All stories by Michael Sommers on BroadwayStars

Thursday, January 4, 2024

Here We Are: Sondheim’s Non Finito Musical, or Sunday in the Dark with Brunch by Michael Sommers

A genius leaves a final puzzle for his fans to ponder The post Here We Are: Sondheim’s Non Finito Musical, or Sunday in the Dark with Brunch appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 03:24PM
Thursday, December 15, 2022

Ain’t No Mo’: Satirical Beauty Languishes Amid a Beastly Broadway by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Being a trenchant and meaningfully funny comedy doesn't necessarily translate into substantial audiences The post Ain’t No Mo’: Satirical Beauty Languishes Amid a Beastly…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 02:23PM
Friday, September 11, 2020

Incidental Moments of the Day: Richard Nelson’s Latest Socially Distant Drama by Michael Sommers

★★★☆☆ The latest Zoom saga of the Apple family's doings in the pandemic remains thoughtfully everyday The post Incidental Moments of the Day: Richard Nelson’s Latest Socially Di…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 12:34PM
Thursday, July 2, 2020

And So We Come Forth: The Apple Family Seems Exhausted by Current Events by Michael Sommers

Richard Nelson's latest Rhinebeck drama offers a chat 'n' chew over interesting times The post And So We Come Forth: The Apple Family Seems Exhausted by Current Events appeared first on New…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 01:10PM
Thursday, April 30, 2020

What Do We Need to Talk About?: An Apt Chat and Chew Over Current Events by Michael Sommers

Richard Nelson's fresh slice of Rhinebeck life is a screenshot reflection of our troubled times The post What Do We Need to Talk About?: An Apt Chat and Chew Over Current Events appeared fir…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 02:15PM
Tuesday, March 3, 2020

The Perplexed: Pretty Pointless by Michael Sommers

★★ Richard Greenberg writes a play overstuffed with nothing interesting The post The Perplexed: Pretty Pointless appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:02PM

Coal Country: Telling a Sorrowful Story as Old as the Hills by Michael Sommers

★★★ Grammy-winning songwriter Steve Earle lends authenticity to a docudrama The post Coal Country: Telling a Sorrowful Story as Old as the Hills appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:59PM
Sunday, March 1, 2020

The Hot Wing King: Smart and Sassy by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Katori Hall composes a satisfying dramedy about black men who happen to be gay The post The Hot Wing King: Smart and Sassy appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:01PM
Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Dana H.: Giving Voice to a Soul Held Captive in Plain Sight by Michael Sommers

★★★ Deirdre O'Connell delivers a striking portrait of a woman in distress The post Dana H.: Giving Voice to a Soul Held Captive in Plain Sight appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:52PM

We’re Gonna Die: Catch a Concert Study in Mortality at Second Stage by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Playwright/songwriter Young Jean Lee studies an inevitable fact of life The post We’re Gonna Die: Catch a Concert Study in Mortality at Second Stage appeared first on New York…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:49PM
Monday, February 24, 2020

Cambodian Rock Band: Jamming on the Eve of Destruction by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Lauren Yee dramatizes the Khmer Rouge nightmare with a suspenseful story The post Cambodian Rock Band: Jamming on the Eve of Destruction appeared first on New York Stage Revi…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:51PM
Thursday, February 20, 2020

West Side Story: Damp, Desolate, and Usually Distracting by Michael Sommers

★★★ The 1957 Bernstein-Laurents-Robbins-Sondheim masterpiece gets a harsh modern makeover The post West Side Story: Damp, Desolate, and Usually Distracting appeared first on New York S…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:46PM

Mack & Mabel: A Musical Heartbreaker in More Ways Than One by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Jerry Herman's musical about Hollywood legends is an imperfect charmer The post Mack & Mabel: A Musical Heartbreaker in More Ways Than One appeared first on New York Stage R…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 06:05PM
Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Blues for an Alabama Sky: A Hard-Boiled Canary Desires a Better Roost by Michael Sommers

★★★ Pearl Cleage's 1995 drama about 1930 Harlem life receives its overdue New York premiere The post Blues for an Alabama Sky: A Hard-Boiled Canary Desires a Better Roost appeared firs…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:00PM
Monday, February 17, 2020

Dracula/Frankenstein: Smart New Stagings of Gothic Literature by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Classic Stage delivers very different but very smart new versions of the classic horror stories, in rep The post Dracula/Frankenstein: Smart New Stagings of Gothic Literature ap…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:59PM
Wednesday, February 12, 2020

Riddle of the Trilobites: An Earnest New Musical Packs Multiple Messages by Michael Sommers

★★★ Prehistoric characters deal with global warming and learn that change is their friend The post Riddle of the Trilobites: An Earnest New Musical Packs Multiple Messages appeared fir…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 01:24PM
Tuesday, February 4, 2020

Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice: They’re All Talk and No Action by Michael Sommers

★ A dull new musical regards a not-so-fab foursome of the Swinging '60s The post Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice: They’re All Talk and No Action appeared first on New York Stage Re…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:31PM
Monday, February 3, 2020

Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake: Spooky and Sexy Romance in Dance by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A classical ballet reimagined as a bisexual psychodrama briefly revisits New York The post Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake: Spooky and Sexy Romance in Dance appeared first on New Y…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 05:45PM
Sunday, February 2, 2020

STEW: A Mothers and Daughters Dish by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Playwright Zora Howard debuts Off-Broadway with a tasty kitchen sink-type drama The post STEW: A Mothers and Daughters Dish appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 03:00PM
Wednesday, January 29, 2020

The Confession of Lily Dare: What’s Wrong with This Picture? by Michael Sommers

★★ Charles Busch stars as a self-sacrificing mama in his send-up of Pre-Code Hollywood flicks The post The Confession of Lily Dare: What’s Wrong with This Picture? appeared first on Ne…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:59PM
Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Paris: Black Invisibility in a White World by Michael Sommers

★★★ Eboni Booth sets her insightful working class drama in a big box store in 1995 The post Paris: Black Invisibility in a White World appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:58PM
Monday, January 20, 2020

Timon of Athens: Re-gendered and Re-Engineered for Audiences Today by Michael Sommers

★★★ Kathryn Hunter plays the title figure in a relatively obscure play by Shakespeare (and Thomas Middleton) The post Timon of Athens: Re-gendered and Re-Engineered for Audiences Today…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 12:30PM
Friday, January 17, 2020

How to Load a Musket: Re-creating Your Own Personal American History by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A smart new docudrama studies history re-enactors whose pastime can be obsessive The post How to Load a Musket: Re-creating Your Own Personal American History appeared first on …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 01:15PM
Sunday, January 12, 2020

The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood: Big City Blues by Michael Sommers

★★★ Japanese playwright Suguru Yamamoto collages dance, drama, text, and video in his study of urban existence The post The Unknown Dancer in the Neighborhood: Big City Blues appeared …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 06:00PM
Wednesday, December 18, 2019

42FT—A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels: An Old-School Charmer by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Sharp circus skills and eccentric machinery deliver a beguiling time The post 42FT—A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels: An Old-School Charmer appeared first on New York Stage Re…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 12:00PM
Friday, December 13, 2019

‘Twas the Night Before: Cirque du Soleil’s Bright New Holiday Gift by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Aerialists and acrobats deliver Christmas cheer to Madison Square Garden The post ‘Twas the Night Before: Cirque du Soleil’s Bright New Holiday Gift appeared first on New Yo…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 04:28PM
Tuesday, December 10, 2019

one in two: An Absurdist Look at a Serious Issue by Michael Sommers

★★★ The sadly familiar story of a black man living with HIV gets an absurdist twist The post one in two: An Absurdist Look at a Serious Issue appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 06:59PM
Monday, December 9, 2019

Greater Clements: Haunted By History by Michael Sommers

★★★ Samuel D. Hunter delivers a significant though flawed American drama The post Greater Clements: Haunted By History appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:51PM
Sunday, December 8, 2019

The Illusionists: They’ve Got Magic to Do by Michael Sommers

★★★ Six magicians conjure up tricks for the family crowd The post The Illusionists: They’ve Got Magic to Do appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 05:00PM
Sunday, November 24, 2019

Fefu and Her Friends: Still Ahead of Its Time by Michael Sommers

★★★ An unorthodox 1977 drama on feminist themes is revived by Theatre for a New Audience The post Fefu and Her Friends: Still Ahead of Its Time appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:20PM
Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Underlying Chris: What We Share in Our World by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Will Eno thoughtfully explores the human essentials in his latest play The post The Underlying Chris: What We Share in Our World appeared first on New York Stage Review.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:44PM

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