There IS still time left to do holiday shopping for theater lovers. There are also plenty of shows to see this holiday week: Today is the beginning of the Christmas week schedule for Broadwa…
My ten favorite individual performances in 2016 are listed alphabetically, with explanations for my choices largely excerpted from my reviews, but let's begin with three noteworthy ensembles…
Below is the schedule for Broadway shows from Monday, December 19 to December 26. Broadway is not the place to see shows in New York specifically geared to the holiday season (with one excep…
Welcome to my fourth annual Worst Broadway Show poll. I chose these ten nominees; this is my Bottom 10 list this year (a counterbalance to my Top 10 list.) If you disagree with my choi…
If the Othello at the New York Theatre Workshop can be uncomfortable and even annoying, it is impossible for me to dismiss Sam Gold's often startlingly effective production, even when David …
At yesterday’s matinee of “Hamilton,” the show did not have a single member of the original cast in a principal role. The only one who remains, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercu…
Here are drama critics' lists of Top 10 New York theater for 2016. Unlike last year’s top 10 lists, there is no one single show that dominates. But “Dear Evan Hansen,” R…
Two hit Off-Broadway plays on my Top 10 list for 2016Â are transferring to Broadway in the Spring, written by two of the most respected women playwrights in America — Pulitzer Prize …
“In Transit” is the first a cappella musical on Broadway, and the rich harmonies and rhythmic beatboxing of a cappella evangelist Deke Sharon's arrangements reveal the human voic…
The members of the creative team behind "The Band's Visit," a delightfully low-key musical starring a memorably paired Tony Shalhoub and Katrina Lenk, have taken a 2007 Israeli film that is …
Below are a dozen photographs from “Hairspray Live,” which was broadcast on NBC December 7th; videos of seven of its songs; and my ten takeaways. Takeaways from Hairspray …
"A Bronx Tale," the new Broadway musical co-directed by Robert De Niro and Jerry Zaks, tells a story that its author, Chazz Palminteri, says is true: He really did witness a mob killing as a…
My list of ten favorite shows on New York stages in 2016 reflect two unmistakable trends " the use of the stage to present important current issues facing the country, and shows that innovat…
While watching "Tiny Beautiful Things," a stage version at the Public Theater of Cheryl Strayed's best-selling book, I started to wonder whether it made sense to try to adapt a collection of…
Below is the tracklist for Hairspray Live broadcast on NBC today December 7, 2016, 8 to 11 p.m. ET.  The song titles (accompanied in parentheses by the character or characters  s…
At one of the continual neighborhood get-togethers in "Rancho Viejo," Dan LeFranc's new play at Playwrights Horizons about the residents of a fictional California suburb, one of the characte…
Below, ten major theater artists are interviewed by their peers as part of the Dramatist Guild Fund’s Legacy Project TONY KUSHNER Interviewed By Michael Friedman GRETCHEN CRYER & N…
The world may feel as if it's coming to an end (see The Trump Effect, below), but the future looks promising for the theater, even in the few weeks remaining of this year, with several intri…
For its third annual holiday appearance on Broadway, The Illusionists, a variety showcase for a rotating group of magicians and stunt performers, has a new subtitle, "Turn of the Century," w…
"Dear Evan Hansen" has changed now that it's on Broadway, in ways that make it an even more affecting musical. Ben Platt's performance, impressive from the get-go, is even better. But what's…
Four shows are opening on Broadway this month, three of them new musicals: “A Bronx Tale” marks the Broadway debut of Robert De Niro as a “co-director,” although Jerr…
Live from the Hamilton stage at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in New York City, some of the recording artists in the Hamilton Mixtape — songs directly from, or related to, the Hamilton m…
"Ride the Cyclone" begins with six teenagers from the high school choir of a small Canadian town dying on a roller coaster called the Cyclone. Then, one by one, we hear their stories " or, m…
Here is a 2 1/2 minute excerpt from tonight’s episode of the Comedy Central series, Drunk History, in which Lin-Manuel Miranda recounts Alexander Hamilton’s adulterous affair wit…
How well were you paying attention to theater news and reviews in November? Take this 13-question quiz and see.