'The Few' keeps its characters living in the past by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Trucking is a great subject for a play " "breaker breaker," colorful personalities, the lure of the road and all that. Yet "The Few" is strangely uninvolving, its intriguing potential...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00pm on May 9, 2014☆⚑

Lovely songs " and penguins " save dated musical's plot by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Encores! has presented plenty of odd ducks in the past two decades, but it's still hard to beat "Irma la Douce" and its ballet for bearded penguins. Marguerite Monnot's delightful...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 2:05pm on May 8, 2014☆⚑

Unhitch from 'The Lovesong of Alfred J. Hitchcock' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Alfred Hitchcock is the only director who's also a pop-culture icon " recent dueling biopics starred Anthony Hopkins and Toby Jones. Now it's Martin Miller's turn to portray the jowly...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:13am on May 8, 2014☆⚑

'Under My Skin' more cornball than classic comedy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The subject of the new comedy "Under My Skin" is very "now": The sucky unfairness of health insurance. But the show's cornball style is stuck in the '80s or '90s...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 4:56pm on May 6, 2014☆⚑

Jan Maxwell shines in 'City of Conversation' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Politics can get pretty nasty " especially when family members pull for different parties. In "The City of Conversation," Hester Ferris finds that out the hard way. As played by...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 4:26pm on May 6, 2014☆⚑

'An Octoroon' shocks, awes with outrageous riff on slavery by Elisabeth Vincentelli

If you thought Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" was a provocative poke at race relations, wait till you see off-Broadway's "An Octoroon." A black actor puts on whiteface to play a...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:01pm on May 4, 2014☆⚑

'Red-Eye' chronicles Edgar Allan Poe's final journey by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his gothic tales, but his own life was mysterious, too. Or rather his own death: In October 1849 he disappeared while on a trip...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00pm on April 30, 2014☆⚑

'Harry Potter' alum electrifies in 'Peddling' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

An electrifying new show's in town, starring the little dude from the "Harry Potter" movies. No, it's not "The Cripple of Inishmaan" with Daniel Radcliffe, but "Peddling" with Harry Melling.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:00pm on April 29, 2014☆⚑

The surprises & snubs of the Tony nominations by Elisabeth Vincentelli

We know that saying "it's an honor just to be nominated" is a way to make you feel better when you lose the actual prize. But in a Broadway season...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:03pm on April 29, 2014☆⚑

'Substance of Fire' returns to stage by Elisabeth Vincentelli

"The Substance of Fire" is two plays for the price of one: Each act is almost self-contained. Too bad the first is much better than the second " at least...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 7:21am on April 28, 2014☆⚑

One critic's dream Tony nominations by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Broadway loves two things: arguing about the Tony nominations and arguing about the awards themselves. Fortunately it's been an action-packed season since "Forever Tango" " remember that?! "…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:23pm on April 25, 2014☆⚑

Eco-musical falls short of 'Great'-ness by Elisabeth Vincentelli

The Civilians troupe made its name with documentary, mosaic-like shows based on extensive interviews " "Gone Missing" about losing things, "In the Footprint" about the battle over Brooklyn's…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:22pm on April 25, 2014☆⚑

Cumming makes 'Cabaret' revival hottest Broadway show again by Elisabeth Vincentelli

What do you call a revival of a revival? A re-revival? In the case of this "Cabaret," you just call it fantastic. In 1998, directors Sam Mendes and Rob Marshall...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:40am on April 25, 2014☆⚑

'Casa Valentina' cross-dresses and impresses by Elisabeth Vincentelli

In the early 1960s, a secluded bungalow camp in the Catskills was paradise to a few men. It was where they could be themselves " that is, women. That real-life...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 9:08pm on April 23, 2014☆⚑

Neil Patrick Harris works his tail off onstage in 'Hedwig' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Sometimes you wonder if there's anything Neil Patrick Harris can't do: He switches from "How I Met Your Mother" to singing Sondheim on Broadway, directing a magic show to hosting...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 8:37pm on April 22, 2014☆⚑

'The Velocity of Autumn' only mildly entertaining by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Alexandra is 79 and angry " growing old is no picnic, plus she's afraid of being kicked out of her Park Slope brownstone. So she barricades herself in her home,...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:52pm on April 21, 2014☆⚑

Tony winner Sutton Foster shines in 'Violet' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Give it up for Sutton Foster: She's using her superpowers for good, not evil. If the two-time Tony winner hadn't taken the title role in Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's "Violet,"...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:51am on April 21, 2014☆⚑

Radcliffe returns to Broadway in 'The Cripple of Inishmaan' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Daniel Radcliffe is doing his darndest to put Harry Potter way, way behind him. On Broadway alone, he's played a mentally disturbed young man who strips naked and blinds horses...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:12am on April 21, 2014☆⚑

Fierstein play explores hidden secrets of cross dressing by Elisabeth Vincentelli

You’d think that of all people, Harvey Fierstein would know about men in frocks. From his Tony-winning play "Torch Song Trilogy" in the 1980s through his books for the musicals...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:58am on April 20, 2014☆⚑

High camp, some valleys in 'Irma Vep' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Campy humor was a big deal in the '80s, and few did it better than the Ridiculous Theatrical Company. That troupe even scored an unlikely off-Broadway hit with Charles Ludlam's...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 6:58am on April 18, 2014☆⚑

Fans of 'Act One' will be cruelly let down by stage version by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Throw a rock around Broadway and you'll hit someone obsessed with Moss Hart's 1959 memoir, "Act One," about his escape from a destitute Bronx childhood through a love for theater....

SOURCE: The New York Post at 4:52am on April 18, 2014☆⚑

The 'Mice' is right " mostly by Elisabeth Vincentelli

There may be no more strikingly different debuts than the ones James Franco and Chris O'Dowd are making in "Of Mice and Men." As George, the wandering ranch hand in...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 6:03am on April 17, 2014☆⚑

Violence doesn't silence Steven Soderbergh's 'The Library' by Elisabeth Vincentelli

“The Library" isn't a great play, but as staged by Steven Soderbergh, it's a very good show. The prolific movie director may have little theater experience, but he sure knows...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:08pm on April 15, 2014☆⚑

'Lady Day' sings the blues away by Elisabeth Vincentelli

On the one hand, we have Audra McDonald, poised and elegant " a classically trained soprano and five-time Tony winner. On the other, there's the raspy-voiced Billie Holiday, who lifted...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:40am on April 14, 2014☆⚑

'Bullets Over Broadway' is a sterling musical comedy by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Our musical options are deadly serious right now, from bloody barricades to forbidden love and heavy life choices. So thank God for "Bullets Over Broadway," a giddy feast of silly...

SOURCE: The New York Post at 5:30am on April 11, 2014☆⚑