Monday, May 25, 2015
This embarrassingly amateurish collection of three one-acts does violence to the reputation of its author, Renaissance man John Gruen.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMRichly dramatic and keenly observant, Jon Robin Baitz's new play is a hugely satisfying mixture of the political and the personal, grandly acted by a brilliant ensemble of five under Joe Man…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMActor-writer Scott Brooks' new work about the horrors of Hollywood plays like a contrived revenge fantasy loaded with far too much self-pity.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMDavid Auburn's adaptation of Langdon Mitchell's 1906 divorce comedy is undeniably entertaining, but it also makes fundamental changes both in what Mitchell wanted to say and how he said it.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMThis fine concert version of Maxwell Anderson and Kurt Weill's rarely performed 1938 musical political satire can't disguise the show's flaws, but American musical history buffs shouldn't mi…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMThe estimable Mint Theatre Company comes a-cropper with this ill-judged production of Arnold Bennett's musty 1909 play about London tabloid journalism.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMIf any production can undo the decades of unwarranted critical scorn heaped on this Tennessee Williams drama, director Michael Wilson's mesmerizing account is the one.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMTrista Baldwin's new play "American Sexy," now in the tiny downstairs space at the Flea Theater, is rarely surprising in its look at four randy college students on a joyride to Vegas.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMKiran Rikhye's "Stage Kiss," a gender-bending "love letter to Charles Ludlam" inspired by John Lyly's 1588 play "Gallathea," was apparently a hit for Stolen Chair in its premiere production …
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMThough Brooke Shields shows convincing proof that she can do this cabaret thing, nerves get in the way, and we don't see it often enough in this pleasant but undistinguished turn.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMRed Bull Theater's remarkable production of this obscure Jacobean tragedy is a rare treat, disproving the tired adage that the Brits do this kind of thing better.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMKurt Weill and Maxwell Anderson's searing musical tragedy about apartheid in South Africa falls hopelessly flat in this uncomprehending concert version from Encores!
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMWryly witty and warmly embracing of its characters' eccentricities and foibles, A.R. Gurney's generation-gap tale is a charmer—funny, observant, and altogether winning.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMThough hardly a musical for the ages, this dated but dizzy satire of President Franklin Roosevelt and his New Deal still scores points.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PM92nd Street Y's Lyrics and Lyricists series serves up the songs of this classic film and stage composer with wit and style.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMActor-playwright Rob Benson's overly studied three-hander, about two brothers clearing the rubbish-strewn flat of their long-estranged, recently deceased father, feels awfully insular.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMMelissa Ross' tailor-made vehicle for LAByrinth Theater Company embraces the company's edgy aesthetic but fails to supply the depth necessary to let it breathe.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMDavid Hay's new comedy-drama is thin but reasonably entertaining for an act and a half, then goes spectacularly off the rails, over the cliff, and smashes to bits on the rocks below.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMMandy Patinkin's insufficiently shaded, over-the-top performance undercuts Rinne Groff's intriguing new play about author Meyer Levin and his obsession with "The Diary of Anne Frank."
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMAustin Pendleton's one-step-above-a-stage-reading production of Tennessee Williams' play, short on poetry and atmosphere, never resonates.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMThe Wooster Group's phantasmagorical production of this autobiographical Tennessee Williams work has arresting moments but doesn't really tell us anything new.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMJulie Gilbert and Frank Evans' new play about the lifelong love affair between Marlene Dietrich and German writer Eric Maria Remarque is diverting, but it needs a greater purpose.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMThough there' a great deal to like about David Lindsay-Abaire's new play, and director Daniel Sullivan's production is full of fine performances, it's just a tad too well-made for its own go…
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMDirector Gregory Mosher's reverent revival of Jason Miller's 1972 mutliple-award-winning drama only succeeds in highlighting the dated script's flaws, despite the efforts of a mostly strong …
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMDirector Terry Schreiber and his talented actors largely succeed in pulling off David Storey's expansive exercise in plotless naturalism, despite being hampered by a tiny theater.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMMetropolitan Playhouse's assured production of William Vaughn Moody's groundbreaking psychologically nuanced melodrama features strong acting as it flies by in a taut two hours.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMElizabeth Ashley is one of 20 actors saluted by Back Stage critics David Sheward and Erik Haagensen for delivering memorable performances on New York stages in 2010.
SOURCE: Backstage at 05:58PMMonday, June 9, 2014
When it comes to discussing original Broadway cast recordings, the two most important words in the English language are “Goddard Lieberson.” The CBS executive, who was responsible for th…
SOURCE: www.bwaytunes.com at 12:04PMWednesday, June 4, 2014
Looking back on 1958 when The Music Man beat out West Side Story for the Best Musical Tony - what happened?
SOURCE: www.bwaytunes.com at 12:47PMTuesday, August 14, 2012
Primary Stages has a quiet winner in "Harrison, TX: Three Plays by Horton Foote," directed by Pam MacKinnon and featuring Jayne Houdyshell and Hallie Foote.
SOURCE: Backstage at 08:00AMThe Fringe's "Gay Camp" is an entertaining if erratic romp that's distinguished by the comic agility of its three-person cast juggling multiple roles.
SOURCE: Backstage at 02:42AM 
