All stories by Elisabeth Vincentelli on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

'Language' doesn't translate by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

A linguist speaks several languages, including Esperanto -- but he can't communicate with his estranged wife. Oh, the irony! Said wife leaves her marriage and becomes a baker -- after a kin…

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

'Driving' force of nature by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Over the years, "Driving Miss Daisy" has gained a reputation as an expansive period weepie that shamelessly goes for the tear ducts. Except this applies more to the movie: Alfred Uhry's sem…

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

Nice Stiles, little substance by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

The story of Persephone, ab ducted queen of the under world, is one of the most potent in Greek mythology -- so much so that it's inspired a steady stream of writers and artists over the ce…

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

Trouble made plane by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

'Spirit Control" gets off to a nail- biting start. Air-traffic controller Adam Wyatt (Jeremy Sisto) is helping a passenger land a small plane after the pilot passes out. Problem is, the pan…

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

Complex characters help 'Angels' take wing by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Nearly two decades after it opened on Broadway -- and seven years after the HBO miniseries with Al Pacino and Meryl Streep -- Tony Kushner's "Angels in America" is considered a modern Ameri…

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

Great 'Scott'! A classic by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

John Kander and Fred Ebb have given American musical theater a pair of un disputable, stone- cold classics, "Cabaret" and "Chicago." Now they've added a third one to the list: "The Scottsbo…

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

Bush-era tale tells too much by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

You can't accuse Lisa Kron's new play at the Public Theater, "In the Wake," of lacking ambition. Set mostly during George W. Bush's first term, it touches on conservative and liberal politi…

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

Stuck in the 'Middletown' by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

In his new play, "Middletown," Will Eno looks at a small Ameri can city whose most distinctive quality is that it has no distinctive qualities."There's a meadow you could walk to," a guide …

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

Politics minus passion by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Richard Nelson's new play, "That Hopey Changey Thing," couldn't be more topical. It's set from 7 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 2, 2010, and within the first two minutes, we get jokes about Cuomo, Gilli…

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

'Women' under ditsy, musical influence by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

There's a giant pileup at the Belasco Theatre, where "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" opened last night. The show is flashy, breathless, busy. It's a mess, but it's a big, fun Te…

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

Stand-up won't make history by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Of all the "Saturday Night Live" alums, Colin Quinn isn't the one you'd picture doing a solo show on Broadway. Will Ferrell, sure. But Quinn? He anchored "Weekend Update" for a couple of ye…

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

Don't join this 'Revolution' by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

And the avalanche of political plays contin ues. But rather than focusing on the recent elections, or even the Reagan and Bush administrations, Amy Herzog's "After the Revolution" goes furt…

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

Kicking & beaming by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Since 1932, it's been impossible to think of the holidays in New York without the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular." The show is now a local tradition -- and, Lord knows, there are fewer a…

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

He holds his own by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Before taking off for fantasyland, you're often told to close your eyes. At "The Pee-wee Herman Show," now on Broadway, you need to open them wide. As soon as you catch your first glance of…

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

Heiress glitters, outwits Jew in golden 'Venice' by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

You come to see Al Pacino, but you stay for Lily Rabe. As the Jewish moneylender Shylock, one of theater's most complex, reviled roles, Pacino has made the Public Theater "Merchant of Venic…

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

Onstage, not his old 'Elf' by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

There's a reason candy canes have a twist of peppermint -- to cut the sugar. That's why the best Christmas classics, from "It's a Wonderful Life" to "How the Grinch Stole Christmas," are so…

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

'Secrets' out, but play's not worth keeping by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Fraught reunions, marital discord, Russia, a supernatu ral allusion or two: Heidi Schreck's new show, "There Are No More Big Secrets," is built from promising blocks. It all starts when Gab…

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

Officially Sondheim'ed out by Elisabeth Vincentelli

I've had it with Sondheim -- or rather with Sondheimania. There's been so many events celebrating his 80th birthday this year that the cumulative effect is now the opposite of the desired on…

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

Act fast: 'The Marriage of Maria Braun' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The show is at BAM until Sunday only, and it's well worth the trip for fans of both Fassbinder and cerebral Euro theater.

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

All's well that ends well in overstuffed play by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

A spectacular folly has just crash-landed at Lincoln Cen ter Theater. Eight years in the making, John Guare's latest play, "A Free Man of Color," is an ambitious, awkward, fascinating, lumb…

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

Fascinating Fassbinder by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Save for a precious few exceptions, the fall theater season has been disappointingly bland. And so Thomas Ostermeier's cold, cerebral “The Marriage of Maria Braun” comes as a rel…

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

Will ring your 'Bells' by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

Though it boasts a golden pedigree — a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, music by Jule Styne — “Bells Are Ringing,” from 1956, is often considered a d…

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

'Bells Are Ringing' loud and clear by Elisabeth Vincentelli

I for one would love to see the production move to Broadway, if only so I can see it again. It's certainly superior to "The Apple Tree" and "Finian's Rainbow," two befuddling Encores! transf…

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

Two-and-a-laugh men by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

There's nothing quite like "Elling" on Broadway. Based on the Norwegian book and film of the same name, this Oslo-set play is about a pair of socially impaired men who learn to live on thei…

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

Fairy tale's all clogged up by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

The best fairy tales have a dark side, and the best storytellers aren't afraid to address it. Adapting Hans Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes" -- about a girl who literally can't stop danc…

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

'Coward' worth a shot by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

It's a good time for pe riod pieces -- espe cially wacky ones. On the Great White Way, the rambunctious "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" is a bio-musical that's part Looney Tunes, part emo ro…

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

Fairy tale's all clogged up by ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

The best fairy tales have a dark side, and the best storytellers aren't afraid to address it. Adapting Hans Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes" -- about a girl who literally can't stop danc…

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

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
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
TBA: Titanic