chaplin” was clunky and bloated, the light-footed “Cagney” at lea…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:33PM

Parsons is a mildly irreverent supreme being in ‘Act of God’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If you’re going to spend an hour and a half listening to a mildly irreverent riff on the Bible, it might as well be with Jim Parsons. Who better to...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:33PM
Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Off-Broadway’s ‘Nice Girl’ is an affectionate look at losers by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Nice girls finish last. OK, maybe not dead last, but not far from the bottom. At least that’s the case in Melissa Ross’ new play “Nice Girl,” whose title character,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Monday, May 25, 2015

Fringe 'Palin' is failin', you betcha by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

The Thrilla from Wasilla is nowhere to be seen in "Picking Palin." But she weighs heavily on the minds of the characters in this Fringe Fest production -- a quartet of high-ranking Republic…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

The black-metal musical by Elisabeth Vincentelli

I like "Gypsy" and "Anything Goes" and "Mame" as much as the next theater critic, but sometimes I miss the volatile energy of a rock show on stage.

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

Mint condition by Elisabeth Vincentelli

"Wife to James Whelan" has just been extended. If you like an old-fashioned, well-crafted story, this is the show to see right now.

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

It's not for you, yours or anyone else by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Edward Albee is an undisputed titan of American theater: This is the man, after all, who wrote "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" "Three Tall Women" and "The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?" So it's…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

This sentimental journey is a real trip by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Nothing is too outré for the theater these days. Wall-to- wall profanity? Strictly for amateurs. Onstage vomiting? So yesterday. Lucy Thurber isn't afraid to up the ante: In her plays, peo…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

NY kicks it! by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

B'Way bound Some prime old-school thespians are hitting Broadway for fireworks of acting this fall. Cherry Jones sexes up as an entrepreneurial madam in G.B. Shaw's “Mrs. Warren's Prof…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

Few acting Sparks, but musical still hits high notes by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

What's less surprising: that Lin-Manuel Miranda's “In the Heights” is proving remarkably resilient — or that “American Idol” winner Jordin Sparks can't act? Ove…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

No good night in overstuffed 'bed' by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

WHATTHEHELLWASTHAT?!?Forget that stretches of Florencia Lozano's "underneathmybed" are in Spanish. While those who don't speak that language are at a slight disadvantage, it's relatively ea…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

Art-world satire dead on arrival by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Sheila Callaghan's lat est play, "Roadkill Confidential," starts off with a strong David Lynch vibe. An FBI man in an eye patch (Danny Mastrogiorgio) spouts terse, cryptic lines. Blondie pl…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

'Foxes' is hot to trot by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Lillian Hellman's 1939 melodrama "The Little Foxes" centers on the greedy machi nations of an Ala bama family at the turn of the last century. The thrilling, eye-opening production that ope…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

In 'Divine' comedy, this mother's superior by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Despite successful trips to the mainstream -- his play "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife" scored a Tony nomination and "Die, Mommie, Die!" was turned into a movie -- Charles Busch is best e…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

Look who's talking by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

In skinny black pants, tai lored white shirt and a black tie, Laurie Anderson looks like a cross between a Catholic schoolboy and a member of the Knack in her new show, "Delusion." But ther…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

Middling Woolf in gender-bending clothing by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel "Orlando" poses daunting challenges to stage adapters. The title character starts off as a boy, then becomes a woman. And not only does Orlando live through the …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 05:58PM

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