All stories by FRANK SCHECK on BroadwayStars

Monday, May 25, 2015

Don't 'Knock' it if you haven't seen it by FRANK SCHECK

Charles Smith's "Knock Me a Kiss" plays like a Tyler Perry movie set during the Harlem Renaissance. Inspired by the ill-fated marriage between the daughter of activist W.E.B. Du Bois and th…

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A thrilling look at a boro haul by FRANK SCHECK

Even by the daunting standards they've set for themselves, the Civilians' latest effort is a stretch. "In the Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards" is the musical-theater equivalent of…

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It nails politics to a Tea by FRANK SCHECK

A country racked by in tense division be tween the right and left; character assassination by a biased press -- and ruthless political figures willing to do whatever it takes to achieve the…

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Powerful Pinter plays make dynamic duo by FRANK SCHECK

A canny pairing of early and late one-acts by Harold Pinter, "The Collection & A Kind of Alaska," makes it clear that the Nobel Prize-winning playwright's talents only deepened over the yea…

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Not really sold on solo 'Sellers' by FRANK SCHECK

It can't be easy being David Boyle. As the sole performer in "Being Sellers," part of the Brits Off Broadway series, he not only has to embody Peter Sellers, but Inspector Clouseau, Chance …

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Borrowed concept full of talented energy by FRANK SCHECK

Part "Stomp," part "Blue Man Group" and part "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk," "Momentum" is as infectious as it is derivative. This kinetic production from the Israel-based company …

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Borrowed concept full of talented energy by FRANK SCHECK

Part "Stomp," part "Blue Man Group" and part "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk," "Momentum" is as infectious as it is derivative. This kinetic production from the Israel-based company …

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

Theater in prison for good ‘Measure' by FRANK SCHECK

As theater audiences go, the one for "Measure for Measure" last week was pretty uniform — an all-female contingent that was in uniform: the dark-green pants and shirts of the Bayview C…

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Dandy from a Baby by FRANK SCHECK

A full-throated belter one minute, a sensitive chanteuse the next: Either way, Baby Jane Dexter is the real deal. In her nearly four decades on the cabaret scene, she's lived her life in pu…

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Reply 'See this' to all who e-mail by FRANK SCHECK

'You've Got Hate Mail" is the perfect bedroom farce for an era in which there's more action online than in actual bedrooms. Composed entirely of e-mails and text messages riotously enacted …

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Yule catch the Xmas spirit by FRANK SCHECK

Like spiked eggnog, "A Child's Christmas in Wales" assaults you with sweetness while adding a bracing kick of something stronger. The Irish Repertory Theatre's production includes an abunda…

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The gospel truth is, it's entertaining by FRANK SCHECK

'Black Nativity," the all- black retelling of the Na tivity story, has been a holiday staple since 1961. This year's edition -- an updated, retitled "Black Nativity Now" -- commits the Scro…

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The gospel truth is, it's entertaining by FRANK SCHECK

'Black Nativity," the all- black retelling of the Na tivity story, has been a holiday staple since 1961. This year's edition -- an updated, retitled "Black Nativity Now" -- commits the Scro…

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

Groom for improvement by FRANK SCHECK

If you've ever sat through a boring wed ding speech, you'll probably wince during the opening scene of "If That's All There Is." But while it captures such moments with comically painful ac…

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A bright Brit of Xmas cheer by FRANK SCHECK

The first time she per formed in New York -- 36 years ago -- Bonnie Langford, then 10, played Baby June to Angela Lansbury's Momma Rose in "Gypsy." Judging by the manic energy of "Bonnie La…

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Christmas show is hard to bare by FRANK SCHECK

It's a good thing there's a bar inside the Ace of Clubs basement theater where "Naked Holidays" is playing: You're going to need to down some seriously spiked eggnog to endure this holiday s…

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Swiss tease with fun mime in its prime by FRANK SCHECK

Even if you're allergic to mime, Mum menschanz enchants. This durable Swiss troupe makes nonverbal magic with ordinary and not-so-ordinary objects, transforming them into abstract creations…

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Puppet space drama's out of this world by FRANK SCHECK

The first sign that "Baby Uni verse: A Puppet Odyssey" isn't your ordinary puppet show comes in the lobby, when a small, wheelchair-bound robot with a striking resemblance to Stephen Hawkin…

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All the world's onstage by FRANK SCHECK

The problem with being a cutting-edge theater festival is that it gets harder and harder to keep things sharp. That's the challenge faced by Under the Radar, presented each year by the Publ…

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All the world's onstage by FRANK SCHECK

The problem with being a cutting-edge theater festival is that it gets harder and harder to keep things sharp. That's the challenge faced by Under the Radar, presented each year by the Publ…

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Marriage made in musical heaven by FRANK SCHECK

Marital difficulties? Try watching Eric Comstock and Barbara Fasano in ac tion. These husband-and-wife performers have so much personal and musical chemistry, they're practically providing …

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Vivid visuals in Ovid update by Frank Scheck

You'd expect cheeki ness from a theater troupe named Pants on Fire, and that's exactly what you get in this rollicking British import at the Flea Theater. "Pants on Fire's Metamorphoses" up…

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Fool's CliffsNotes make 'Lear' a laughing matter by Frank Scheck

No need to bother with that revival of "King Lear" arriv ing in April at BAM. Why sit through the entirety of Shakespeare's classic when you can get pretty much the same story in less than …

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Robots' chat is all tech by Frank Scheck

If the idea of watching two machines chatting to each other sounds exciting, then "Hello Hi There" is the show for you.Nirvana for computer geeks, this bizarre theater piece by Annie Dorsen…

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Bard to the bone by Frank Scheck

'Are there more plots to unravel?" complains the title character of Shakespeare's "Cymbeline," and he might as well be speaking for the audience. Luckily, the Fiasco Theater's charming new p…

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Lively tale makes for memorable 'Suicide' by Frank Scheck

They say truth is stranger than fiction -- but fiction's often far more entertaining. So it is with British comedian Daniel Kitson's "The Interminable Suicide of Gregory Church," a one-man …

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Death takes a holiday by Frank Scheck

The character at the heart of "Carnival Round the Central Figure" doesn't look at all well. Lying in a hospital bed, his mouth slack, he has a ghastly pallor and dark eyes that make him loo…

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Sings a merry Carol by Frank Scheck

Anyone who's seen Carol Channing in one of her recent appearances -- say, at the Kennedy Center Honors -- knows that she's remarkably spry for an almost-90-year-old. But she's even more dyn…

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These views on news a clever ruse by Frank Scheck

If the news makes you want to cry, there's an antidote in town: "NEWSical the Musi cal." This new edition of the topical musical revue does for current events what the late, lamented "Forbi…

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Catch her in the eye by Frank Scheck

The best way to ap preciate "Molly Sweeney" may simply be to shut your eyes. As he did in "Faith Healer" a few seasons back, Brian Friel uses three intersecting monologues, this time tellin…

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'Witch' casts a spell by Frank Scheck

Jacobean drama is so rarely performed on these shores that any halfway decent production is bound to attract serious theatergoers. So it's doubly satisfying that the enterprising Red Bull T…

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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 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic