All stories by FRANK SCHECK on BroadwayStars

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Simon’s ‘Lost’ proves quite a find by Frank Scheck

When Neil Simon’s “Lost in Yonkers” opened back in 1991, all three of its leads — Mercedes Ruehl, Irene Worth and Kevin Spacey — won Tony Awards. Now it’s the children’s hour.…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:40PM
Friday, March 23, 2012

Review: Jesus Christ Superstar by Frank Scheck

Jesus Christ Superstar, which began its life as a concept album, has always been more fun to listen to than actually watch. But the new Broadway revival--imported from the Stratford Shakespe…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:41AM
Wednesday, March 21, 2012

A fine job singing of unemployment by Frank Scheck

The spirit of Woody Guthrie is alive and well in the East Village, thanks to Ethan Lipton’s “No Place To Go,” a “musical ode to the unemployed.” Stylistically, the 41-year-old hew…

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Review: Nellie McKay: Silent Spring - It's Not Nice to Fool Mother Nature by Frank Scheck

This tribute to environmentalist Rachel Carson at Feinstein's at Loews Regency doesn't do justice to its subject matter.

SOURCE: TheaterMania at 10:00AM
Tuesday, March 20, 2012

You’ll swoon over ‘Moon’ by Frank Scheck

It took no small amount of guts for the Pearl Theatre Company to mount “A Moon for the Misbegotten.” This final masterpiece by Eugene O’Neill hasn’t exactly been underexposed here. B…

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Saturday, March 17, 2012

‘Lucky’ is just ducky by Frank Scheck

HEY , kids — remember that fairy tale by Hans Christian somebody, “Ugly Duckling,” about a duck that turns into a beautiful swan? Now you can see it live! It has music and dancing and …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:46AM
Friday, March 16, 2012

Review: Death of a Salesman by Frank Scheck

Whenever there’s a new revival of Death of a Salesman people marvel at the fact that it seems so newly relevant. But it’s not that society is changing but rather that Arthur Mill…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 04:10AM
Thursday, March 15, 2012

Pardon me, waiter, there’s soup in this play by Frank Scheck

‘Teresa’s Ecstasy,” by the wonderfully named Spanish American playwright and actress Begonya Plaza, tries to combine the spiritual with the earthly in its story of a woman’s quest fo…

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

When puppets go bad, hilariously & wickedly by Frank Scheck

There’s a scene in “Hand to God” in which two teenagers tenderly and quietly discuss their feelings for one another . . . all the while desperately trying to ignore the hand puppets th…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:30AM
Tuesday, March 13, 2012

‘Flight’ never quite takes off by Frank Scheck

There’s nothing more annoying than to be stuck at the theater while someone chatters away incessantly on his cellphone. It’s even worse when he’s onstage. That’s the case with “F…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:31AM
Sunday, March 11, 2012

It’s got killer music by Frank Scheck

You’ll never hear Beethoven’s erotically charged piece of music the same way after seeing “The Kreutzer Sonata.” Adapted by Nancy Harris from Leo Tolstoy’s 1889 novella — so pro…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:17PM
Friday, March 9, 2012

Review: An Iliad by Frank Scheck

The simple act of storytelling is a time-honored theatrical tradition. But it can also a hackneyed one. Case in point: An Iliad, the new one-man show—well, technically two man, but mor…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 05:27AM
Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Review: The Lady From Dubuque by Frank Scheck

Not that I’m in any rush, but whenever death comes for me I hope it takes the form of the Lady from Dubuque.   As elegantly personified by Jane Alexander in the Signature Theatre…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 04:53AM
Monday, March 5, 2012

Pleasure mixed with Twain by Frank Scheck

Even Mark Twain would have liked “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” now playing at the New Victory Theater: Not only is this child-friendly rendition faithful to the text and spirit of his w…

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Review: Tribes by Frank Scheck

On its surface, Tribes is concerned with a young deaf man’s sudden decision to embrace sign language rather than rely on lip-reading. But that description doesn’t do justice to N…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 08:25AM
Sunday, March 4, 2012

Moving ‘Alice’ is a wonderland by Frank Scheck

The women address us from the stage, speaking in soft, halting tones, their eyes darting nervously. They’re clearly not comfortable being there. But when they look directly at each other,…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:39PM
Friday, March 2, 2012

Review: Carrie by Frank Scheck

The original musical version of Carrie was a notorious flop upon its 1988 Broadway premiere--it closed after five performances at a loss of millions of dollars, nearly destroyed the reputati…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 03:01AM
Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Review: Assistance by Frank Scheck

Tyrannical bosses should be more careful about mistreating their employees. Their victims may very well develop into talented playwrights who will later skewer them in viciously funny fashio…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:08AM
Monday, February 27, 2012

She’s a not-so-little orphan angry by Frank Scheck

Its lurid title notwithstanding, “I Killed My Mother” is neither campy comedy nor a theatrical take on film noir. Instead, Andras Visky’s new play — a portrait of a young woman’s h…

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Goes above & ‘Beyond’ by Frank Scheck

The Irish Rep has done it again. Having ably resuscitated, Eugene O’Neill’s “The Hairy Ape” and “The Emperor Jones,” it’s now revived “Beyond the Horizon” — a drama that …

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Friday, February 24, 2012

Review: Galileo by Frank Scheck

With partisan politics injecting itself into scientific debate with dismaying frequency these days, Bertolt Brecht’s Galileo has a disturbing modern resonance. While the Classic Stage …

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 07:03AM
Thursday, February 23, 2012

Review: Early Plays by Frank Scheck

Although the stage seems bare for The Wooster Group’s production of Eugene O’Neill’s Early Plays, it actually contains an awful lot of baggage. The troupe is well known for…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:20AM

Where’s Waldo? At the fuse box by Frank Scheck

Imagine a “Honeymooners” episode in which Ed Norton channels the spirit of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and you’ve got the gist of “Call Me Waldo.” In Rob Ackerman’s whimsical new comedy…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:42AM
Monday, February 20, 2012

Mind reader’s show ESP-ecially enjoyable by Frank Scheck

One thing’s guaranteed about an evening with Marc Salem — he’ll mess with your head. The renowned mentalist does it again in his latest show, “Mind Over Manhattan,” which will leav…

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‘License’ to thrill by Frank Scheck

It’s hard to imagine that a crackling drama could revolve around a poet laureate’s career. But Jack Canfora’s “Poetic License” manages to render a tale of artistic ambition and hid…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:47AM
Friday, February 17, 2012

Review: Blood Knot by Frank Scheck

It may be heretical to say, but seeing Athol Fugard’s landmark 1961 drama Blood Knot again, even in a superbly realized revival such as the one being presented by the Signature Theatre…

SOURCE: Scheck on the Arts at 06:18AM
Thursday, February 16, 2012

Shatner's World: We Just Live In It: Theater Review by Frank Scheck

Frank Scheck William Shatner takes audiences on a witty journey through his acting career in his one-man Broadway performance.read more

SOURCE: The Hollywood Reporter at 08:00PM

A ‘Map’ for the birds by Frank Scheck

When the narrator of “A Map of Virtue” turned out to be a bird statue, the play stopped working for me. Sadly, that was in the first few minutes.This latest effort, presented by the play…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:20AM

Love story, with tattoo, leaves its mark by Frank Scheck

As delicate as a cherry blossom, “Tokio Confidential” transports us to 19th-century Japan. This lovely chamber musical about a Civil War widow whose life’s transformed by a tattoo arti…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:20AM
Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Love and death, and family, in olden times by Frank Scheck

Love proves lethal in John Ford’s 1629 revenge drama “The Broken Heart.” Theatre for a New Audience’s stylish rendition of this difficult and rarely performed play captures all of it…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:32AM
Monday, February 13, 2012

Lacking ‘Drive’ by Frank Scheck

Norbert Leo Butz has always brought a certain strangeness to his roles, whether a buffoonish con artist in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” or an obsessive FBI agent in “Catch Me If You Can.�…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:10PM