Young love, loudly played by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Smoke! Pyrotechnics! Battle gear! When the Montagues and the Ca pulets duke it out in this "Romeo and Juliet," it feels like a Kiss con cert -- and it's almost as loud. Needless to say, t…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:29pm on July 12, 2011☆⚑

Self-deprecation adds punch to 'Judy' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Judy Gold's new solo outing, "The Judy Show: My Life As a Sitcom," begins slowly. For someone who describes herself as a "6-foot-3 Jewish lesbian mother of two," Gold's childhood was utterly…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:09pm on July 10, 2011☆⚑

Stratford-upon-Armory by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At times, the Lincoln Center Festival is the high-art answer to Ep cot's World Showcase -- building entire ven ues from scratch so we can see foreign companies in their home environment with…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 8:07am on July 9, 2011☆⚑

She's no callous Callas by Elisabeth Vincentelli

She's a major diva with an ego to match, but her prime years are behind her. So she takes eager-beaver young performers under her wing and mentors them, teaching them the art of interpretati…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:28pm on July 7, 2011☆⚑

A look back at not-so-gay days at Harvard by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It was possible to be gay at Harvard in 1920, but it was risky. Exactly how dangerous was detailed in a 2002 article in the Harvard Crimson, which revealed "secret court files" documenting t…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:51pm on June 23, 2011☆⚑

Zippy 'Sex' attractive, but leaves us wanting by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It's not like there's anything terribly wrong about Michael Mitnick's new "Sex Lives of Our Parents." But there isn't anything terribly right, either. The Second Stage Uptown play that op…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:52pm on June 22, 2011☆⚑

Goes the distance by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If a TV series can sprout a spinoff, why not a play? The most appealing character in Amy Herzog's heavy-handed drama "After the Revolution," which ran at Playwrights Horizons in November,…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:22pm on June 20, 2011☆⚑

Getaway from Broadway! by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The first stop on any itinerary should be the Williamstown Theatre Festival (wtfestival.org, 413-597-3400). Located in the bucolic college enclave of Williamstown, Mass., the fest has drawn …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:33pm on June 16, 2011☆⚑

Spidey's back! by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At long last, Spider-Man is ready to do some serious web-slinging on Broadway. And what do we get after $70 million, nine years of work and 183 previews? Silly string and paper streamers. We…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:04pm on June 14, 2011☆⚑

Spidey through the years by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It's been a long wait through false starts, injuries, firings and mishap after mishap. But the finished "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark" has finally opened. Here's our web-slinging timeline. …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:00pm on June 14, 2011☆⚑

Don't keep little-seen play at arm's length by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Tennessee Williams has been a very famil iar presence on New York stages for the past three years or so. What's cool is that for every famous "Glass Menagerie" or "A Streetcar Named Desire,"…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:52pm on June 12, 2011☆⚑

A sweetly 'Shaggs'-adelic tribute to '60s girl group by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There's a particularly illumi nating scene in the second act of the new musical "The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World," wherein the three sisters who make up the title band are in a recording…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:45am on June 8, 2011☆⚑

This 'Glass' is half empty by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Carey Mulligan is a terrific actress. The luminous Londoner has earned raves for movies such as "An Education" and "Never Let Me Go," and she could easily have spent her summer shooting some…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:51pm on June 6, 2011☆⚑

Clever college sex musical scores big by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There are many, many ways a musical can go awry. How great, then, to see everything click into place in the new "Lysistrata Jones." Produced by the Transport Group company ("The Boys in the …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:11pm on June 5, 2011☆⚑

Tribute is sometimes more sigh than Cy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Show tunes have become so complicated and serious: Yes, Sondheim is a genius, and rock musicals are edgy -- but sometimes you just want sass, flash and old-fashioned va-va-voom. In short,…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:40pm on May 26, 2011☆⚑

A marry-go-round by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The new dramedy "Cradle and All" re lies on a promising narrative gambit: The first act takes place in the Brooklyn apartment of the stylish, childless Claire and Luke; the second act puts u…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:17pm on May 25, 2011☆⚑

Papa-to-be does preach, way too much by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There you are, settling in for a quiet meal out, and the guy at the next table just won't stop yakking. He seems nice enough, but boy, does he love hearing himself talk. Sitting through J…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:37pm on May 22, 2011☆⚑

All kitschy on the western front by Elisabeth Vincentelli

With 20 different songs (and a few reprises), the kitschy new country musical "Lucky Guy" is overlong and overstuffed. No wonder: It was written and directed by the man, Willard Beckham, …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 12:01am on May 20, 2011☆⚑

Hyperactive 'Radio' waives calm and coherence by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Ever wondered what a pothead version of Gar rison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion" would be like? Wonder no more: "Radio Play" is here. The show is the brainchild of Tommy Smith and R…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:15pm on May 16, 2011☆⚑

Troupe of show-vinist pigs by Elisabeth Vincentelli

It was bound to happen. In shows like "The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side" and "Happy in the Poorhouse," the Amoralists delivered a high-octane, cartoonishly manic twist on 1970s Hollywo…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:02pm on May 15, 2011☆⚑

High-Nottage stars in H'wood sendup by Elisabeth Vincentelli

In 2009, Lynn Nottage had an unlikely hit with the Pulitzer Prize-win ning "Ruined" -- a gut-wrenching drama about sex crimes in war-torn Congo. For the follow-up, the playwright has made…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:36pm on May 9, 2011☆⚑

Slow show a clerical error by Elisabeth Vincentelli

A marriage's happy balance is upset by the arrival of an in terloper. It's a fairly banal scenario, but in his play "Candida," George Bernard Shaw spiced it up by layering in a strong politi…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:50pm on May 8, 2011☆⚑

Ruler's crown and out by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Did we really need this "King Lear"? That depends. If you love the play, you may want to catch this production from London's Donmar Warehouse just to see what Derek Jacobi -- of "I, Claud…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 11:07pm on May 6, 2011☆⚑

Much gets aired, but play's awash in woes by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Watching Tony Kushner's new drama is like being in a washing machine: soak, agitate, spin. And repeat: "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scrip…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:47pm on May 5, 2011☆⚑

Hits 'Widow' peak by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Melody isn't ready to handle life. How could she possibly handle death? That's the question at the heart of "Be a Good Little Widow," Bekah Brunstetter's lovely new play at Ars Nova. A…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 10:30pm on May 2, 2011☆⚑