All stories by Elisabeth Vincentelli on BroadwayStars

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Humor raises ‘Orphans’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Considering its agitated gestation, it’s amazing how smooth “Orphans” is. During rehearsals, actor Shia LaBeouf had well-publicized — by himself — arguments with co-star Alec Baldw…

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Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Bridge over troubled comedy collapses by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The downtown actress Hannah Cabell is a whiz at physical comedy, especially when it’s driven by manic desperation. This comes in handy in Allison Moore’s new play, “Collapse,” in whi…

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A very ‘Oy vey!’ holiday by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, you may see Richard Greenberg’s “The Assembled Parties” as warmly catering to the Manhattan Theatre Club’s audience. If your glass is h…

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‘Knife’ lacks edge by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Clifford Odets’ “The Big Knife” is about disillusion and compromise, but it’s not a pity party. Fueled by Odets’ loathing for Hollywood, this hard-boiled 1949 play packs a wallop. …

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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Lane plays it gay & unhappy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If your public personality is the same as your personal one, you can safely be yourself, right? Not so for Nathan Lane’s character in Broadway’s “The Nance.” His Chauncey Miles, a bu…

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Sunday, April 14, 2013

‘Call’ rings true for duos adapting while adopting by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The premise of “The Call” is ripped from the headlines — or rather from the parenting chat rooms where some white middle-class couples share their thoughts about adopting kids from Afr…

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Lots of soul, tells slim story by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Here’s what a $150 orchestra seat gets you at “Motown: The Musical”: bargain-basement sets, basic choreography performed merely adequately, and laughable dialogue. But then there are t…

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Drama’s ‘Rough’ going all around by Elisabeth Vincentelli

‘Sleeping Rough” has just three characters, but none of them makes much of an impression. By the end of the show, the first thing that comes to mind is, “Bye. It was dull not knowing y…

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‘Matilda’ one for the books by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Once in a blue moon, a show comes out blazing and restores your faith in Broadway. “Matilda The Musical” is that show. “Matilda” landed at the Shubert Theatre with daunting advance w…

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Friday, April 5, 2013

Theater’s primate instinct by Elisabeth Vincentelli

This season, chimps are champs. In the recent dark comedy “Trevor,” a chimpanzee dreams of making it as an actor, while in David Ives’ newly revived “All in the Timing,” three prim…

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

More of a loner by Elisabeth Vincentelli

In David Harrower’s intense 2007 drama “Blackbird,” Alison Pill played a grown woman seeking out the man (Jeff Daniels) she slept with back when she was 12 to his 40.The past also catc…

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Funny-girl Babs inspires comedy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When shows are inspired by stars, they tend to be either fawning tributes or studies in self-destruction. With Judy Garland alone, just think of Rufus Wainwright’s enamored cover of her Ca…

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Romance blooms in ‘Five Years’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If you judge a show’s popularity by how many productions it’s had, then “The Last Five Years” is a “Wicked”-size blockbuster. In the 11 years since its brief off-Broadway run, t…

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Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Hanks for the memories by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Nora Ephron’s “Lucky Guy” is a eulogy. A really fun, really entertaining eulogy. You may have heard that Tom Hanks, making his Broadway debut, is the star of the show — and he is, h…

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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Use ‘Trees’ for firewood by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Fittingly for a show about art, “Three Trees” has the speed and intensity of drying paint. Alvin Eng’s new play centers on the intense bond between the painter/sculptor Alberto Giacom…

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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Fitful ‘Dream’ doesn’t beam by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When August Strindberg wrote “A Dream Play,” in 1901, he was mentally shaky, having just emerged from a bout of paranoid psychosis. This may explain why the plotless work is a lot more f…

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Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Time to get off... by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Broadway draws the stars and the attention, but theater fans know there’s gold in them downtown hills — and this spring, off-Broadway is going to see plenty of action. A lot of it is th…

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Celebration unwarranted by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Watching the sluggish revival of “Happy Birthday,” you start fantasizing about what 10 drag queens could do to the play. They probably would be a better match for Anita Loos’ comedy th…

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Thursday, March 21, 2013

‘Superman’: High-flying silly good time by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There’s a reason “It’s a Bird . . . It’s a Plane . . . It’s Superman” hasn’t had a major revival since its 1966 Broadway premiere: That musical isn’t very good. Yet the conce…

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Cast is game, lyrics lame by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You can’t help but root for the likable people on the Brooks Atkinson Theatre’s stage — both the actors and their characters. It’s harder to muster similar enthusiasm for “Hands o…

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Golightly in history by Elisabeth Vincentelli

With Holly Golightly, Truman Capote created a carefree, impish sprite — who happens to make money from gentlemen callers. Is it any wonder she’s become one of America’s most beloved he…

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A Holly good show by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Making your Broadway debut is nerve-wracking enough. Add a bit of cat-wrangling and a nude scene in a bathtub, and even seasoned pros would have the jitters. Did we mention the role is Holl…

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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Vito is clearly the cat’s meow by Elisabeth Vincentelli

W.C. Fields reputedly warned actors to “never work with children or animals.” He should have added “. . . especially cats.” Look no further than the Broadway production of “Breakf…

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Sunday, March 17, 2013

Hole lot of woe in ‘Mound’ by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The archaeologists in “The Mound Builders” spend a lot of time talking about their work. You can’t blame them: The Illinois field hosting their important dig is about to be submerged b…

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Friday, March 15, 2013

Not your dad’s Chekhov by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Few Chekhov-inspired shows make you laugh out loud, and repeatedly at that. In fact there’s probably just one such rare bird on the planet: Christopher Durang’s riotous “Vanya and Soni…

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Motown heats up in ’67 by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Motor City of the ’60s was famous for three things: cars, Motown and riots. The last two figure prominently in Dominique Morisseau’s endearing new play, “Detroit ’67” — we’…

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Not ready for Bette by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Thunder, lightning: A star deserves a grand entrance, and Bette Davis gets one in Craig Lucas’ new two-hander, “The Lying Lesson.” The show zooms off to a dramatic start when an older…

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They’re losing it at the movies in epic play by Elisabeth Vincentelli

In Annie Baker’s “The Flick,” which takes place in the run-down movie theater of the same name, two employees start arguing as they sweep the aisles. Avery declares that there hasn’t…

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Sunday, March 10, 2013

Quirky comedy is King (Kong) by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It’s hard out here for a chimp. The title character of the new off-Broadway show “Trevor” is a primate desperately trying to revive his acting career. His claim to fame: He once shot a…

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Thursday, March 7, 2013

Lone star tries to bring Texas gov back to life by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Holland Taylor’s “Ann” is a labor of love. The actress, best known for key supporting roles on “Two and a Half Men” and “The Practice,” spent about four years researching and w…

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Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Dark delights in Camelot by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Watching the magnetic Tina Benko chatter about style and death in “Jackie,” you’ve got to wonder: How the heck did she memorize that crazy script, which jumps about without an obvious …

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