All stories by Elisabeth Vincentelli on BroadwayStars

Monday, March 24, 2014

Terrific performances, speedy pace lift ‘Les Misérables’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Critics of “Les Misérables” call it bombastic. So what? Bitching that “Les Miz” is overwrought is like complaining a Dalmatian has too many spots: It’s the nature of the beast....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:37AM
Thursday, March 20, 2014

‘Aladdin’ musical doesn’t quite seem like a Disney hit by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Disney’s new “Aladdin” doesn’t quite catch lightning in a bottle — but it lets a pretty nifty genie out of a lamp. That would be James Monroe Iglehart, in the...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:09PM
Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Nina Arianda returns to the stage in ‘Tales From Red Vienna’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Nina Arianda’s career went from zero to 60 in 10 seconds flat — with a Tony nod for her Broadway debut in 2011’s “Born Yesterday” followed the next year by...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01PM
Monday, March 17, 2014

Old family feuds float up to the surface in ‘Appropriate’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Just because a story is familiar doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it. So while there’s very little that’s fresh in “Appropriate,” the show’s still a fun ride. Hailed as a...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:45AM
Thursday, March 13, 2014

‘Rocky’ musical scores an unexpected knockout by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Something electric happens at the end of “Rocky” that gets theatergoers on their feet and writers scuttling for exclamation points: A boxing ring descends from the rafters, then glides i…

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

Boyer’s berserk performance is divine in ‘Hand to God’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

‘Hand to God” boasts the kind of berserk, star-making performance you have to see to believe. Make that two performances — both by the same actor, Steven Boyer. In Robert...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:13PM

im Brochu pays tribute to a special breed in ‘Character Man’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Jim Brochu made his off-Broadway debut back in 1968 and has worked steadily ever since. Never heard of him? No wonder: He’s what’s known as a “character man” — someone whose qu…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:17AM
Friday, March 7, 2014

Bryan Cranston looms large as LBJ in ‘All The Way’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Walter White, the drug-dealing anti-hero of “Breaking Bad,” was a fantastic gift to Bryan Cranston — it led to a memorable performance, a Golden Globe and three Emmys. But the...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:00AM
Thursday, March 6, 2014

Emma Thompson shows off singing chops in ‘Sweeney Todd’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Yes, she can sing. For her New York stage debut, Emma Thompson is aiming high: She’s taking on the amoral Mrs. Lovett in Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:26AM
Wednesday, March 5, 2014

A family feuds in ‘The Open House’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Some consider Will Eno the Beckett of American suburbia. Others find him simply maddening. From “Thom Pain (based on nothing)” to “Title and Deed,” the playwright’s deadpan tone, l…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:23PM
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Hudes’ Iraqi vet trilogy ends with ‘Happiest Song’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“The Happiest Song Plays Last” is the kind of show in which people who look otherwise reasonable make big head-scratching decisions. And they don’t even seem to have consequences. …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:34AM
Monday, March 3, 2014

Sarah Ruhl delivers a brilliant comedy with ‘Stage Kiss’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Who are you and what have you done with Sarah Ruhl? Ruhl’s built a sterling reputation — Pulitzer and Tony nominations, a MacArthur “genius grant” — with works invariably described…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:46AM
Sunday, March 2, 2014

Jonathan Hadary shines in Paddy Chayefsky’s ‘Middle of the Night’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“I’m as mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Pulled from Peter Finch’s epic rant in 1974’s “Network,” this may be the single most famous line...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:29PM
Thursday, February 27, 2014

Carrie Cracknell’s ‘A Doll’s House’ restores Ibsen’s power by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It takes only minutes for this outstanding production of “A Doll’s House” to grab you — and that’s before a word of Ibsen’s 1879 classic about an increasingly desperate housewife…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:27PM
Wednesday, February 26, 2014

1931 office comedy ‘London Wall’ gets deserved NY premiere by Elisabeth Vincentelli

We didn’t wait until the invention of “chick lit” to have romantic workplace comedies. Take the Mint company’s “London Wall,” a chestnut from 1931: Affairs, female friendship, wo…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:02PM
Monday, February 24, 2014

Bruce Lee bioplay ‘Kung Fu’ misses mark by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Bruce Lee was famous for his precision — you don’t deliver blows and kicks like that without finely calibrating them. But the new fightsical “Kung Fu” is a hot mess....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:47PM

‘My Mother Has Four Noses’ muses its way in one-woman show by Elisabeth Vincentelli

This solo musical about the descent of the author’s mother into dementia . . . hey, where are you going? Don’t be turned off by its subject: Jonatha Brooke’s affectionate, well-cra…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:39AM
Friday, February 21, 2014

‘Four Noses’ a beautiful love letter to a dying parent by Elisabeth Vincentelli

This solo musical about the descent of the author’s mother into dementia . . . hey, where are you going? Don’t be turned off by its subject: Jonatha Brooke’s affectionate, well-cra…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:21PM
Thursday, February 20, 2014

Kelli O’Hara makes the most of ‘Bridges of Madison County’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The prospect of a musical version of “The Bridges of Madison County” was scary — yes, even more so than a singing and dancing “Rocky.” That’s because Broadway tuners can...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:06PM

‘Love and Information’ takes an atomized look at modern relationships by Elisabeth Vincentelli

‘Love and Information” is a thought-provoking show about our ADD age. Except it wasn’t written by some young, plugged-in hotshot, but by a 75-year-old who isn’t even on Twitter. Over…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:16AM
Monday, February 17, 2014

‘Transport’ fails to pick up steam by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The title and author — Thomas Keneally, who wrote “Schindler’s List” — suggest a show about the trains that raced to German concentration camps. But the new off-Broadway musical �…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:22AM
Friday, February 14, 2014

k.d. lang adds saucy, gender-bending twist to ‘After Midnight’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Winter blues got you down? Just take Broadway’s own giant happy pill — the terrific revue “After Midnight.” Paying tribute to Duke Ellington and the heady days of Harlem joints...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:20PM

‘The correspondent’ doesn’t deliver by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Rattlestick is a dinky little theater in the West Village, yet there was Joan Rivers at a recent performance of “The Correspondent,” looking regal — and completely out of...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:00AM

In ‘Dinner With Friends,’ beautiful people break up, too by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The characters of “Dinner With Friends” may have a privileged, Williams-Sonoma lifestyle, but their woes may be familiar, no matter your tax bracket. Donald Margulies’ dramedy examines…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:33AM
Friday, February 7, 2014

‘Bronx Bombers’ play fails to hit it out of the park by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There’s a reason sports shows are rare: Not only are they tough to stage, but theater and jocks rarely share the same playing field. Yet writer Eric Simonson has found...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:06AM
Wednesday, February 5, 2014

‘Almost, Maine’ boasts a quirky charm by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Looking for a crowd-pleasing blockbuster? Forget Broadway — it’s all happening at the tiny Gym at Judson, which is hosting the mega-hit “Almost, Maine.” Haven’t heard of it? You ca…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:14PM
Monday, February 3, 2014

The paranoid mind-set of a terrorism suspect in ‘I Call My Brothers’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Amor is a laid-back dude. He likes dancing, is handy around the house, and, like most guys in their 20s, he crushes out on girls. There’s just one problem: Amor’s...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:41AM
Sunday, February 2, 2014

Remembering Philip Seymour Hoffman — man of the theater by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Philip Seymour Hoffman may have made his name in movies, but he made his reputation at the theater. And the theater made him what he was: That’s where he forged...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:04PM
Friday, January 31, 2014

‘A Man’s a Man’ gets a pan by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There’s a reason we don’t see Brecht’s “A Man’s a Man” very often: It’s not all that good. To come alive, it needs a brilliant production — and this clunky...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:02AM
Thursday, January 30, 2014

Thomas Bradshaw strikes again with X-rated ‘Intimacy’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Before we can even begin discussing “Intimacy” and what it means, be forewarned: If the theater had ratings, as movies do, this show would earn an X. It features full-frontal...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:57AM
Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Alan Dershowitz’s daughter bound to get ‘Intimate’ on stage by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Celebrity children lunging into the limelight are nothing new. But rarely are they known for bold, risky moves — except for Ella Dershowitz. The 23-year-old didn’t follow in the footstep…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:13PM