The Determined Dilettante

Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812

2013-05-17T10:14:00.002-04:00

Dave Malloy and Rachel Chavkin's musical remains enchanting in its new home. Go go go. My review's here.

Colin Quinn Unconstitutional

2013-05-17T10:06:00.003-04:00

Amazing what a change of venue can do. I didn't care for Colin Quinn's show on Broadway, but in smaller setting the new one is just fine. My review's here.

Preview of Showgirls — The Musical

2013-05-15T09:40:00.001-04:00

Amazing that it took almost 20 years to see an unauthorized musical version of Showgirls. And now it's coming…to a gay club near us. Click here for my preview.

City Council Meeting

2013-05-14T09:17:00.005-04:00

As a fan of local democracy, I was looking forward to City Council Meeting. At least the show fails out of too much ambition, instead of not enough of it. My review's here.

A Family for All Occasions

2013-05-13T08:37:00.002-04:00

Philip Seymour Hoffman directs Bob Glaudini's latest at the Bank Street Theater. Click here for my review.

A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney

2013-05-13T08:36:00.001-04:00

In Lucas Hnath's new play, A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney, at Soho Rep, Disney sounds like a combo of Yoda and Gertrude Stein — the better to eat you with. Click here for my review.

Bunty Berman Presents…

2013-05-10T10:06:00.003-04:00

A great idea for a musical — backstage on a Bollywood set in the 1950s — that could have used some trimming: That's Bunty Berman Presents…, brought to us by the New Group. My review's here.

On Your Toes

2013-05-10T10:03:00.000-04:00

Encores! strikes again with Rodgers and Hart's On Your Toes. We all know Christine Baranski's great, so the real revelation was ABT principal Irina Dvorovenko, hilarious as an overly dramatic Russian ballerina. My review's here.

Old-Fashioned Prostitutes (A True Romance)

2013-05-08T08:31:00.000-04:00

Yet another puzzle from Richard Foreman. I have no idea what was going on, so I split the star rating down the middle: two out of four. It could just as easily have been zero or four. My review's here.

Nikolai and the Others

2013-05-07T09:00:00.002-04:00

Richard Nelson's latest has a cast of 18 and almost as many ideas and subplots going on. Maybe it would have worked if the show was nine hours rather than two and a half? My review's here.

The Girl I Left Behind Me

2013-05-06T12:50:00.001-04:00

Mezzo sings the blues? I think not. But Jessica Walker handles the rest of the material winningly in this charming cabaret show about male impersonators. Click here for my review.

Bull

2013-05-03T09:00:00.002-04:00

After Cock, Mike Bartlett gives us Bull. It's also set in the round but this time it's not about desire but hate and humiliation in the workplace. Click here for my review.

The Memory Show

2013-05-01T09:52:00.005-04:00

Nothing memorable about this one, though as always Leslie Kritzer is worth seeing. My review of this new musical is here.

Pippin

2013-04-26T09:39:00.001-04:00

Stephen Schwartz's hippie-dippy musical Pippin — the one he wrote after the hippie-dippy Godspell — returns to Broadway in a crackling production helmed by Diana Paulus. My rave's here.

I'll Eat You Last — A Chat with Sue Mengers

2013-04-25T08:04:00.001-04:00

Bette Midler returns to Broadway 38 years after the Clams on the Half Shell revue. The play's meh, but she's divine as ever. My review's here.

Here Lies Love

2013-04-24T09:28:00.002-04:00

A feel-good musical about Imelda Marcos? That's what David Byrne and Fatboy Slim delivered with Here Lies Love. Click here for my review.

The Trip to Bountiful

2013-04-24T09:27:00.000-04:00

I was surprised to see that the current production is the first Broadway revival of The Trip to Bountiful — I assumed this play would have been done every 10 years or so. Loved Cuba Gooding Jr., Vanessa Williams and Condola Rashas, Cicely Tyson a bit less so. My review's here.

The Testament of Mary

2013-04-23T09:19:00.000-04:00

It's simple: Whenever Fiona Shaw and Deborah Warner collaborate on a show, you've got to see it. My review of The Testament of Mary (on Broadway!) is here.

Macbeth

2013-04-22T09:02:00.001-04:00

Second go for Alan Cumming's one-man version of Macbeth, this time on Broadway. The show actually shrunk on me after another viewing. My review's here.

Jekyll & Hyde — The Musical

2013-04-19T08:59:00.002-04:00

As a lover of bombastic rock, I was ready to enjoy the revival of Jekyll & Hyde — The Musical. Alack, the production is drab, as if embarrassed by Frank Wildhorn's pomp rather than proud of it. Click here for my review.

Orphans

2013-04-19T08:57:00.001-04:00

In an interview, the cast of Orphans — Alec Baldwin, Tom Sturridge, Ben Foster — expressed surprise at the amount of laughter their drama elicits. Mostly it works, though. My review's here.

The Assembled Parties

2013-04-18T15:56:00.003-04:00

After Breakfast at Tiffany's and before Far from Heaven, the Richard Greenberg season continues with The Assembled Parties at the Friedman. Click here for my review.

Collapse

2013-04-18T15:55:00.002-04:00

After scoring with Bethany and Jackie, Women's Project trips with its last show of the season, Collapse. Two out of three ain't bad though. My review's here.

The Big Knife

2013-04-17T09:23:00.002-04:00

I so wanted to love The Big Knife: Odets, nice cast studded with several favorites like a Christmas pudding full of candied fruits. But it is so flat and affectless. My review's here.

The Nance

2013-04-16T08:18:00.001-04:00

A look at the end of burlesque and conflicted feelings about one's sexuality, The Nance clearly means a lot to Douglas Carter Beane and Nathan Lane. Maybe that's why it spells things out too much. Still: a good evening at the theater. Click here for my review.