Fern Siegel

In 1940, a rooming house in Brooklyn Heights housed some of the more intriguing artistic figures of the last century, including Carson McCullers, Benjamin Britten, W. H. Auden and a brief, but memorable appearance by Gypsy Rose Lee.

Led by a high-camp ringleader, former Harper's Bazaar fiction editor George Davis...

There is a difference between an apparition and the real thing -- and the same can be said of a Broadway show. It can be rendered cinematically, as in Ghost, The Musical, thereby becoming a musical that thinks it's a movie. The production, based on the 1990 film, dispenses with...

Nice Work If You Can Get It has a glorious Gershwin score, frothy, screwball plot, strong ensemble and Kelli O'Hara. What it doesn't have is a leading man. Instead of adopting the role of a wealthy, irresponsible Twenties playboy with light-footed élan, Matthew Broderick suffers through his dance routines, moving...

There is a laugh riot at The Music Box, a British import that pays homage to commedia dell' arte with a modern twist. One Man, Two Guvnors is simply the funniest play on Broadway. From its stupendously silly one-liners -- "first names are for girls and Norwegians" -- to its...

It's impossible not to cheer for the boys in Newsies as they war against press barons Pulitzer and Hearst. The Broadway musical is based on the Disney movie, which was based on a real-life event: the 1899 newsboy strike.

It began when Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst charged the...

Evita Peron knew something about the dangerous mix of politics and celebrity. Her power grab is based on spectacle -- "They need to adore me/so Christian Dior me." And they do. Alongside husband Juan Peron, the glamorous Eva ruled Argentina. But in theatrical terms, the Broadway revival of Evita at...

Imagine a kooky Vegas lounge act meets Harry Blackstone Jr. -- and you have the comic lunacy that is Elephant Room, now at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood. Or as they call it: "Stan's Warehouse."

A trio of loopy, but gifted magicians -- Dennis Diamond, Daryl Hannah and...

Judas, who laments his beloved mentor has abandoned his ideals, is a sympathetic figure in Jesus Christ Superstar. He worries his message is lost in celebrity; the mob can't separate the man from the myth.

The Romans can, and in director Des McAnuff's incarnation, the story of Jesus (Paul Nolan)...

Even in our shockproof age, the shattering production of Tis Pity She's a Whore grabs our attention. Now at BAM, John Ford's 17th-century drama is about the incestuous love between a brother and sister, or what the local friar calls "a leprosy of lust."

Cheek by Jowl's stylized production...

"A man has got to add up to something," bellows Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's masterpiece Death of a Salesman. The Broadway revival of this quintessential American play is a powerhouse. This 63-year-old drama adds up to a remarkable night in the theater.

Now at the Barrymore, starring Philip Seymour...

Two shows off-Broadway are specializing in verbal and vocal virtuosity, respectively. The first, Newsical The Musical at the Kirk, has updated its parodies, zinging the GOP candidates with glee, while sending up everyone from Paula Deen to Lady Gaga in its "End of the World" incarnation.

The latest musical comedy...

Rachel Shukert has mined her own life in two humorous memoirs -- Have You No Shame? and Everything Is Going To Be Great -- but her targets aren't just personal. Her Broadway spoofs have a decidedly biblical thrust: Everything's Coming Up Moses for Passover and Eight Days More for Hanukkah....

What strikes audiences immediately at the compelling CSC production of Brecht's Galileo is how modern it feels.

Galileo Galilei (F. Murray Abraham) is a famed mathematician and astronomer who uses his telescope to support heliocentrism, the theory that the Earth revolves around the Sun. His teachings are revolutionary --...

The exotic can be seductive. Especially when you blend artistry with sex. That's the premise behind the flawed, but hypnotic musical Tokio Confidential now at the Atlantic Theater, Stage 2. Composer Eric Schorr is clearly a Sondheim fan, and most of his musical elements work.

The premise, however, is trickier.

When John Osborne's Look Back In Anger, his dramatic slam at his first marriage was staged in 1956, the English were stunned. The sight of a woman at an ironing board in a squalid flat was greeted with boos. As Jimmy spewed his contempt-filled rants at wife Alison, most critics...

In a desolate Karoo village, three characters -- two Afrikaners and one English South African -- play out a timeless battle: small-minded fears versus artistic flights of freedom. Anthol Fugard's powerful examination of destiny, love and race, set against the backdrop of 1974 South Africa, is a potent reminder that...

One of the best scenes in Close Up Space at City Center happens in the first few minutes. Paul, an exacting book editor (David Hyde Pierce), copy edits a letter from his daughter's headmaster. He slashes the equivocations and boils the missive down to one line.

"I emaciate prose and...

The euro may be playing havoc with Spain's economy, but someone forgot to tell Madrid. A vibrant, beautiful city, it is one of the most exciting destinations in Europe. Pedro Almodóvar's films defined Madrid for American moviegoers -- and his portrait...

The hotel room is tacky. The English seaside town is drenched in rain. And the two misfits desperate for a romantic escape reek of pathos. They also make for great theater. Kissing Sid James, part of 59E59 Theaters Brits Off-Broadway fest, is a sweet play that exposes the longings...

Arguing about proper English usage has been going on for centuries. Language mastery is essential for understanding and communication. Yet the mistakes, particularly now, make for great cable TV fodder. Who can forget President George W. Bush saying: "Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?" (It may be...