294 stories by "Elyse Trevers"
There's a fine line between satire and silliness, and "The Thanksgiving Play" crosses that line too often. Playwright Larisa Fasthorse takes shots at well-meaning, naive white people trying …
Sometimes performers are so good at their roles that they become forever identified with that part. For many, Sean Hayes will always be Jack on television's "Will and Grace," kooky, egocentr…
The last time I saw "Sweeney Todd," it was as a barebones production of 10 performers, including Patty Lupone and Michael Cerveris. Each performer even played an instrument, and the show was…
I had such high hopes for the revival of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater this season. The music was a known quantity- glorious, lush and romantic. The title song had bec…
Some of my favorite theater moments have come when something unexpectedly went wrong onstage. Alan Bates caught a picture falling off the wall and ad libbed about poor housekeeping. Faith Pr…
photo by Matthew Murphy The real stars of the show "Life of Pi" are puppets: a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger. Although animated by skilled puppeteers who ma…
photo by Julieta Cervantes Most musicals feature two or three impressive dance numbers, numbers that leave the audience breathless. However, often those dances are incidental to the story. T…
photo by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman The good news about "Bad Cinderella," the new musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by David Zippel is that it's not all that bad. T…
photo by Joan Marcus Most shows on Broadway begin with an announcement reminding the audience to turn off phones and recording devices. The revival of the musical "Parade" begins with a reco…
Jessica Chastain is undeniably one of the finest actresses performing in the movies today. When it was announced that she would return to Broadway after an 11 year gap, it was considered an …
photo by Joan Marcus Historically, the Jewish people have been wanderers, always in search of a homeland. They moved from place to place seeking somewhere to put down roots. Never totally we…
Photos by Julieta Cervantes Today most celebrities are on social media, so everything they do is shared with the public. It was quite different years ago when celebrities like Neil Diamond p…
Photo Credit Monique Carboni I love comedians who are skilled at wordplay. Some relate stories; others deliver one liners, generally without the gratuitous use of foul language. They make yo…
Photo by Russ Rowland The theme that runs through Anthony Rapp's one man show at the New World Stages is loss. Known for originating the role of Mark the videographer in "Rent," Rapp wrote h…
photo by Jeremy Daniel Andy Warhol is as famous for his iconic look as for his silkscreen paintings such as Campbell's Soup Cans and Marilyn Diptych and his experimental films. Before seeing…
photo by Joan Marcus It's hard to imagine a show by Stephen Sondheim that wasn't an immediate hit; yet "Merrily We Roll Along," first produced in 1981, left the critics and audiences unimpre…
Sometimes one performer in a small cast stands out among the rest. That's one of the problems with the revival of "Between Riverside and Crazy," the 2015 Pulitzer-Prize winning play by Steph…
Those who adore Audra McDonald for her magnificent singing voice often forget what a fine actress she is. The six-time Tony Award winner once again puts her talents on display in Adrienne Ke…
photo by Matthew Murphy How would you define an old-fashioned musical? Maybe a show with non-stop singing and dancing, storylines that we accept even when implausible, a love story or two an…
photo by Joan Marcus The day before I attended "Ain't No Mo'," a new comedy by Jordan E. Cooper, the show posted a closing notice for December 18. It is a unique satirical show that played t…
photo by Julieta Cervantes Alfie is a quiet, ordinary man who is a ticket-taker on a bus during the day, but by evening he is the director of the players at St Imelda's Church. The power of …
At the end of Shakespeare's classic play, "Romeo and Juliet," Juliet awakens to realize that Romeo is dead. Heartbroken, she commits suicide. What if she didn't kill herself? What if, instea…
"Kimberly Akimbo" opens with Kimberly approaching her 16th birthday; and nearing the end of her life expectancy. She is a special teenage girl who suffers from a rare condition that causes h…
photo by Emilio Madrid Cancer, type two diabetes, death. Hardly the fodder for comedy " Yet In the hands of Mike Birbiglia, this serious subject matter becomes hysterical in his latest one-m…
Photo-by-Matthew-Murphy A show about rock music should be loud. So loud that you feel the music going through you! When the cast of "Almost Famous: The Musical " took the stage and performed…
