(L-R) Laura Linney, Jessica Hecht (Photo: Jeremy Daniel) Summer, 1976 By Fern Siegel Even short-lived friendships can stay with us for a lifetime. That’s the premise behind Summer, 1976, now at the Samuel Friedman Theater. It stars two veteran stage actors — Tony-nominated Jessica Hecht and Laura Linney — at the top of…
Ben Rappaport, Sean Hayes (Photo: Joan Marcus) Goodnight, Oscar By Fern Siegel Oscar Levant is not a name well known today — but from the 1930s to the 1960s, his caustic wit and piano virtuosity were legendary. “There is a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased that line,” he quipped….
Marcel Spears and Billy Eugene Jones in Fat Ham. (Photo: Joan Marcus) Fat Ham By Deirdre Donovan Those theatergoers who have hungered for a spicy new take on Shakespeare’s Hamlet need look no further than James Ijames’ comic tragedy, Fat Ham, at the American Airlines Theatre. Directed by Saheem Ali, it is both a…
Anna Uzele and the company of New York, New York. (Photo: Emilio Madrid) New York, New York By Marc Miller This will be a love letter to John Kander. There’s plenty wrong with New York, New York at the St. James, though most of it can be found in the casually assembled book, by David…
Jodie Comer in “Prima Facie.” (Photo: Browen Sharp/Caz Lock) Prima Facie By Julia Polinsky In Prima Facie, Tessa Ensler (Jodie Comer), a criminal defense attorney from a working-class family background, has worked hard at law school and achieved great success in the English legal system. Often, she successfully defends men accused of sexual assault….
Ellie Morris, Jonathan Sayer, Charlie Russell,Henry Shields, Henry Lewis and Matthew Cavendish (Photo: Jeremy Daniel) Peter Pan Goes Wrong By Fern Siegel “Dying is easy, comedy is hard.” The quote is courtesy of character actor Edmund Gwenn on his deathbed. But Peter Pan Goes Wrong, now on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, makes comedy…
Alex Newell, Caroline Innerbichler, Kevin Cahoon, and Andrew Durand in Shucked. (Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman) Shucked By Julia Polinsky After a theater season of important work with a message, it’s a relief to sit in that incredibly expensive seat, and just let go and laugh. That rarity among Broadway shows, a…
The cast of Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) Bob Fosse’s Dancin’ By Julia Polinsky Dancin’ has chassed/jeted/moonwalked/shoulder-rolled – ok, danced into the Music Box Theater on Broadway, and that’s a deleriously good thing. Who needs antidepressants? We have Bob Fosse’s Dancin’. Director Wayne Cilento, who was in the original Dancin’ 45 years…
Okieriete Onaodowan and Jessica Chastain. Photo by Emilio Madrid. A Doll’s House By Deirdre Donovan It’s been almost a century and a half since Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House premiered in Norway in 1879. But this domestic drama is hardly “old stuff,” in playwright Amy Herzog’s new version, and under the astute direction of…
The cast of Parade. (Photo by Joan Marcus) Parade By David Schultz and Julia Polinsky Julia: In the achingly, throbbingly, beautifully sung revival of Parade now on Broadway, Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond sing their hearts and souls out. Parade tells the story of Leo Frank (Platt), a Jewish businessman from Brooklyn living in…