Off-Broadway's 'Nice Girl' is an affectionate look at losers by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Nice girls finish last. OK, maybe not dead last, but not far from the bottom. At least that's the case in Melissa Ross' new play "Nice Girl," whose title character,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00pm on May 27, 2015☆⚑

No drama from this mama in 'Mothers and Sons' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

A clunker of a Broadway show, "Mothers and Sons" asks us to endure the vacuous chit-chat of deeply unpleasant people. The worst part is, there isn't even a good reason...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Spoof's a 'Swan' fake by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You know a movie's a bona fide phenome non when it spawns a spoof or a stage version. "Black Swan" delivers on both counts with "SWAN!!!," which the irreverent troupe QWAN (Quality Without …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Hotel-room stage a Williams wake-up call by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Location, location, location: That motto applies not only to real estate but to theater. Tennessee Williams' one-act play "Green Eyes" may be slight, but staging it in an actual hotel room -…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

No good night in overstuffed 'bed' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

WHATTHEHELLWASTHAT?!?Forget that stretches of Florencia Lozano's "underneathmybed" are in Spanish. While those who don't speak that language are at a slight disadvantage, it's relatively ea…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Great 'Scott'! A classic by Elisabeth Vincentelli

John Kander and Fred Ebb have given American musical theater a pair of un disputable, stone- cold classics, "Cabaret" and "Chicago." Now they've added a third one to the list: "The Scottsbo…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

This sentimental journey is a real trip by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Nothing is too outré for the theater these days. Wall-to- wall profanity? Strictly for amateurs. Onstage vomiting? So yesterday. Lucy Thurber isn't afraid to up the ante: In her plays, peo…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Doesn't actually work by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The last time Cherry Jones teamed with director Doug Hughes on Broadway was for "Doubt," in 2005. The result was Tonys for both, boffo box office, a national tour and a movie (starring Mery…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Tabloid tycoon's tale back by popular demand by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The key character in "What the Public Wants" is a driven media tycoon who reaches millions via dozens of publications. Through them, he seeks to entertain the many and influence the mighty.…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Apartheid tale a vital revival by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Although Encores! productions such as "Gypsy," "Chicago" and "Finian's Rainbow" have made it to Broadway, fans of the long-running City Center series know such transfers are beside the poin…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

He holds his own by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Before taking off for fantasyland, you're often told to close your eyes. At "The Pee-wee Herman Show," now on Broadway, you need to open them wide. As soon as you catch your first glance of…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

'Desert' blooms by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Misery springs eternal. We've seen dozens of fictional families clash be cause of a Big Traumatic Past Event, but that didn't deter Jon Robin Baitz ("The Substance of Fire," TV's "Brothers …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

One person's political journey is another's schlep by Elisabeth Vincentelli

After the critical success of his epic "The Lily's Revenge" last year, all eyes were on Taylor Mac. Amid a cast of 40, the strikingly made-up and costumed writer-performer blossomed in the …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Hilarious sister act by Elisabeth Vincentelli

When characters be come popular on a sitcom, they're sometimes spun off into their own series.That's what should happen to Sherry and Grace, the mismatched sisters in Kim Rosenstock's new o…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Middling Woolf in gender-bending clothing by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel "Orlando" poses daunting challenges to stage adapters. The title character starts off as a boy, then becomes a woman. And not only does Orlando live through the …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Get all wound up at provocative Coil fest by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Just when Broadway and off- Broadway go into their post- holiday hibernation, Performance Space 122 steps in with out-there productions aimed at the head, the guts and the heart. No wonder …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Two-and-a-laugh men by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There's nothing quite like "Elling" on Broadway. Based on the Norwegian book and film of the same name, this Oslo-set play is about a pair of socially impaired men who learn to live on thei…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Stunning Egon trip doesn't paint full picture by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Sausage, anybody? Actually, John Kelly's "Pass the Blutwurst, Bitte" has nothing to do with meat products and everything to do with Austrian painter Egon Schiele. A skilled chameleon, write…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The unveiling of 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

What did come as a bit of a shock was the open glee with which some critics took down the show. It's as if they were happy the musical wasn't good, and I'm not sure that's an appropriate fra…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Little method in this badness by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Method acting, famously adopted by Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift, involves actors digging deep within themselves to find their character's emotional truth. Though the technique's lost …

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Star's not quite write by Elisabeth Vincentelli

A charismatic, seductive tycoon is key to Scott Brooks' new comedy, "ScreenPlay." Had a charismatic, seductive leading man been cast, this wan Hollywood satire might have gone somewhere. Unf…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Looking our differences in the face by Elisabeth Vincentelli

'Freckleface Strawberry" may be based on the kids book by the ac tress Julianne Moore, but it feels more like a version of "Free To Be . . . You and Me." Like that 1972 album and subsequent…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Fairy tale's all clogged up by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The best fairy tales have a dark side, and the best storytellers aren't afraid to address it. Adapting Hans Christian Andersen's "The Red Shoes" -- about a girl who literally can't stop danc…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Beastly fun, from mad to verse by Elisabeth Vincentelli

High- and low-brow collide in "La Bete," an American play about art vs. commerce that's set in 1654 France. It's entirely in rhyming couplets, but it also gets laughs from farting and burpi…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

WASP-y 'Black Tie' doesn't have much sting by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The prolific A.R. Gurney has made a specialty of documenting a certain slice of America: Northeast-based, white, middle-class families bound by a strong sense of kinship and precisely delin…

SOURCE: The New York Post Subscription at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑