All stories by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI on BroadwayStars

Thursday, May 21, 2015

‘The Sound and the Fury’ is a confusing yet engrossing Faulkner reboot by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You could expect “The Sound and the Fury” to be a tedious slog. And yet, strangely, it’s not. This fearful anticipation comes from the fact that the show is a...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

Simon Callow is extraordinary as an aging transsexual woman in ‘Tuesdays at Tesco’s’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Pauline is a good daughter. Every Tuesday, she visits her newly widowed father, tidies up his house, does his laundry and shops with him at the local supermarket. Dad’s response:...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:52PM
Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Justin Bartha and Elizabeth Reaser star in spanking good comedy ‘Permission’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Eric (Justin Bartha) and Cynthia (Elizabeth Reaser) are in trouble. He teaches computer science at a Texas college but is too much of a weenie to go for department chair....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Amanda Seyfried makes a winning (and briefly topless) New York stage debut by Elisabeth Vincentelli

"The Way We Get By” is off-Broadway’s answer to a Hollywood rom-com — the kind where a young, attractive couple overcomes obstacles and disputes about “Star Wars” to sail off...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Annie Baker’s Pulitzer winner ‘The Flick’ returns to NYC theatre by Elisabeth Vincentelli

She hasn’t had a Broadway show yet, but Annie Baker is the It playwright of the moment. Ever since her breakthrough show, 2009’s “Circle Mirror Transformation," Baker has steadily clim…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:38PM
Monday, May 18, 2015

David Guetta is the king of collaborations — here are his 6 best by Elisabeth Vincentelli

With the premiere of David Guetta and Nicki Minaj’s “Hey Mama” video — on upstart subscription service Vessel, natch — it’s hard not to wonder who hasn’t worked with the...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:40PM
Sunday, May 17, 2015

Wonderful cast makes it worth knowing ‘What I Did Last Summer’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Valuable Lesson play tends be predictable: Somebody somehow ends up learning a heartwarming thing or two about life and one’ s self. This is exactly what happens in “What...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Monday, May 11, 2015

‘Painted Rocks’ explores rocky race relations in South Africa by Elisabeth Vincentelli

South African playwright Athol Fugard has spent nearly six decades exploring his country’s bitter divides. It’s not that everybody suddenly reconciles in his new play, “The Painted Roc…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

‘Wayward Pines’ is a stylish, well-acted thrill ride by Elisabeth Vincentelli

"The more you see, the less anything makes sense in this town.” By the time friendly barkeep Beverly (Juliette Lewis) says that to Secret Service agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon),...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:17PM

‘The Good Wife’ limps across finish line by Elisabeth Vincentelli

https://youtu.be/UHj8TMTq8fA So that’s where Kalinda has been hiding: the frozen-food aisle! A lot happened on season 6 of “The Good Wife,” but Archie Panjabi’s announcement of her e…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:51AM
Friday, May 8, 2015

‘Cool Hand Luke’ brings the chain gang to the stage by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Now that’s a test of ingenuity: How do you translate “Cool Hand Luke,” which takes place on a Florida chain gang, to the stage with no set or props? This...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:30PM
Thursday, May 7, 2015

John Turturro and Zoë Wanamaker can’t really sing, but they can sell ‘Zorba!’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When Encores! announced that John Turturro would star in its concert version of “Zorba!,” the big question was: “But can he sing?!?” Um, not really. But to his credit, Turturro...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:53PM
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Public Theater’s undercooked ‘ToasT’ follows build up to Attica riots by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The events leading up to the explosive Attica Prison riot of 1971 promise to be the stuff of compelling drama. It’s too bad, then, that “ToasT” is so undercooked. Though...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Monday, May 4, 2015

This mob play should be whacked by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At last, the crypto-gay, cannibal mafia comedy we haven’t been waiting for! “Dinner With the Boys” is all that and less: Ineptly written, directed and acted, this is one hell...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:00PM

Dael Orlandersmith revisits her harrowing childhood in ‘ Forever’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At times, “Forever” — Dael Orlandersmith’s new solo piece about growing up with a violent drunk of a mother — is like the film “Precious,” only with songs by Patti...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:05PM
Saturday, May 2, 2015

Success stinks: ‘Veep’ and ‘House of Cards’ were better before their leads became president by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When people get what they want on a TV series, it’s bad news for the show. Just look at what’s happened on “House of Cards,” and is currently unraveling on...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:25AM
Thursday, April 30, 2015

Fiasco company delivers a charming, sweet ‘Gentlemen of Verona’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

We've seen our share of canines onstage, but few can compete with Crab, a cheeky mutt who makes off with “The Two Gentlemen of Verona.” Crab gleefully attacks a ball...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

What’s Donna McKechnie doing as a Broadway understudy? by Elisabeth Vincentelli

One of the most dreaded sights on Broadway is the white insert in the playbill letting you know that the show’s star is out that night. Yet theatergoers at new...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:59PM
Monday, April 27, 2015

Archie Panjabi’s Kalinda needs real closure on ‘The Good Wife’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Back in October, Archie Panjabi announced she’d leave “The Good Wife” at the end of the season. The news knocked the wind out of the CBS drama’s sails. Panjabi’s character,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:42PM

’Tis a pity incest play ‘She’s a Whore’ isn’t better by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Giovanni and Annabella are made for each other: “One soul, one flesh, one love, one heart, one all,” he swoons. Never mind that they’re also brother and sister — passion...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:11PM
Sunday, April 26, 2015

Julie Taymor paints chilling portrait of modern warfare in ‘Grounded’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You could be forgiven for missing “Grounded” when it premiered off-Broadway last year — it was, after all, a play by an unknown writer with a relatively unknown actress at...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Saturday, April 25, 2015

Steve Coogan fails in pursuit of ‘Happyish’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Extra! Extra! Well-off middle-aged white guy undergoes midlife crisis! Let’s make a TV show about it! Sorry to break it you, “Happyish,” but if you’re going to be a comedy...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:28AM
Thursday, April 23, 2015

Chita Rivera gets her diva Broadway return in ‘The Visit’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s Chita Rivera’s world: We just live in it. This works out very well for the Kander and Ebb musical “The Visit,” in which the charismatic star plays a billionairess...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

‘Airline Highway’ collects New Orleans clichés like Mardi Gras beads by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Hungry for clichés? “Airline Highway” is chock full of them. A hooker with a heart of gold, a gruff handyman, a sassy gender-bending African-American, a lonely stripper: Every character…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

‘Something Rotten!’ deserves to be Broadway’s new big, fat hit by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Broadway hits have a kind of white-hot energy: Everything from story to song clicks into place, the actors are firing on all cylinders — and the audience knows it’s watching...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:45AM
Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Epic musical ‘Doctor Zhivago’ plays like third-rate Russian take on ‘Les Miz’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Fiery revolutionaries, overheated passions, power ballads belted to the balconies, an upstanding hero and a fanatical villain — hey, if it worked for “Les Misérables,” it could work f…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Monday, April 20, 2015

Renée Fleming and Douglas Sills play vain divas in guilty pleasure ‘Living on Love’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The new Broadway comedy “Living on Love” isn’t just filled with clichés — it revels in them. This is a show that has its cake, eats it, and then rubs...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

‘Castle,’ ‘Penny Dreadful’ and TV’s other under-appreciated shows by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Enough already with “Game of Thrones,” “Empire,” “True Detective” and all those attention-grabbing shows! It’s time to give props to the sturdy series that don’t pretend to r…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:15PM
Sunday, April 19, 2015

‘Fun Home’ isn’t perfect, but immensely likable by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Don’t let its perky title and the cute children in its cast fool you: “Fun Home” isn’t a show for tourists. Based on Alison Bechdel’s autobiographical graphic novel, Lisa Kron.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Friday, April 17, 2015

‘Orphan Black’ should stop cloning around by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At the very beginning of “Orphan Black,” it felt as if its appeal was in its concept. One word: clones. Really, how cool is that? But it quickly became obvious...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:01PM
Thursday, April 16, 2015

Kelli O’Hara leads a lavish revival of ‘King and I,’ even if Ken Watanabe’s monarch falls short by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You can’t overstate how stunningly beautiful, how achingly well sung this new revival of “The King and I” is. A lifesize ship gracefully moves over the orchestra, and a Siamese...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM

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