George Clooney in Good Night, and Good Luck. (Photo: Emilio Madrid) Good Night, and Good Luck By Deirdre Donovan George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s new play, Good Night, and Good Luck, an adaptation of their 2005 film, arrives on Broadway with plenty of buzz. Directed by David Cromer, this production doesn’t disappoint, largely due to…
Robyn Hurder (Photo: Matthew Murphy) Smash By Fern Siegel First, this Smash is a departure from the NBC series. The theatrical focus is on the making of Bombshell: The Marilyn Monroe Musical, not the who-will-play-Marilyn frenzy that accompanied the maligned TV show or what New York termed “appointment hate-watch.” That’s a plus — as this…
Jasmine Amy Rogers and Company (Photo: Matthew Murphy-Evan Zimmerman) Boop! The Musical By Fern Siegel Betty Boop was a Jazz Age creation, known for her sexy body, high-pitched voice and flirty charm. Inspired, in part, by two 1920s jazz singers, Helen Kane and Baby Esther, she made her debut in 1930 in the Fleischer Studios’…
Sarah Snook (Photo: Marc Brenner) The Picture of Dorian Gray By Carol Rocamora Ever heard of “cinetheatre”? You’d better get used to the term describing this groundbreaking new theatrical form. It’s making a dramatic impact on the Broadway stage this season, and it’s a harbinger of a whole new technological trend to come. You have…
Are there two Kieran Culkins? The one who shows up in the first act of the uneven revival of David Mamet’s Glengarry Glen Ross is, let’s say it, something of a disaster. He’s slower and softer than everyone who has preceded him, throwing Mamet’s galloping but precise rhythms totally off. Intermission passes, and the Culkin…
The Company (Photo: Matthew Murphy) Buena Vista Social Club By Julia Polinsky The best anti-depressant in the world is playing now at the Schoenfeld on 45th Street. Forget your Prozac, your Xanax, your anti-anxiety meds. Run, don’t walk, to see Buena Vista Social Club and let its magic blend of song, story, music, and dance…
Zoë Roberts, Jak Malone, Natasha Hodgson, David Cumming, Claire-Marie Hall (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) Operation Mincemeat By Fern Siegel The Greeks used a Trojan Horse to deceive their enemies. The British used a Trojan Corpse to fool the Nazis in WWII. The plot, dubbed “Operation Mincemeat,” was so successful, it played a key role in the…
Idina Menzel (Photo: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman) Redwood by Carol Rocamora Two elements overpower the current production of Redwood now playing at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway. One is the extraordinary voice of Idina Menzel, and the other is the equally extraordinary projection design by Hana S. Kim. In Tina Landau’s hyper-emotional new play, the protagonist…
Joy Woods, Audra McDonald (Photo: Julieta Cervantes) Gypsy By Deirdre Donovan Gypsy –that revered American musical–is back on Broadway! Led by six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald, and directed by the legendary George C. Wolfe, this much-anticipated revival features three Black women in principal roles, bringing a whole new vibe to the classic. Suggested by…
The company of English. (Photo: Joan Marcus) English By Julia Polinsky What and how you speak: this is who you are. That is the idea behind Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, English, now at the Roundabout. A co-production with the Atlantic Theater Company, English is set a classroom in Iran, where students are preparing for…