8,501 stories from Backstage
ShakespeareNYC, whose motto is "Trust Shakespeare," has given this "Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2" the full doublets-and-hose treatment, and a most satisfying cup of sack it is.
"Calling: An Opera of Forgiveness" only skims the surface of what happened on Sept. 11, but does it with emotional validity, depicting a personal resolution to an unforgettable tragedy.
The title of Nicky Silver's new play is "Three Changes," about which one thinks, Gee, only three? If there had been more changes in the writing process, might this seriocomic misfire have wo…
Though often disappointing, Paul Hagen's adaptation of Pope's "The Rape of the Lock" does feature skillfully wrought verse, smart direction from Jane Titus, and fine performances from the ca…
Iannis Xenakis' "Oresteia" isn't really an opera. But labels and expectations flung far aside, the work is endlessly intriguing, with awe-inspiring craft in both the music and its execution.
Watching a show that starts off strong fumble its way to a weak ending is always disappointing, and in the case of Brian Parks' new play that dismay is compounded by miscasting and poor cost…
The one-man show "Alcohol." features so many contrived coincidences and alcoholic clichés that one starts feeling guilty for actively disliking someone's personal memoir. Then the unf…
Just four years after Caryl Churchill's play premiered in New York comes this surprising revival of the two-hander about fathers and sons.
Like it or not, Michael Weller's powerful, painful, plaintive new play isn't easy to forget.
The musical adaptation presented by Literally Alive Children's Theatre keeps much of the magic and sweetness.
Don't buy a ticket to The Marvelous Wonderettes - buy two!
Maura Tierney adjusts to the demands of acting on stage.
The big laughs and most of the charm in this show come from the fast-paced, slightly screwball but wholly believable straight play. Too often the songs are pace-slowing intrusions that not o…
"The Crucible," adapted by composer Robert Ward and librettist Bernard Stambler in 1961 from Arthur Miller's play, may be one of the most musically and dramatically charged contemporary oper…
"The Passion Project" is perhaps not the worst half-hour of one's life, but this environmental experiment becomes increasingly pointless as the minutes drag by.
The Origin Theatre Company asked five young Irish playwrights for five short plays, each to have the common inspiration of the New York subway system. It's While the results are varied and c…
Enda Walsh's play builds a more powerful lasting impression in one hour than many performances do in twice as much time.
Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse captures the emptiness of grief and death, how death is always an interruption. But "Sa Ka La" is also very funny, just as Beckett, to whom Fosse is often comp…
There's an air of danger about David Pittu and Randy Redd's corrosively campy portrait of a composer who's been "prominently up-and-coming for over 20 years." While comedic targets emerge ev…
Playwright Thomas Bradshaw has based this work in part on a true story from "The Great Escapes," a series of slave narratives. But the big picture of the Old South and its racist legacy is a…
Fathoming the minds of teenage girls is no small task, but writer-director Joshua Conkel has risen to the challenge with this dark, compassionate satire.
Playwright Peter Mercurio goes a little overboard with "Poor Richard's Almanac" quotations in his new play.
Judging from the characters in Norman Lasca's quartet of monologues, extreme heat can certainly bring out the worst in some people.
Anyone interested in making high-impact theatre on a shoestring budget should take this show in.
