1,809 stories 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…
It's been a long, action- packed theater season, but make time for "The School for Lies." A delectable offer ing from David Ives, this is a bright, refreshing sorbet of a show, brought to ir…
'Goodbye and good luck to you all," a woman said as she fled Studio 54 at intermission like a bat out of musical-theater hell.
It wasn't clear whether she wished that to the audience memb…
When Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart" premiered off-Broadway in 1985, it had a "right here, right now" impact. Set in 1981-84 New York, it imparted a powerful, radical immediacy to almost-c…
Every night's a baby boomer's delight at the Broadhurst, where the new jukebox musical "Baby It's You!" rolls out one golden oldie after another. And this happy-clappy show has a large inven…
'The House of Blue Leaves" is a roughly stitched patchwork of styles and ideas. The first full-length effort by John Guare ("Six Degrees of Separation"), the 1966 play mixes tones -- dark, c…
It takes a lot of smarts to act dumb -- and make it funny without condescending to the character or the material.
Playing the tricky role of Billie Dawn in the new Broadway revival of "Bo…
The nominal lead in the misguided new drama "Picked" is a 20-something actor, Kevin (Michael Stahl-David), who gets chewed up and spit out by the Hollywood machine. But the only semi-interes…
Big, glitzy numbers are the toast of Broadway musicals. The only thing better? Big, glitzy numbers . . . with nuns! "Sister Act" has plenty of both " and it's one of the season's happiest su…
To be remotely bear able, the ham-fisted melodrama "High" requires a larger-than-life icon who can sink her teeth into its ripe dialogue, then chomp.
Thankfully, it has Kathleen Turner.
…
There's a lot of talk about time in "Wonderland." There's also so much laborious exposition and overexplaining, you'd think this flat new Broadway musical was inspired not by Lewis Carroll, …
A magnificent, exhila rating feat is taking place at Lincoln Center. Over the course of nearly three hours, the London import "War Horse" takes us to a farm in Devon, England, then to the ki…
The thrilling, mind- bending new show "Sleep No More" is loosely based on "Macbeth" -- but it's unlike any "Macbeth" you've ever seen.
Or, for that matter, any play you've ever seen.
T…
David Greenspan cuts an idiosyncratic figure in theater. As an actor, he has zero range: Whether he's in Adam Rapp's "The Metal Children" or Sarah Ruhl's adaptation of "Orlando," he offers h…
In his Broadway debut, Chris Rock plays Ralph D., the AA sponsor of Bobby Cannavale's Jackie. They share some heavy scenes -- red-blooded, profanity-laden bouts -- but Rock is a lightweight:…
It reunites most of the creative team from "Hairspray," boasts energetic '60s music and a fantastic performance by Norbert Leo Butz. It even has leggy chorus girls in small skirts and big ha…
The big question at Avery Fisher Hall Thursday night wasn't how the New York Philharmonic sounded per forming Stephen Sondheim's "Company."
It was: Can Stephen Colbert sing?
For this s…
How pared down is Declan Donnellan's "Macbeth"? The Witches don't huddle around a cauldron, because there isn't one. In fact, there are no props and no Witches -- the "weird sisters" are red…
In the first few minutes of the New Group's "Marie and Bruce," the title couple take their place among some of history's most codependent antagonists: George and Martha in "Who's Afraid of V…
Over the past few years, shows like "The Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side" and "Happy in the Poorhouse" have heralded the Amoralists as one of the most vibrant troupes in New York.
Whet…
There are shock comedians and then there's Mike Birbiglia, who's more of an "awww" guy. In his first off- Broadway outing, 2008's "Sleepwalk With Me," the stand-up won over audiences with hi…
Robin Williams is in a tricky situation. If he launches into his familiar, manic style, he's accused of being predictable. If he soft-pedals and goes introspective, then he's underusing his …
So devastating is Laurie Metcalf in "The Other Place" -- so vivid her anguish, confusion and despair -- that at times she's hard to watch.
But it's even harder not to. She's giving such a…
There are big, fun, gaudy numbers in the beloved musical "La Cage aux Folles," but the show really hangs on the emotional strength of its stars.
Happily, Harvey Fierstein and Christopher …
Daniel Radcliffe is so ador able in his Broadway musical debut, you just want to pinch his cheeks. It's not just his youth -- the "Harry Potter" star is 21 -- but the endearing amount of ded…
