All stories by Jess on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

10 Monologues That Make Solo Music by Ben Brantley, Laura Collins-Hughes, Jesse Green and Alexis Soloski

In a few minutes or a full show, these performers capture heartbreak, fury and laughs. For the words of Samuel Beckett, a disembodied mouth did the trick.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AM
Friday, September 11, 2020

How to Birth a New American Theater by Jesse Green, Maya Phillips, Laura Collins-Hughes, Elisabeth Vincentelli and Alexis Soloski

Six months dark. Thousands of artists out of work. Could this disaster have a surprise ending? Five critics on what must change, onstage and off.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Friday, August 21, 2020

Direct from Edinburgh: Theaters Are Closed, but a ‘Zoo’ Is Open by Jesse Green, Alexis Soloski and Elisabeth Vincentelli

Among the performances you can catch online are a one-woman show about sexual assault and riffs on “Heart of Darkness” and “Rocky.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:06PM
Wednesday, July 8, 2020

This Is Theater in 2020. Will It Last? Should It? by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green and Maya Phillips

Our critics discuss the last four months, which thanks to Zoom (and Meryl Streep) have been full of experimentation and playfulness.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:54AM
Friday, June 12, 2020

12 Streamable Plays That Depict Black Lives Pierced by Racism by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green and Maya Phillips

From the documentary works of Anna Deavere Smith to brief monologues written in this moment of unrest, dramatists are sounding an alarm.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:03PM
Thursday, June 4, 2020

No Tony Awards Show? Make Your Own With These Great Moments. by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green, Michael Paulson, Alexis Soloski, Elisabeth Vincentelli, Laura Collins-Hughes, Scott Heller and Eric Grode

Miranda’s rap. Rylance’s poems. Jackman’s pelvis. And a brassy reunion for Bea Arthur and Angela Lansbury. Now set your clock for “Turkey Lurkey Time.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:18PM
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

20 Broadway Musical Albums to Listen To by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

What we plan to listen to in perpetuity (or right now) in our Spotify-enabled isolation.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM

Six Tips for Listening to Original Cast Recordings by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

To begin with, don’t call them soundtracks!

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM

The 2019-2020 Broadway Cast Albums: A Listening Guide by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

A listening guide to the cast albums, playlists and video footprints left behind by 18 Broadway and Off Broadway musicals.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM
Monday, April 6, 2020

Off Broadway’s Season Shook Up Norms of Life and Theater by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

Our co-chief theater critics discuss the plays and musicals that reflected and predicted an unstable world.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:36PM
Tuesday, March 31, 2020

Who Says You Can’t Give Tony Awards in an Abbreviated Season? by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

Our chief theater critics have no nickel-plated medallions to hand out, but they find plenty to celebrate among shut-down Broadway offerings.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:42PM
Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Terrence McNally, Tony-Winning Playwright of Gay Life, Dies at 81 by Jesse Green and Neil Genzlinger

Mr. McNally, who died of coronavirus complications, introduced audiences to characters and situations that most mainstream theater had previously shunted into comic asides.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:42PM
Thursday, March 12, 2020

Now You Know: A Critic’s Guide to Sondheim by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

An opinionated take on the songwriter’s major works, from a delayed debut to a Pulitzer Prize- winning classic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:06AM
Monday, February 24, 2020

Spring 2020 stage preview: 15 plays and musicals to look out for by Jessica Derschowitz and Marc Snetiker

Must-see shows, must-believe revivals, and major stars — this spring, New York’s stages have them all. From rollicking royals to some welcome Company, here are six seasonal trends worth…

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 09:00AM
Friday, January 17, 2020

At Under the Radar, Avant-Garde Shows Leap Outside Reality by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green and Laura Collins-Hughes

The Public Theater’s festival has included 12 featured offerings, four cabaret acts and six pieces of developmental work. Here’s what our critics saw.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:33PM
Sunday, January 12, 2020

Drawing on the Past, Living in the Present, Dreaming of the Future by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

A jazz memoirist, a Palestinian rocketeer and Mexican myths set to music kick off the Public Theater’s annual festival of adventurous work from across the globe.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:12PM
Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Best Theater of 2019 by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green, Laura Collins-Hughes, Alexis Soloski and Elisabeth Vincentelli

Shows that defied categorization offered a stark choice: Escape an angry world, or face up to its travails. Beyond Broadway, writers explored race, inequality and addiction.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Monday, October 21, 2019

Review: ‘Forbidden Broadway’ Sticks It to the Great Woke Way by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

Gerard Alessandrini’s franchise was looking as long in the tooth as the shows it aimed to skewer. A new edition brings it back to hilarious life.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:48PM
Tuesday, October 1, 2019

What to See? Why So Pricey? Our Theater Critics Have Your Answers. by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

Ben Brantley and Jesse Green respond to readers curious about the Tony race, hungry for happy fare, and heading to London.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:42AM
Wednesday, August 7, 2019

‘Fairview’: Watching a Play in Black and White by Jesse Green and Salamishah Tillet

How does who you are affect how you see this Pulitzer Prize-winning drama? Two critics finally have the talk.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18AM
Monday, June 10, 2019

The Best and Worst of the Tony Awards 2019 by Ben Brantley, Jesse Green, Scott Heller and Margaret Lyons

Swinging lights. Broadway beefs. Words of wisdom. And a restroom serenade. If only some of the highlights were on TV.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:12PM

What you didn't see on TV during the Tony Awards by Jessica Derschowitz and Dave Quinn

The Tony Awards celebrated the best of Broadway on Sunday night, in a ceremony that kicked off with a star-filled musical number from host James Corden and ended with big wins for Hadestown …

SOURCE: Entertainment Weekly at 12:09PM
Sunday, June 9, 2019

The Dressing Rooms of Broadway: 33 Photos Over Nearly a Century by Jesse Green and Betsy Horan

For decades, our photographers have gotten intimate access backstage. Peek in as they capture stars, before the show and before the mirror.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:12PM
Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Heavenly or Hellish? Our Critics Debate the Broadway Season by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

Adventurous directors and galvanizing performances made for unexpected — and very welcome — departures on what once felt like the Staid White Way.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:54AM

Tony Awards 2019: Who Will Win (and Who Should) by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

The chief theater critics for The Times choose who they think should win and who should have been nominated.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:36AM
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Critics’ Notebook: When It Came to the Tony Nominations, the News Is the New by Jesse Green and Ben Brantley

New York Times theater critics on a Tonys roster that highlighted originality, if not diversity, and made room for some welcome surprises.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:06PM
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Obsession, Mourning and Migration at Under the Radar by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

Offerings at the festival include a riff on “Uncle Vanya”; a “Frankenstein” adaptation highlighting a mother’s grief; and an intimate tale of displacement.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:54PM
Monday, January 7, 2019

Theater Reviews: Hate, Hope and Healing at Under the Radar by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

An eclectic opening weekend included sketches and songs by Nigerian women, two unsettling monologues and a punk-rock reminiscence (with mixtape to follow).

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:18PM
Tuesday, December 4, 2018

The Best Theater of 2018 by Ben Brantley and Jesse Green

It was a year when classics were reincarnated in deceptively modest interpretations, conventional story forms were tossed aside and strong voices roared.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:48AM
Thursday, November 22, 2018

'Dance gave me a way to find a life’: English National Ballet's Isaac Hernández by Iman Amrani, Noah Payne-Frank, Bruno Rinvolucri and Jess Gormley

The 28-year-old lead principal of the English National Ballet talks to the Guardian's Iman Amrani about his plans to make dance a human right in his home country of Mexico and elevate it as …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 05:32AM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards