'Ruthless!' Off Broadway Review: A Murderous Musical Mash-Up by Michael Sommers

“Ruthless!” is anything but high musical theater art but it certainly delivers any number of low laughs. “Ruthless!” continues at St. Luke’s Theater, 308 W. 46th Street.

The Big Apple Circus presents a wonderfully (Bello) Nock-about time BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Jersey clown Barry Lubin's Grandma lends extra laughs to the one-ring festivities

'The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity' exposes the racial games played for mad money BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Diaz writes flavorfully, energetically and with an insightful view of both the wrestling racket and cultural politics.

I'll Be Damned looks no darned good, by Michael Sommers

Mary Testa's appearance in the new Faustian musical I'll Be Damned likely is drawing extra customers down to the Dimson Theatre, where Jaradoa Theater's production opened over the weekend for a showcase stint. Disappointment awaits viewers, since the musical is a solid idea that's lazily developed in silly and pointless ways.

Shakespeare + gunpowder = illuminating 'Equivocation' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Layered new comedy-drama explores truth and history

Stars brighten a dark cop drama in 'A Steady Rain' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Great drama? No. A hot show? You bet.

‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ offers a Wilde time by MICHAEL SOMMERS

How lovely it must be to encounter this wonderful comedy for the first time — and in such a pleasant production as this one, which isn't flawless but certainly offers a nimble, clearly…

Petite La Cage looks sweet on Broadway, by Michael Sommers

Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge costar in a modest yet merry revival.

Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson enhance 'A View From the Bridge' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Vivid performances illuminate Arthur Miller's 1950s Brooklyn tragedy

Zach Braff learns about Trust, by Michael Sommers

The sight of hitherto squeaky-clean musical comedy star Sutton Foster dressed in scary dominatrix gear and looking like she means it is practically worth the price of admission to Trust. But there's even more to enjoy in Paul Weitz's thoughtful comedy

REVIEW: ‘Other Desert Cities' sizzles with great acting by MICHAEL SOMMERS

Don't miss these rising stars in 'Calvin Berger' at George Street Playhouse BY STUART DUNCAN

Populist and elitist views clash in ‘La Bete’ by MICHAEL SOMMERS

Mark Rylance brilliant plays a boor in a mock-1600s comedy

'Memphis' sings and dances along the 1950s racial divide BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Bright new Broadway musical deals lightly with serious theme

'Sondheim on Sondheim' celebrates a master songwriter BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

New bio-show smartly depicts a genius in words and music

'Arms and the Man' leaves audience panting for more BY STUART DUNCAN

Beatles tribute ‘Rain’ pours out 30 hits by MICHAEL SOMMERS

So it is what it is: Rather than thinking of "Rain" as a jukebox musical regarding The Beatles, the actual show is more like a highly animated version of a Madame Tussaud's installation R…

Brendan Fraser and Denis O’Hare costar in ‘Elling’ by MICHAEL SOMMERS

Whimsical comedy about a Norwegian odd couple makes little impact

Afrobeat music drives Broadway's new "Fela!" BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

The show will prove a stretch for conservative Broadway tastes, but anybody desiring something more adventurous than the same old musical stuff should check out "Fela!"

'Ragtime' stirs up America's 1900s melting pot BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Major musical drawn from Doctorow novel triumphantly returns to Broadway

Everyday Rapture concludes Broadway season, by Michael Sommers

Frankly, it's a stretch for Scott to project her beguiling brand of wide-eyed semi-innocence effectively in an expansive 750-seat house. Fortunately she gets some help and the show is an agr…

'When the Rain Stops Falling' explores our missing links BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

"When the Rain Stops Falling" ultimately proves to be a terribly gloomy two hours with scant uplift aside from the poignant realization that fleeing one's past is a natural passage of life.

Lynn Redgrave takes flight as a solitary 'Nightingale' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Actress-writer's latest solo show thoughtfully depicts a melancholy ancestor

‘Compulsion’ fictionalizes Meyer Levin’s life by MICHAEL SOMMERS

Spending over two hours in the company of a raging monomaniac with an Anne Frank obsession is not my idea of a fun time, especially when he's played with all stops out by Mandy Patinkin blaz…

‘A Perfect Future’ yields sour grapes by MICHAEL SOMMERS

Rich liberals spill their phony guts in a bogus new drama

‘The Savannah Disputation’ plays to huge laughs by STUART DUNCAN

The current production at Hopewell's Off-Broadstreet Theatre shows that the work is far more than mere sitcom. True, the principal characters are a pair of spinster old ladies, and true, the…

The Irish Curse talks frankly about male shortcomings, by Michael Sommers

Since this modest 90-minute comedy-drama does not much develop beyond its situation, let's not divulge the guys' intimate conversations except to note that sizable laughs arise and towards t…

REVIEW: Sexy ‘Women’ throw a festive Broadway party by MICHAEL SOMMERS

A yummy confection of silly romantic comedy, seductive Latin music, alluring visuals and high-powered performances, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown" is a musical comedy certain to…

John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle do their best as 'Mr. & Mrs. Fitch' BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

Voluble new comedy talks a lot about nothing

'The Starry Messenger' represents bad news for Matthew Broderick BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

A nearly three hour-long yawn, "The Starry Messenger" is a dull play about a dull man, duly and dully played by Matthew Broderick.

Enron accounts for a scandal, by Michael Sommers

Bewildering though the technicalities of Enron may be to anyone who doesn't own an MBA, the 29-year old Prebble has fashioned a swift journey on a corporate thrill ride. This satirical yet ultimately sobering study in American avarice has been extravagantly staged by Goold and production designer Anthony Ward with frenzies of videos, projections, lighting and sound effects that support the story and display a lot of incidental smarts.