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Off Broadway

'War And Peace' Sings! Colin Quinn Gets Scholarly! 'Family' Flops!

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.19.2013 | Arts
Michael Giltz

Turn the sprawling masterpiece War And Peace by Leo Tolstoy into a musical? Well, it worked for Les Miserables, so why not?

The Awards Will Not Be Televised: Lucille Lortel Awards for Off-Broadway and On: Trip to Bountiful

Regina Weinreich | Posted 05.12.2013 | Entertainment
Regina Weinreich

The sight of two men in giant clown shoes and oversized pants shuffling on a commuter platform lingers in the mind. From the Signature Theater's produ...

Theater: Brassy Bette, Pallid Pippin, Precious Pearl & Frozen Walt

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.10.2013 | Entertainment
Michael Giltz

I'LL EAT YOU LAST ** 1/2 out of **** PIPPIN * out of **** THIS SIDE OF NEVERLAND *** out of **** A PUBLIC READING OF AN UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY ABOUT TH...

Stage Door: I'll Eat You Last, Nikolai and the Others

Fern Siegel | Posted 05.09.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

For 90 minutes, audiences revel in the talented Midler recreating this force of nature, deliciously dish without ever leaving her couch, in Scott Pask's beautifully apportioned set. Such is her charm, even profanity sounds profound.

An Interview With "Night, Mother" Stars Joy Franz and Laura Siner and Director Cyndy A. Marion

Carey Purcell | Posted 05.07.2013 | Arts
Carey Purcell

"The clock is ticking," is not necessarily a phrase a feminist writer likes to hear, but when discussing the upcoming production of 'night, Mother, an exception can be made. In this case, the aforementioned clocks are not those of a woman's biology but of actual time, counting down to the death of one of the women onstage.

Dramatizing Walt Disney: An Interview With Playwright Lucas Hnath

Shoshana Greenberg | Posted 05.07.2013 | Arts
Shoshana Greenberg

Walt Disney is making his off-Broadway debut. He's a character in Lucas Hnath's intriguing new play, A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay about the Death of Walt Disney, currently in previews at Soho Rep.

Stage Door: This Side of Neverland, The Firework Maker's Daughter

Fern Siegel | Posted 05.06.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

Imagine you're vacationing in a seaside hotel in Cornwall and casually pick up a dusty volume of plays in the library. That's the feeling of This Side of Neverland, now at the Pearl Theater.

Stage Door: Pippin, Love Therapy

Fern Siegel | Posted 05.02.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

Taking a page from Chicago, the new Broadway revival of Pippin, now at the Music Box, gives the audience razzle dazzle.

Amanda Peet's Play Nabs Two Leading Ladies

AP | MARK KENNEDY | Posted 04.29.2013 | Arts

NEW YORK — Actress Amanda Peet has managed to lure Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner to share a stage again with her first play. The Manha...

Let The Drama Desk Awards Race Begin!

AP | MARK KENNEDY | Posted 04.29.2013 | Arts

NEW YORK — The off-Broadway show "Giant" and the quickly shuttered Broadway musical "Hands on a Hardbody" lead the Drama Desk nomination race th...

Theater: Nathan Lane Kills, Alan Cumming Bores, Deborah Cox Delights And More....

Michael Giltz | Posted 04.25.2013 | Arts
Michael Giltz

An excitingly ambitious new play by Douglas Carter Beane, The Nance is held back only by some poor casting and a modest lack of context. But it's essential theater for anyone who wants to see Nathan Lane -- one of the greats -- at the top of his game.

Theater: A Dull Big Knife, a Noble La Ruta Spotlights Injustice

Michael Giltz | Posted 04.19.2013 | Entertainment
Michael Giltz

Clifford Odets's image as a Serious Writer whose work became dated and self-important almost as soon as it left his typewriter has proven more durable than that magic act.

American Star!!! A Great Musical With an Honest Plot

Greg Jacobs | Posted 04.19.2013 | Arts
Greg Jacobs

While being unorthodox in its approach, the plot of the show revolves around a high schooler struggling to keep up with the competition. She eventually goes on a wild goose chase in hopes of becoming America's next pop sensation.

Stage Door: Kinky Boots, Bullet Catch

Fern Siegel | Posted 04.10.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

Kinky Boots is loud, mundane and best suited for suburbanites who consider drag risquƩ. It's another movie turned Broadway musical, sans the great score and story. Bullet Catch, however, featuring the multitalented Rob Drummond, is a clever show.

F#%king Up Everything: Parody Rock

Danny Groner | Posted 03.28.2013 | New York
Danny Groner

The rock musical by David Eric Davis (music and lyrics) and Sam Forman (book) returns to New York at the Elektra Theatre with updated cultural and local references that will elicit giggles and snickers from the audience.

Theater: Breakfast At Tiffany's Leaves You Hungry; Vanya, Sonia... Leaves You Laughing

Michael Giltz | Posted 03.27.2013 | Arts
Michael Giltz

Greenberg has taken the merest suggestion that Fred is gay in the novella and made it a fitful subplot. This would be fine if Greenberg made something of it; perhaps Holly would help Fred accept being gay with her free-spirited nature?

Theater: The Flick and Detroit '67 Promise; Hit the Wall Lets Down Stonewall

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.14.2013 | Arts
Michael Giltz

Like The Flick, the new drama Detroit '67 is by a talented playwright. Both pieces have their flaws. But both artists have created vivid characters we want to spend time with.

Hunky Bway Star Nick Adams in Coming Out Stories Episode 6

Marti Gould Cummings | Posted 05.12.2013 | Gay Voices
Marti Gould Cummings

Broadway star and LGBT activist Nick Adams sits down with me to chat about his coming out experience.

Stage Door: Talley's Folly, Neva

Fern Siegel | Posted 05.11.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

The waters are rarely smooth, but the performances of Talley's Folly are beautifully wrought; conversely, Neva is a meditation on staging art in violent times.

Why Now. Here. This Could Represent Future Of Gay Characters On The Musical Stage

Curtis M. Wong | Posted 05.08.2013 | Gay Voices
Curtis M. Wong

Unlike other shows which deal with gay characters or themes (La Cage aux Folles, Rent, and The Normal Heart), Now. Here. This. doesn't draw its characters as overly political or flamboyant, and most certainly never ventures into camp territory.

A New 'Old Boy' Off-Broadway

AP | By JENNIFER FARRAR | Posted 03.06.2013 | Arts

NEW YORK -- Even with the best of intentions, sometimes offering advice to help a friend can backfire. Badly. That's the premise gradually revealed i...

Stage Door: The Old Boy, Madrid

Fern Siegel | Posted 05.06.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

The ties that bind can both comfort and restrict, but we need playwright Liz Flahive to make that case convincingly. Vagueness is punishing. More like vignettes in unhappiness than a fully realized dramatic work, Madrid wastes the talents of a capable cast.

Theater: Gem-like Passion, Charming Carousel and Vanessa Redgrave in The Revisionist

Michael Giltz | Posted 05.01.2013 | Entertainment
Michael Giltz

Revisit a classic and you're sure to discover new facets. That's certainly the case with this gem-like production by Classic Stage Company. Its intimate space is ideal for shining a light on Stephen Sondheim's 1994 masterpiece Passion.

Stage Door: Passion, Katie Roche

Fern Siegel | Posted 04.30.2013 | Arts
Fern Siegel

The intimacy and richness of Sondheim's sensitive score and James Lapine's book explore the nature of loneliness and the dangers of kindness. Love can enrapture, degrade and liberate. Who better to capture those nuances than Sondheim?

Theater: Edie Falco Checks Out in The Madrid; Wild Bride Checks In at St. Ann's Warehouse

Michael Giltz | Posted 04.29.2013 | Arts
Michael Giltz

Once, the mere act of a woman slamming the door on her marriage could be a seismic event in the theater. Today, tell someone that a play is about a woman who abruptly leaves her husband and adult daughter to live alone and the response would be, "And...?"