The Little Mermaid - Reviewed by DAVID SHEWARD

"The Little Mermaid" will probably set the Broadway record for youngest and best-behaved audience. I have never seen so many female toddlers rapt in attention for two hours. However, older k…

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

Teri Ralston, Home Again - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

Teri Ralston has turned herself into someone who acts dramatic songs with commitment and understanding.

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

The Joe Iconis Rock and Roll Jamboree - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

This 11-person show, entirely in the service of singing 16 of Joe Iconis' rousing songs, looks something like the Grand Ole Opry stage might have if Joe Cocker's 1970 "Mad Dogs and Englishme…

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

Princess Ida - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

There are special moments of beauty and humor to be savored in this New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players production under the direction and baton of Albert Bergeret.

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

The Pirates of Penzance - Reviewed by MARC MILLER

With ciphers in two of the male leads, this New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players production comes up a little short on stardust.

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

Amazons and Their Men - Reviewed by RON COHEN

The enduring enigma of Hitler's filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl gets a theatrically imaginative if not very probing examination in Jordan Harrison's play.

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

Mel & El: This Show Rhymes - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

Now that the big-screen "Sex and the City" shooting has wrapped, maybe well-known bosom buddies Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall are thinking the best way to remain in each other's comp…

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

Celebration - Reviewed by ADAM R. PERLMAN

Because of the uneasy union of form and content in this Jones and Schmidt musical, it's likely no single directorial approach would fully reward - and yet the meandering method taken here by…

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

The Honor and Glory of Whaling - Reviewed by GWEN OREL

At its best, Michael Gorman's "The Honor and Glory of Whaling" evokes a good sea shanty. At its worst, it reeks of a big fish story.

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

Days of Antonio - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

For close to three decades, Italian actor-playwright Dario D'Ambrosi has dedicated his creative output to revealing the truth of those incarcerated for being mentally unstable or misundersto…

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

A Very Mary Christmas - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

Christmastime inspires many to express their holiday spirit, but few are as irreverent and potentially offensive as Mimi Imfurst. Unfortunately, the fat jokes and pop songs with alternate ly…

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

No Dice - Reviewed by NICOLE VILLENEUVE

"No Dice" challenges our preconceptions about theatre and about conversation itself. Nature Theater of Oklahoma's experiment offers all one could ask for in an evening: made-to-order sandwic…

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

Sam Harris - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

In his two shows at Birdland, Sam Harris handily proved beyond much doubt that he's not only the supreme talent-contest winner of the last few decades but also one of the very best - maybe t…

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

Beckett Shorts - Reviewed by PAUL MENARD

JoAnne Akalaitis' production of "Beckett Shorts" is a stunning event, infused with a surprising immediacy and freshness.

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

The Blue Bird - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

Symbolism is a delicate fruit, and the adaptors' contemporary setting for Maurice Maeterlinck's fantasy immediately gives it some bruising. It is left to the remarkable scenic and costume de…

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

Edward the Second - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

Red Bull Theater's brave production of Garland Wright's adaptation of Christopher Marlowe's 1591 play, imaginatively directed by Jesse Berger, is ambitious, rewarding, and only occasionally …

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

The Homecoming - Reviewed by LEONARD JACOBS

Director Daniel Sullivan delivers a strong Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's classic play.

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

The Tiger Lillies: Suicide for Christmas - Reviewed by DAVID FINKLE

Clearly, the Tiger Lillies are not for all tastes, but that doesn't mean they don't deal in post-Weill-Brecht, post-Edward Gorey brilliance. Long live the Tiger Lillies. Better yet, long may…

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

500 Clown Frankenstein - Reviewed by A.J. MELL

The Chicago-based troupe 500 Clown offers up a brief but action-packed deconstruction of Mary Shelley's tale, developed through improvisation and delivered with rowdy good cheer.

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

Cut to the Chase - Reviewed by RON COHEN

Developed by Parallel Exit, a troupe specializing in physical comedy, "Cut to the Chase" mixes would-be rowdy pantomime punctuated by laughter and screams with a varied assortment of comic m…

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

A Kid's Life - Reviewed by HARRY FORBES

The prerecorded track that opens this nothing-if-not-upbeat show at the York Theatre Company -- amplified to Broadway decibels as it is -- bodes ill, but the sound soon levels off, and 13 so…

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

A Child's Christmas in Wales & 'Twas the Night Before Christmas - Reviewed by KARL LEVETT

This patchwork seasonal entertainment from the Irish Repertory Theatre, adapted and directed by the indefatigable Charlotte Moore, features a quintet of young performers--Kerry Conte, Bonnie…

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

The Devil's Disciple - Reviewed by GWEN OREL

The rhythm of George Bernard Shaw's quick, deadpan humor owes its genes to Ireland, whatever the accent. Unfortunately, the Irish Repertory Theatre doesn't really bring out the Irish in its …

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

The City That Cried Wolf - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWODD

It's an ambitious undertaking that seeks to offer a novel interpretation of familiar childhood myths, but "The City That Cried Wolf "ends up squandering its creative momentum on easy puns an…

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

The Past Is Still Ahead - Reviewed by JERRY PORTWOOD

The romantic, myth-building impulse is too strong in Sophia Romma's new play about Russian poet Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva; "The Past Is Still Ahead" relies too heavily on poetic language and…

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