8 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 5:18pm on August 30, 2018☆⚑

Pretty Woman review " Broadway romcom transfer is a tasteless disaster by Alexis Soloski

Nederlander Theater, New YorkThe dated gender politics of the Julia Roberts hit fail to receive an upgrade in a shallow musical that falls apart on stageTuneful, schlocky, and deeply offensi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:04pm on August 16, 2018☆⚑

He Used to Move Pianos. Now He Moves Audiences. by Alexis Soloski

Stephen Payne, a longtime understudy, gets his first Broadway starring role in "Straight White Men."

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 1:04pm on August 13, 2018☆⚑

Review: Whimsy, Horror and Missing Bones in 'Hunter John and Jane' by Alexis Soloski

Two lost souls (one literally back from the afterlife) meet in a gritty city park in Amina Henry's overstuffed but empathetic play.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 3:18pm on August 6, 2018☆⚑

Learning Lines. And Crossing Them. by Alexis Soloski

A brief (recent) history of plays, films and TV shows exploring the fraught, sometimes predatory relationship between directors and their charges.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18am on August 3, 2018☆⚑

Review: Mike Birbiglia Has a 'New One.' It's Funny Until It Isn't. by Alexis Soloski

Mr. Birbiglia's solo show about becoming a father is at first excruciatingly funny and then just kind of excruciating.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:04pm on August 2, 2018☆⚑

6 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 5:12pm on August 2, 2018☆⚑

Homeland's Mandy Patinkin: 'Reality, for me? Not so good' by Alexis Soloski

The outspoken star, who has recorded a 'prayer for peace', gives a few clues about how the show might end " and says why he's more comfortable with fantasy than the real world"Let's be hones…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:48am on July 31, 2018☆⚑

Head Over Heels review " Go-Go's jukebox musical packs a power-pop punch by Alexis Soloski

Hudson Theatre, New YorkA zippy, frothy combination of songs from the Go-Go's and a bawdy Shakespearean comedy plot delivers goofy, if forgettable, funJust your everyday genderqueer pastoral…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54pm on July 26, 2018☆⚑

Straight White Men review " Armie Hammer skewers male privilege in dark comedy by Alexis Soloski

Hayes Theater, New YorkA subversive look at masculinity boasts canny, self-aware performances and a shrewd dissection of gender rolesAt the end of the pre-show announcement for the Broadway …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:18pm on July 23, 2018☆⚑

Review: 'Fire in Dreamland' Is a Parable of Love and Licorice by Alexis Soloski

Rinne Groff's new play, at the Public Theater, brings arguments about art and relationships to Coney Island in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18pm on July 16, 2018☆⚑

Review: A Stranger, Sexier Version of 'Peter Pan'? It's Leonard Bernstein's. by Alexis Soloski

In this production of J.M. Barrie's 1904 play, Bernstein's neglected score brings out the characters' melancholic desires.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 4:48pm on July 15, 2018☆⚑

12 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 5:18pm on July 12, 2018☆⚑

Review: 'Gone Missing,' Now a Poignant Reminder of a Career Cut Short by Alexis Soloski

The death of the show's composer, Michael Friedman, makes this musical about loss an accidental and indispensable elegy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:48am on July 12, 2018☆⚑

Review: Mummenschanz Offers Wonder, and a Grumpy Trash Bag by Alexis Soloski

This Swiss mime troupe's show "you & me" is like the Muppets, but heavily influenced by French surrealism and a few psychotropics.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:18pm on July 10, 2018☆⚑

In This Play About Race, 'People Need to Be Uncomfortable' by Alexis Soloski

There have been complaints that "Fairview," currently at Soho Rep, goes too far and complaints that it doesn't go far enough.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 1:48pm on July 6, 2018☆⚑

10 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 5:18pm on July 5, 2018☆⚑

Review: 'Conflict' Reaches Across the Decades and the Aisle by Alexis Soloski

A play from 1925 that argues, as one character says, "for giving the best in human nature a chance."

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18pm on July 2, 2018☆⚑

7 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend by Alexis Soloski

Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 5:18pm on June 28, 2018☆⚑

Fun Home review " Alison Bechdel's childhood trauma revisited with songs by Alexis Soloski

Circle in the Square Theater, New YorkBased on a graphic novel memoir about growing up gay in a funeral home, this smart, sophisticated Broadway musical includes one astonishing performanceF…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 2:54am on June 28, 2018☆⚑

Critic's Notebook: Sleights of Hand With Cards, Coins and a Colander by Alexis Soloski

The magicians Joshua Jay and Vitaly Beckman, both in one-man shows in Manhattan, are exploring uses of enchantment. And kitchen supplies.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 1:18pm on June 26, 2018☆⚑

Review: In 'American Weather,' the Heart is a Lonely Voter by Alexis Soloski

If Chris Green's puppet theater piece is a work of political theater, it is abstract and unemotional in a time that seems anything but.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 1:48pm on June 21, 2018☆⚑

For 'Mary Page Marlowe,' Six Actresses Share One Role by Alexis Soloski

They portray the title character in this play by Tracy Letts. In a conversation, they talked about their work and the production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:18am on June 20, 2018☆⚑

Review: 'Sugar in Our Wounds' May Make You Cry About the Past, and the Present by Alexis Soloski

This Manhattan Theater Club production, written by Donja R. Love and directed by Saheem Ali, is set in the antebellum South.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:06pm on June 19, 2018☆⚑

Review: In 'Red Hills,' a Guided Tour of Atrocities by Alexis Soloski

Revisiting Rwanda 20 years after the brutal genocide there, two men meet again and fact and fiction are sorted out.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 8:48pm on June 13, 2018☆⚑