Killing the Boss - Reviewed by ANDY PROPST

Catherine Filloux's "Killing the Boss" is a wearying, heavy-handed, self-important play of political ideas.

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

In Circles - Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

Can it be 41 years since "In Circles" first appeared? The 1967 musical that composer Al Carmines fashioned from Gertrude Stein's 1920 "A Circular Play" remains a joyous, still relevant affai…

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

Kim Smith: Johnny Come Lately - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

This lad, who is truly something of an androgynous beauty, is already unandrogynously accomplished.

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

The Play About the Naked Guy - Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

You want politically incorrect? The eponymous guy is a porn star playing Jesus in a camp version of the Passion. Add flaming queens, bribery, and theatrical in-jokes for a funny, fast-paced …

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

Sisters' Dance - Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

Sarah Hollister's drama, though slow-moving and repetitious, manages to evoke a sigh of pity for its lost characters.

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

Claymont - Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

Though well acted, Kevin Brofsky's "Claymont" suffers from underwhelming realism, strangely clueless characters, and Derek Jamison's under-the-radar direction.

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

The Jesus Factor - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

Brian Dykstra may have energy and a deep reservoir of righteous wrath on his side, but the bottom line is that Bill Maher and Jon Stewart have done this kind of thing with more finesse.

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

The Blue Flower - Reviewed by HARRY FORBES

This improbable brew of history spanning the years from La Belle Époque to the Weimar Republic, Dada-inspired visuals, and a score incongruously suggesting both Kurt Weill and the Gra…

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

The Wild Party - Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

The Gallery Players revival of Andrew Lippa's 2000 Off-Broadway musical features what has become standard for this group: a distinct and committed ensemble cast that seems to be having a ter…

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

Oroonoko - Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

A 17th-century British female author and a present-day male Nigerian playwright may write a play together, but where will it live? The easy answer is at the Duke on 42nd Street. The truer on…

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

The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island or, the Friends of Dr. Rushower - Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

This visually enchanting, superbly bizarre new musical is a piece of theatre so fresh in so many ways that it suppresses the quibbling critic and unleashes the famished fan who's happy to kn…

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

Betty Buckley: Then and Now & Broadway Request - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

There's no denying the brilliance of the tone poems that Betty Buckley and her jazz pianist-genius arranger Kenny Werner produce at the top of their combined form.

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

Sand - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

As playwright Trista Baldwin is happily more interested in people than politics, her earnest play is essentially a character study.

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

So She Said - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

Six talented young women deliver 16 monologues on the question "Is there anything to hold onto?" that veer from dark narratives about regret to enlightening discoveries about anger. The best…

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

Mom, How Did You Meet the Beatles? - Reviewed by DAVID SHEWARD

This 68-minute curiosity captures a fascinating phase of a major playwright's life and a unique moment in cultural history.

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

Traces - Reviewed by LISA JO SAGOLLA

Its fresh, aesthetically unorthodox choreography is what makes "Traces" -- an unusually intimate circus production -- an enthralling theatrical experience.

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

War - Reviewed by CHRISTOPHER MURRAY

Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's powerful American premiere production of acclaimed Swedish playwright Lars Norén's "War," sensitively directed by the capable Anders Cato, explores t…

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

Grace - Reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

While Mick Gordon and AC Grayling's intense, engrossing play can be very talky, Lynn Redgrave, who is on stage for virtually the whole show, delivers a knockout performance, maddening and in…

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

The Crucible - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

The Schoolhouse Theatre's intense new production of Arthur Miller's classic proves it remains a dramatically taut, emotionally wrenching humdinger.

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

Applause (in Concert) - Reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

Except for lower energy, low-note congestion, and high notes whispered to save her cords, the ailing Christine Ebersole certainly had a take on the role of Margo Channing in this musical ada…

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

Two Thousand Years - Reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

Director Scott Elliott does a superb job staging Mike Leigh's penetrating comedy-drama about three generations of a family confronting what it means to be ethnically and spiritually Jewish.

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

Cherubina - Reviewed by GWEN OREL

Paul Cohen's historical three-hander is eminently satisfying and well-constructed, with snappy dialogue and emotional depths that leave you pondering its characters long after the lights go …

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

Betrayed - Reviewed by DAVID A. ROSENBERG

Although George Packer's play is an explosive exposé of shameful, even scandalous decisions, it devolves into choppy snapshots that neither sustain a dramatic arc nor create character…

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

Josh: The Black Babe Ruth and Satchel: A Requiem for Racisim - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

These lively, vividly performed one-acts chronicle two giants of Negro league baseball: Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson. Eric Coleman's vigorous and sure-footed direction makes for a fast-pace…

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

The Jack of Tarts - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

Solid performances can't hide the fact that "The Jack of Tarts," campy new musical by Chris Tanner, Eric Wallach, and Paul Johnson at La MaMa E.T.C., is half-baked.

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