All stories by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI on BroadwayStars

Monday, November 24, 2014

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
Sunday, November 9, 2014

It’s short on strutting, but ‘The Band Wagon’ has got legs by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Noises about a Broadway transfer were buzzing around before the Encores! production of “The Band Wagon” even opened. The show that just bowed at City Center is a hoot, but...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:00PM
Friday, November 7, 2014

Bill Pullman and Holly Hunter are scarily good in David Rabe’s Vietnam play ‘Sticks and Bones’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Bill Pullman and Holly Hunter are so intense, so scarily good in “Sticks and Bones” that at times it’s painful to watch them — but it’s impossible to forget them....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:00AM
Thursday, November 6, 2014

‘Show Boat’ still amazing thanks to Vanessa Williams and NY Philharmonic by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If you love Broadway’s classic scores, there’s no missing the New York Philharmonic’s semi-staged versions. So while the new “Show Boat” doesn’t always land, there are plenty of …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:45PM
Tuesday, November 4, 2014

New TV commercials shill for the latest crop of Broadway shows by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Broadway has a spotty history when it comes to TV commercials — remember the howler for “The Bridges of Madison County”? It doesn’t help that live theater can look awkward...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:06AM
Monday, November 3, 2014

Puppet adds poetry to off-Broadway show ‘The Oldest Boy’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare — to have a child taken away. Yet the American mom in “The Oldest Boy” is kind of OK with the situation, once she’s past...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Will Taylor Swift break Britney Spears’ first-week-sales record? by Elisabeth Vincentelli

To paraphrase Taylor Swift, haters gonna hate hate hate . . . and everybody else gonna buy buy buy. Surfing on a tsunami-size wave of hype, social-media hustle and product placement —.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:05PM
Friday, October 31, 2014

Sarah Steele returns as the sassy daughter on ‘The Good Wife’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Marissa, the sassy daughter of Alan Cumming’s Eli Gold, hasn’t been on “The Good Wife” all that much, yet she’s become a beloved supporting character. Happily, the curly-hair…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:37PM
Thursday, October 30, 2014

Ewan McGregor, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Cynthia Nixon aren’t quite ‘The Real Thing’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Tom Stoppard plays like “The Coast of Utopia” and “Arcadia” are reliably smart and witty, with intricate structures — parallel stories, jumps in time and place — that flatter au…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Wednesday, October 29, 2014

‘Lips Together, Teeth Apart’ strongly captures time and place by Elisabeth Vincentelli

While “It’s Only a Play” is breaking box-office records on Broadway — a textbook example of starry headliners trumping mediocre material — you may want to check out author Terrence…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Tuesday, October 28, 2014

‘Father Comes Home From the Wars’ an ambitious epic by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The lead character in the drama “Father Comes Home From the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3)” is facing a tough choice: Should he join the Confederate Army or not?...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Sunday, October 26, 2014

Sting’s debut musical isn’t perfect, but it stays afloat by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You want to love Sting’s “The Last Ship.” It’s a serious-minded show with a new score, not a jukebox of musty hits. It even offers an original story, inspired by...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:05PM
Friday, October 24, 2014

The Broadway vet behind a ‘Good Wife’ judge by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Fans of “The Good Wife” have a special fondness for the show’s judges. Almost every Sunday night, the popular CBS series features a judge — and they’re usually played by...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:28PM
Thursday, October 23, 2014

Josh Radnor plays a fine jerk, but ‘Disgraced’ remains a flawed play by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“Disgraced” was far from perfect when it opened off-Broadway two years ago, but it worked up to a point. Aasif Mandvi, of “The Daily Show,” was astringently effective as a...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Wednesday, October 22, 2014

‘The Fortress of Solitude’ gets an uneven musical treatment by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“The Fortress of Solitude” relies so much on musical pastiche that at times it feels like an old K-Tel commercial, this one pitching “The Super Hits of ’80s New York.”...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Adapted ‘Deliverance’ proves the power of ingenious stagecraft by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Unlikely as it may seem, off-Broadway’s “Deliverance” is indeed a stage version of the original “Men vs. Wild” story, where four city slickers on a canoe trip end up battling...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:00PM
Monday, October 20, 2014

Vincent Kartheiser is as limp as the play itself in period drama ‘Billy & Ray’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

For a textbook example of how to botch a great subject, see “Billy & Ray.” It’s not that the show’s terrible. Rather it’s dull. Dishwater dull. Stare-into-space-while-the-clock…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM

Suicide play ‘4:48 Psychosis’ offers a cliché mind trip by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Quick: Who’s one of the most produced contemporary playwrights in Europe? The answer is Sarah Kane, whose small output belies her iconic status in her native England and especially on...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:34PM

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