Thursday, December 7, 2023

‘Waitress: The Musical’ Review: A Big-Screen Helping of a Broadway Hit by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Sara Bareilles is the heart and soul of this live capture of her musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:02AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2023

‘Manahatta’ Review: Tracing the Blood-Soaked Roots of American Capitalism by Naveen Kumar

Straddling the 17th and early 21st centuries, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s play at the Public Theater examines the exploitation of the Lenape by Dutch settlers.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:02PM

His ‘Dracula’ Project: Creating a Funny Vampire by James Barron

The great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker has written a comic version of “Dracula” that is appearing Off Broadway.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36AM

Best Dance Performances of 2023 by Gia Kourlas and Brian Seibert

New York City Ballet’s 75th anniversary celebration and Dance Reflections from France delivered some of this year’s brightest moments.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

‘Life & Times of Michael K’ Review: An Arduous Trek That’s a Marvel to Watch by Naveen Kumar

This captivating adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s novel, a collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, follows a man and his ailing mother during a civil war in South Africa.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36PM

She Has the Attention of Dance Companies, and She Is Prepared by Brian Seibert

Amy Hall Garner is readying the new work “Century” for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, on the heels of other premieres and with more to come.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:05PM

Off Broadway, a Vital Part of New York Theater, Feels the Squeeze by Michael Paulson

The small theaters that help make the city a theater capital are cutting back as they struggle to recover from the pandemic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM

Best Classical Music Performances of 2023 by Zachary Woolfe and Joshua Barone

Feats, farewells and musical treasures in a year of post-pandemic financial pressures.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Alicia Keys’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ to Open on Broadway This Spring by Michael Paulson

The musical, now midway through a sold-out Off Broadway run at the Public Theater, will transfer to the Shubert Theater in March.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:42PM

‘Walk on Through’ Review: Dispatches, in Song, From a Museum Novice by Laura Collins-Hughes

In his new show, Gavin Creel sings about the wonders of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but sticks too close to the surface.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:18PM

Best Theater of 2023 by Jesse Green, Laura Collins-Hughes, Scott Heller, Naveen Kumar, Juan A. Ramírez and Elisabeth Vincentelli

Many of the plays and musicals that resonated this year deftly married elements of drama and comedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:32AM
Sunday, December 3, 2023

Broadway Babies, Singing Show Tunes for Seniors by Sarah Bahr

What happened when four young theater actors performed for an older generation? “I was expecting to have the best show ever and that happened.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:18PM

10 Performances That Pushed Emotional Limits by Maya Phillips

For our critic-at-large, the year was marked by the Black excellence of “Purlie Victorious,” the brutality of “Bottoms” and rage of “Beef.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:32AM
Saturday, December 2, 2023

10 Works and Performances That Helped Me Make Sense of 2023 by Salamishah Tillet

Global conflict and personal loss encouraged our critic to seek out art that gave her a better understanding of grief and healing.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24AM

In a Gender-Flipped Production of Cinderella, a Princess Rescues by Laura Cappelle

For the Scottish Ballet production of Cinderella, titled “Cinders!,” some performances flip the traditional gender roles. The dancers “were all kind of like: ‘OK. How does that work?…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Friday, December 1, 2023

No Snoozing Here: This ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Is Gearing Up for a Wild Ride by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At Abrons Arts Center, a hilarious family show in the British holiday tradition that runs “like a steam train when it goes well.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:48PM

Review: At ‘Dancing With Glass,’ the Spotlight Rests on the Composer by Brian Seibert

The five dance selections that are part of the Dance Reflections festival take varied approaches to piano exercises written by Philip Glass.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:37PM

A Play About Black Women’s Experiences, Met With Violence by Laura Cappelle

Rébecca Chaillon’s “Carte Noire Named Desire” provoked harassment in France this summer, leading one actor to pull out of a new run in Paris.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:48AM
Thursday, November 30, 2023

Review: A Shady Documentary Becomes a Weapon of War in ‘Spain’ by Jesse Green

Jen Silverman’s noir play considers the role of artists in the making of propaganda.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:32PM

The Culture Desk: The Dangers of Making Art With Your Friends by Alex Barron, Lynn Levy and Diane Wong

Times theater critics sing the praises of two shows about fraught collaborations

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:02PM

A Wood-Carved Protagonist, Enduring the Brutality of War by Laura Collins-Hughes

A stage adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s novel “Life & Times of Michael K,” about a man’s struggles during a fictional South African conflict, includes actors alongside a puppet vers…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:24PM

Review: At the Armory, Calm Awaits the Fury of ‘The Rite of Spring’ by Gia Kourlas

In a Dance Reflections program, Malou Airaudo and Germaine Acogny’s duet “common ground[s]” precedes Pina Bausch’s “Rite.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:39PM

Review: This ‘House of Bernarda Alba’ Is on Fire by Matt Wolf

Rebecca Frecknall, whose “Cabaret” is heading to Broadway, steers Federico García Lorca’s play to its tragic finish with genuinely shocking force.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:08AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Frances Sternhagen, Actress Who Thrived in Mature Roles, Dies at 93 by Anita Gates

Her Tony-winning Broadway career included “Driving Miss Daisy,” “On Golden Pond” and “The Heiress.” On TV she had maternal roles in “Cheers” and “Sex and the City.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:02PM

Review: Treading an Endless Road That Connects to the Past by Brian Seibert

Okwui Okpokwasili and Peter Born’s hybrid show, “Adaku, Part 1,” about a precolonial African village, mixes dance theater, song and drama.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:11PM

Casey Likes of ‘Back to the Future,’ Is on a Roll by Alexis Soloski

At 21, he already has two Broadway leads under his belt. On Thursdays, he sheds Marty McFly’s signature vest for a bowling shirt.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Tuesday, November 28, 2023

‘Amid Falling Walls’ Review: Songs of Resilience From the Holocaust Era by Laura Collins-Hughes

A new musical from National Yiddish Theater Folksbiene stitches together music written and performed in Eastern Europe in the 1930s and ’40s.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:18PM

Robert Battle Had a Wide Vision of What Alvin Ailey Could Be by Gia Kourlas

Battle, the artistic director who brought Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater into a new century, resigned just before the company’s new City Center season.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:43AM
Saturday, November 25, 2023

Pina Bausch’s ‘Rite of Spring’ Takes Root in Africa by Marina Harss

A company of dancers from across Africa perform Bausch’s canonical work around the world. “I’ve always felt that this was an African dance,” said Germaine Acogny.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Friday, November 24, 2023

‘Manahatta,’ Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Play About the Lenape, Comes Home by Alexis Soloski

The show, which toggles between the 17th century and the early 21st, arrives on the island on which it is largely set.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:06AM
Thursday, November 23, 2023

Suzanne Shepherd, Actress Known for Playing Mothers, Dies at 89 by Alex Williams

After establishing herself as a teacher, she started a prolific screen acting career in her 50s that included roles in “Goodfellas” and “The Sopranos.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:42PM

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
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