1,115 stories by "Frank Scheck"
If there's one thing we can learn from "A Perfect Future," it's that politics and heavy drinking don't mix. Nor does it make for particularly interesting theater. David Hay's new play is on…
For a show about one of the worst natural disas ters in this country's history, "The Hurricane Katrina Comedy Festival" is awfully funny -- as entertaining as it is moving. Rob Florence's F…
Having a baby? You might want to avoid "40 Weeks," the Debbie Downer of pregnancy plays. The couple are Angie (Megan Hart) and Mark (Jorge Cordova), who are having a tough go of it financia…
Amoralists. Rapp. The names are embla zoned on the program for "Ghosts in the Cottonwoods" like the stars of a Hollywood action film.And no wonder: This is a theatrical meeting made in heav…
The first time she per formed in New York -- 36 years ago -- Bonnie Langford, then 10, played Baby June to Angela Lansbury's Momma Rose in "Gypsy." Judging by the manic energy of "Bonnie La…
In Peter Nichols' new comedy, "Lingua Franca," set at a wildly dysfunctional language school, the accent is on conflict. It might make you grateful for Rosetta Stone. Set in 1950s Florence,…
It's a good thing there's a bar inside the Ace of Clubs basement theater where "Naked Holidays" is playing: You're going to need to down some seriously spiked eggnog to endure this holiday s…
Like its central character, Ar thur Kopit's "Wings" has proved remarkably resilient. This abstract drama about a former aviatrix turned stroke victim premiered to raves on Broadway in 1978,…
In the past decade, Charles Busch has ventured into the main stream with such comedies as "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife," which had a healthy run on Broadway.But what the actor/playwrig…
Charles Smith's "Knock Me a Kiss" plays like a Tyler Perry movie set during the Harlem Renaissance. Inspired by the ill-fated marriage between the daughter of activist W.E.B. Du Bois and th…
Even by the daunting standards they've set for themselves, the Civilians' latest effort is a stretch. "In the Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards" is the musical-theater equivalent of…
Like spiked eggnog, "A Child's Christmas in Wales" assaults you with sweetness while adding a bracing kick of something stronger. The Irish Repertory Theatre's production includes an abunda…
'Black Nativity," the all- black retelling of the Na tivity story, has been a holiday staple since 1961. This year's edition -- an updated, retitled "Black Nativity Now" -- commits the Scro…
If you can't get enough of high school glee clubs, "Perfect Harmony" is the show for you. This silly musical about dueling a cappella groups at a New England prep school makes "Glee" look l…
As theater audiences go, the one for "Measure for Measure" last week was pretty uniform — an all-female contingent that was in uniform: the dark-green pants and shirts of the Bayview C…
The suitor couldn't be more urbane -- at least in his speech. "I am wooing you," the disheveled man says to the weathered, older woman. "I am pitching woo." That he tries to seal the deal by…
Is 42nd Street where backstage veterans of the old "Carol Burnett Show" go to die? Just a few doors down from mercifully closed geriatric comedy "Viagra Falls," directed by an alum, comes th…
'Let's talk about the 'Real House wives,' " says Kathy Griffin, con spiratorially. And for the rest of her shamelessly titled "Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony," which opened its very brief run o…
If attitude was all that mattered, then "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson" would be a triumph.
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby would be spinning in their graves at the thought of "The Road to Qatar!" -- a lame musical comedy in the style of their classic "Road" movies. Based on its creators'…
Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones bring significant star power to this revival of Uhry's perfectly calibrated comic drama.
Even if you're allergic to mime, Mum menschanz enchants. This durable Swiss troupe makes nonverbal magic with ordinary and not-so-ordinary objects, transforming them into abstract creations…
'I had God on my side," declares John Smith, the generically named character David Duchovny plays in Neil LaBute's new, deeply problematic play, "The Break of Noon." That's how Smith explai…
It was Michael Feinstein's 54th birthday Tuesday night, but it was the audience at his namesake nightclub that received the present. It came in the form of "Cheek to Cheek," the new show co…
The next time you see two strangers em broiled in a heated encounter on a subway platform, don't rush by. You may be passing up a show -- one that costs a mere swipe of your MetroCard.
