<cite>Forbidden City West</cite>, reviewed by Marc Miller

Forbidden City West has plenty to sing about, but its musical voice is curiously, frustratingly muted.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Sheera Ben-David: Come Summer</cite>, reviewed by David Finkle

Step right up and see the lady with the huge talent.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Liz Callaway: The Beat Goes On</cite>, reviewed by David Finkle

Liz Callaway turns in acting so adroitly modulated she doesn't seem to be acting at all.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Voices of Swords</cite>, reviewed by Ronni Reich

There is one reason to see Kari Floren's mediocre play: Rosemary Prinz.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Oph3lia reviewed by Jerry Portwood

Imagine sitting in the classroom of a liberal arts college with a young, newly minted professor prepared to impart all her precious analysis of Shakespeare's women to her students.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Everybody Expects Me to Write Another 'Streetcar' reviewed by Robert Windeler

Jeremy Lawrence has "arranged and performed" this 70-minute piece about Tennessee Williams in the years following his last big critical and box-office success.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Revival! The Gospel According to the Fabulous Pink Flamingos reviewed by David Finkle

Go ahead and ask what the best act of the year's first half is. Why, it's the Fabulous Pink Flamingos, those perpetual senior-class cutups.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

East Village Chronicles, Vol. 5 reviewed by Sam Thielman

Like most short-play fests, attending East Village Chronicles is a lot like being 5 and eating a bowl of Lucky Charms: You spend most of the time wondering why it isn't all marshmallows.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Hamlet reviewed by David Sheward

Michael Stuhlbarg does show some zany energy during the mad scenes, and there is a manic excitement in his mercurial mood swings, but these flashes of fire fail to ignite his overall soggy, …

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

All Kinds of Shifty Villains - Reviewed by RONNI REICH

Robert Attenweiler's play takes the 1930s crime-fiction world of femme fatales, conniving evildoers, and hardboiled, whiskey-drinking heroes and follows it with the most unlikely chaser: clo…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Honest-to-God True Story of the Atheist - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

Dan Trujillo's playful but only semicoherent comedy defies easy pigeonholing, but I suppose "theological sketch-comedy cabaret with sock puppets" more or less covers it.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Safe - Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

The worlds of three unhappy souls tragically collide in Ron Fitzgerald's Safe, a trio of interconnecting monologues filled with pungent lyricism.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Some Kind of Bliss - Reviewed by GWEN OREL

Lucy Briers, helped by nuanced work from director Toby Frow, shows us many facets of a complex, occasionally irritating woman in Samuel Adamson's one-woman play.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Raven - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

While "The Raven" may ultimately prove unsatisfying, Ellen Stewart proves she still has plenty of multicultural tricks up her sleeve.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Vincent River - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

From its opening question, "What happened to your eye?," Philip Ridley's 85-minute intermissionless two-hander bristles with authenticity.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A Doll's House - Reviewed by MARC MILLER

In laboring for universality, this "Doll's House" merely achieves randomness.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Four Women & a Waitress - Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

Each of the brief one-acts on this double bill features a pair of women engaged in conflict.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Single Black Female - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

Lisa B. Thompson's "Single Black Female" seems perfectly suited for the post-"Sex and the City" woman and owns up to that fact early on.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Gondoliers - Reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

"The Gondoliers" is a large and lovely lagniappe, a surprising coda, a rare treat for even hard-core fans of Gilbert and Sullivan.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A Dangerous Personality - Reviewed by SAM THIELMAN

It's almost impossible to take the play seriously on its own terms -- a little like watching theatre by someone who still thinks the earth is flat.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Patriotic Bitch - Reviewed by RON COHEN

Alanna Ubach is a highly watchable actor, and she gives full rein to her considerable skills for characterization in her one-woman show.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Second Stage By Simi Horwitz

These Tony nominees have proven themselves on Broadway. Will Hollywood tap them for the big and small screen?

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

In Search of My Father... Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins - Reviewed by HARRY FORBES

Actor W. Allen Taylor has turned his youthful quest to discover first his father's identity and then what sort of man he was into a compelling and suspenseful one-man vehicle.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Aldridge & Lena - Reviewed by ROBERT WINDELER

We can't get a whole life story told in 45 minutes, but, as Ossie Davis' "Curtain Call, Mr. Aldridge, Sir" proves, you can achieve its essence. If you care about theatre history, don't miss …

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Hired Man - Reveiwed by HARRY FORBES

Flaws notwithstanding, composer Howard Goodall's unique sound palette, the work's earnest integrity, and the show's place in West End theatre lore make this production worth investigating.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑