1,324 stories by "Charles McNulty"
Critic's Notebook: The season's cavalcade of TV and movie stars teaches fresh lessons about when such casting works (Tom Hanks) and when it doesn't (Emilia Clarke).Another Broadway season, a…
Nathan Lane announces that he's through with musicals
With 'The Producers,' the actor inscribed himself in theatrical memory. He's grateful, but he keeps redefining himself, now with a Tony nomination for 'The Nance.'NEW YORK — If you wer…
The stage musical version of the 1993 movie, at Pasadena Playhouse, is so wrongheaded that it might keep musical theater lovers awake with worry.Awash in music, "Sleepless in Seattle," Nora …
The tale of the unjustly accused Scottsboro Nine is reenacted as an irreverent carnival show with stinging and stunning effect at the Ahmanson Theatre."The Scottsboro Boys" has finally arriv…
Sometimes a performance is so finely adept that you forget the actor and see only the character. The dancer is inseparable from the dance, to borrow Yeats’ timeless formulation.
At the Mark Taper Forum, August Wilson's play towers once again as it tells of a man, and a nation, seeking wholeness again after dark, dehumanizing days.The setting for August Wilson's magn…
August Strindberg's landmark drama at Geffen Playhouse is set in Jazz Age Long Island. Awkward dialogue and mismatched actors make for a misguided play.August Strindberg's "Miss Julie," a ke…
Despite Broadway's commercial direction, there are nods to work that deserves a salute. Tom Hanks' deserved nomination underscores the wealth of acting talent.The Tony nominations were annou…
Ten noteworthy plot turns in the 2013 Tony nominations
The writer reflects on a hectic, heady time with recent work that includes 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' 'The Assembled Parties' and 'Far From Heaven.'NEW YORK — "I'm too tired to be anxio…
The actress' talent buoys the monologue, but the script doesn't delve into what made Sue Mengers capable of becoming the successful Hollywood agent she was.NEW YORK — Enthroned on her …
The actress' turn in the Broadway revival of the Horton Foote work is graceful and memorable. But Cuba Gooding Jr. and Vanessa Williams don't measure up. — Broadway for Cicely Tyson is…
The actress humanizes the iconic mother of Jesus in the Broadway staging of the one-woman play by Colm Toibin, directed by Deborah Warner. NEW YORK — Sucking on a cigarette and swiggin…
Seth Numrich is a marvel of adolescent illumination as a struggling gay teen in a play by Daniel Talbott that is at once rich and unwieldy.Eli (played by rising theater star Seth Numrich) is…
No-nonsense direction by Randall Arney and compelling acting by Bill Smitrovich, Freddy Rodriguez and Ron Eldard make this work a pleasure to revisit.David Mamet's "American Buffalo" is set …
The language, though a lot to process, drives this stage adaptation of the author's novel set in the African Congo.Actors' Gang stalwart Brian T. Finney invites us to once again venture deep…
The musical about a drag queen and a shoe factory owner has songs by theater newcomer Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, who makes rookie mistakes.NEW YORK — Let the record s…
Critic's Notebook: The theatrical legend majestically illuminates the gaps in budding playwright Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Revisionist,' a precious gift to an emerging talent.NEW YORK — O…
LA Times review of "Lucky Guy"
The late author magnificently conjures the era of tabloid news wars, with a winning ensemble led by Tom Hanks in his Broadway debut.NEW YORK — In the program for "Lucky Guy," the play …
In his Tony-winning 'History Boys' turn, the late actor spoke an eternal truth about the meeting of minds. His companionable spirit will be missed.Richard Griffiths was an actor of enormous …
Critic's Notebook: The dramatist who used to regularly scorch the stage with complex stories has let his anti-P.C. rage blunt his work.
Jennifer Haley's new drama, at the Douglas, surfs a part of the Web where fantasy threatens to bleed into reality. It's a gripping piece, terrifically performed. In the musical "Avenue Q," t…
Ken LaZebnik's drama at the Fountain Theatre presents a couple with autism, and the value of the play's advocacy shouldn't be underestimated. Cormac is a law-school-bound young man living in…
