Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave who became a famous writer, orator and crusader, was reportedly the most photographed man in the 19th century.  So it probably shouldn't be sur…
It's no mystery why Meredith Willson's 1957 musical is so beloved: The songs are terrifically tuneful, the lyrics terribly clever.  But the story of a con artist who in 1912 seduces…
Bert Williams was, according to his friend W.C. Fields, "the funniest man I ever saw and the saddest man I ever knew." Williams was probably the most popular African-American entertainer at …
Everything about "Black No More" sounded promising " a new musical inspired by a 1931 satiric novel of the same name that imagines what America would be like if there were a machine th…
On Valentine's Day, when thoughts (at least) turn to kissing, it's a good time to note the return of the stage kiss. There may not be as much kissing at all in new in-person shows, and kisse…
"This place is fraught," Niegel Smith, the artistic director of The Flea, was saying at the beginning of "Arden," the first production by the Off-Off Broadway theater company after almost tw…
 James Tyrone (Bill Camp) is wearing a face mask and shorts, and bringing home Starbucks takeout, while Mary Tyrone (Elizabeth Marvel), in sweatpants, is doing yoga, near a pile of …
BEST PICTUREBelfastCODADon't Look UpDrive My CarDuneKing RichardLicorice PizzaNightmare AlleyThe Power of the DogWest Side Story BEST DIRECTORPaul Thomas Anderson (Licorice Pizza)Kenneth Bra…
Both Tambo and Bones are dressed in the clownish rags of minstrel show performers, while Tambo is explaining to Bones how to get white people to give up their quarters: "You gotta deliver a …
It's been a busy week for New York theater. See the seven reviews below, from "MJ" on Broadway and "The Tap Dance Kid" to "Shhhh" and "The Hang" downtown; and not one but two shows adapted i…
When the publicists for the Broadway revival of "The Music Man" starring Hugh Jackman announced that theater critics had to see the show on opening night, the pushback might have baffled peo…
There are two heartbreaking moments in "Intimate Apparel,"Â Â one exquisite, the other devastating, that eventually won me over to this production at Lincoln Center. But much earlier I s…
In "The Tap Dance Kid," a young  Black girl named Emma wants to be a lawyer " prescient for a Broadway musical that debuted in 1983; that would make the character just about the right …
"The Hang" is terrific entertainment. It is a jazz opera, performed by a wondrous nine-member ensemble and versatile eight-piece band,  with an intensely sensual score by Matt Ra…
"With respect, I wanna keep this about my music,"Â Michael Jackson (Myles Frost) says near the start of "MJ The Musical." And that's what this show, opening tonight on Broadway, certainly …
The best thing to be said about these two new theatrical works is also the worst thing " that their exploration of antisemitism is well-timed and necessary. If they have little else in commo…
Only once does anyone call anything "disgusting" in "Shhhh,"Â Â a play written, directed and starring Clare Barron that seems designed to make theatergoers uncomfortable*. Kyle (Greg Kel…
"The Gilded Age," the HBO series that began last week, employs an army of Broadway veterans to make a 19th century New York City version of "Downton Abbey" (both series were created by Julia…
Below is a day-by-day selection of theater openings scheduled for February organized by opening date*, featuring two big Broadway musicals " MJ the Musical and The Music Man " and a bu…
Answer the ten questions to find out how well you paid attention to the goings-on in New York theater in the month of January, some of it unprecedented. Loading…
As Faye, Phylicia Rashad has lost her health, her house, her family, and is in danger of losing the job she's held for 29 years. "I'm runnin' on soul now Reggie," she tells her foreman. "…
Below are the videos of five entries in the sixth annual Exponential festival, which has gone completely digital this year and largely loopy.  I've written brief reviews, but I try to …
The current rise of antisemitism is suddenly getting stage time. Last week: "Witness,"Â Â which explored the doomed 1939 voyage of the German Jewish refugees aboard the St. Louis and exp…
In "Addressless,"Â Â the audience helps three characters navigate the tricky path to getting an affordable apartment in New York City. This is a daunting challenge for anyone. But it's a…
In "Reopening: The Broadway Revival," an hour-long documentary on PBS that's a bit painful and embarrassing to watch, actor Andrew Rannells compares the start of the shutdown of Broadw…