All stories by MICHAEL SOMMERS on BroadwayStars

Monday, January 14, 2019

LaBute New Theater Festival: A Sharp Playwright Assumes a Gentler Style by Michael Sommers

★★★ A trio of new plays presents a Hitler apologist, a bad date, and one self-absorbed heart-breaker The post LaBute New Theater Festival: A Sharp Playwright Assumes a Gentler Style ap…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:30PM
Monday, January 7, 2019

Blue Ridge: A Tedious Journey Through Underdeveloped Territory by Michael Sommers

★★ Even the typically combustible Marin Ireland can't strike many sparks from a sparsely dramatized story The post Blue Ridge: A Tedious Journey Through Underdeveloped Territory appeared…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM
Thursday, January 3, 2019

The Girl with the Alkaline Eyes: Guys and a Dancing Doll of Futuristic Design by Michael Sommers

★★★ The "Be More Chill" choreographer delivers a new dance drama with a vintage story and a modern score The post The Girl with the Alkaline Eyes: Guys and a Dancing Doll of Futuristic…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 04:01PM
Thursday, December 13, 2018

Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: Typically Tutu Funny to Describe by Michael Sommers

★★★★ The Trocks spin back for the holidays as en pointe entertaining as ever The post Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: Typically Tutu Funny to Describe appeared first on New Yo…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 04:30AM
Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show: American Idols Reunite for the Holidays by Michael Sommers

★★ Former rivals Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken get together to vocalize holiday songs The post Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show: American Idols Reunite for the Holidays appeared …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:15PM
Monday, December 10, 2018

Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine: Facing Your Not-So-Fab Origins by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Playwright Lynn Nottage's lighter side is nicely served by Signature Theatre's revival The post Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine: Facing Your Not-So-Fab Origins appear…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:40PM
Sunday, December 9, 2018

Slave Play: Gabbing Too Much About Sexual Dysfunction and Racism by Michael Sommers

★★ Steamy sex scenes evaporate into hot air in newcomer Jeremy O. Harris' debut drama The post Slave Play: Gabbing Too Much About Sexual Dysfunction and Racism appeared first on New Y…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:00PM
Monday, December 3, 2018

The Cher Show: Truly Turning Back Time With a Singular Superstar by Michael Sommers

★★★★ It takes three performers to portray the one-and-only Cher in a wildly entertaining jukebox show The post The Cher Show: Truly Turning Back Time With a Singular Superstar appear…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:40PM
Thursday, November 29, 2018

The Dead, 1904: Dubliner Sisters Invite You to an Immersive Christmas Dinner by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Melissa Gilbert is among the guests attending a holiday dinner drawn from a famous James Joyce story The post The Dead, 1904: Dubliner Sisters Invite You to an Immersive Christm…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Sunday, November 18, 2018

Downstairs: Tyne Daly and Tim Daly Tackle Kin Beyond Their Typical Ken by Michael Sommers

★★★ Theresa Rebeck's new semi-thriller digs some dark secrets from out of a cellar The post Downstairs: Tyne Daly and Tim Daly Tackle Kin Beyond Their Typical Ken appeared first on New…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:41PM

All Is Calm: A Poignant Music-Theater Account of WWI’s Christmas Truce by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A handsomely sung musical documentary relates an inspiring wartime miracle The post All Is Calm: A Poignant Music-Theater Account of WWI’s Christmas Truce appeared first …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:40PM
Thursday, November 15, 2018

The Prom: Plenty of Showbiz Gagging Over Some Serious Issues by Michael Sommers

★★ Several Sardi's caricatures confront serious issues in a slick but kinda crass new musical The post The Prom: Plenty of Showbiz Gagging Over Some Serious Issues appeared first on New …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:20PM
Monday, November 12, 2018

The Other Josh Cohen: See a Loser Be a Winner By Doing the Right Thing by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A schlub loses everything but later gains true love in a little, New York-y musical The post The Other Josh Cohen: See a Loser Be a Winner By Doing the Right Thing appeared firs…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:30PM
Sunday, November 11, 2018

Thom Pain (based on nothing): Some Existential Rambles With Michael C. Hall by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Signature Theatre smartly revives Will Eno's significantly meandering monodrama The post Thom Pain (based on nothing): Some Existential Rambles With Michael C. Hall appeared fi…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:27PM
Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Eve’s Song: How Black Women’s Lives Don’t Always Matter in America by Michael Sommers

★★★ The Public Theater premieres the threnody of a blameless woman's destruction The post Eve’s Song: How Black Women’s Lives Don’t Always Matter in America appeared …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:55PM
Monday, November 5, 2018

The Thanksgiving Play: Knocking the Stuffing Out of White Liberal Correctness by Michael Sommers

★★★ Playwrights Horizons premieres a satirical comedy that's tasty but underdone The post The Thanksgiving Play: Knocking the Stuffing Out of White Liberal Correctness appeared first o…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:05PM
Sunday, November 4, 2018

Waiting for Godot: Whiling Away a Few Fine Hours With an Irish Didi and Gogo by Michael Sommers

★★★★ The Druid company infuses Samuel Beckett's bleak drama with a wonderful sense of life The post Waiting for Godot: Whiling Away a Few Fine Hours With an Irish Didi and Gogo appea…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 03:30PM
Sunday, October 28, 2018

Big Apple Circus: A Lean, Keen, Family Show (and More) to its Core by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Kids will get a kick out of the 41st edition while their elders will see some nice sights, too The post Big Apple Circus: A Lean, Keen, Family Show (and More) to its Core appear…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:00PM

Daniel’s Husband: A New Drama Cautions Same-Sex Couples to Tie the Knot by Michael Sommers

★★★ Good acting breathes life into a comedy that unexpectedly turns sorrowful The post Daniel’s Husband: A New Drama Cautions Same-Sex Couples to Tie the Knot appeared first on N…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:30PM
Wednesday, October 24, 2018

Come From Away: Get a Gander at Strangers Being Kind to Each Other by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Long-Run Lookback: An expertly staged docu-musical remains a truly heartwarming experience The post Come From Away: Get a Gander at Strangers Being Kind to Each Other appeare…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 11:38PM
Thursday, October 11, 2018

Midnight at the Never Get: A Moody Cabaret About the Man That Got Away by Michael Sommers

★★★ A gay romance from the 1960s glimmers within a little musical bubble The post Midnight at the Never Get: A Moody Cabaret About the Man That Got Away appeared first on New York Stag…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:01PM
Monday, October 8, 2018

The Winning Side: What’s Love Got to Do With Wernher Von Braun? by Michael Sommers

★★ A mash-up of fact and fiction shows that writing plays can be harder than rocket science The post The Winning Side: What’s Love Got to Do With Wernher Von Braun? appeared first …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Thursday, October 4, 2018

The Bacchae: Euripides’ Classical Tragicomedy of Wine, Women, and Wrong by Michael Sommers

★★★ Anne Bogart stages a 2,400 year-old Greek drama with a few modern notes The post The Bacchae: Euripides’ Classical Tragicomedy of Wine, Women, and Wrong appeared first on New…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 02:30PM
Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Final Follies: Primary Stages Trips Over a Trio of A.R. Gurney Comedies by Michael Sommers

★★ Able staging and acting can do only so much with a master author's minor material The post Final Follies: Primary Stages Trips Over a Trio of A.R. Gurney Comedies appeared first on Ne…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Monday, October 1, 2018

Girl From the North Country: A Visit to Desolation Row With Bob Dylan by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Bob Dylan songs are artfully molded into a new musical of melancholy distinction The post Girl From the North Country: A Visit to Desolation Row With Bob Dylan appeared first on…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:44PM
Monday, September 24, 2018

I Was Most Alive with You: Craig Lucas Unleashes a Tsunami of Sorrows by Michael Sommers

★★ A woeful drama (in more ways than one) is performed simultaneously in two languages The post I Was Most Alive with You: Craig Lucas Unleashes a Tsunami of Sorrows appeared first on Ne…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM
Thursday, September 20, 2018

Beautiful: That Carole King Bio-Show Stays Good to Go and See by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Long-Run Lookback: A smart jukebox musical remains a some kind of wonderful Broadway attraction The post Beautiful: That Carole King Bio-Show Stays Good to Go and See appeared f…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 04:30PM
Tuesday, September 18, 2018

The Emperor: The Curious Decline and Fall of Haile Selassie by Michael Sommers

★★★ Kathryn Hunter conjures up the hothouse atmosphere of a vanished kingdom The post The Emperor: The Curious Decline and Fall of Haile Selassie appeared first on New York Stage Revie…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 02:26PM
Sunday, September 16, 2018

Uncle Vanya: An Americanization of a Russian Classic by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Richard Nelson's new version of Chekhov's intimate classic is artfully understated The post Uncle Vanya: An Americanization of a Russian Classic appeared first on New York Stage…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM
Thursday, September 13, 2018

The Phantom of the Opera: Still Wonderfully Crazy After All These Years by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Long-Run Lookback: That musical madman remains as romantic as ever in his Majestic home The post The Phantom of the Opera: Still Wonderfully Crazy After All These Years appe…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:30PM
Wednesday, September 12, 2018

The Naturalists: A Romantic Triangle Shoots Up in the Irish Countryside by Michael Sommers

★★ A play about new love and old crimes amid Ireland's rural greenery strains credulity and patience. The post The Naturalists: A Romantic Triangle Shoots Up in the Irish Countryside app…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM

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