OLD-SCHOOL PHANTOM, FIRST-RATE RESULTS This return to Phantom’s original theatrical roots delivers spectacle, superb singing, and one nagging sound problem Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of…
HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE JOAN CRAWFORD Four Joans, three Christinas, and a torrent of gags make this trip to hell devilishly funny Beginning her film career as a body double for Norma Shearer,…
KOKANDY GETS THE PICTURE A splendid revival turns this cranky critic into a dewy-eyed theatre kid again “Work is what you do for others, Liebchen. Art is what you do for yourself.” In a…
COPLAND, PRINCE, PARTON, AND PAUL SIMON? YES, PLEASE. MUSE/IQUE connects some unlikely musical dots, then open the doors at Ambassador Auditorium for a free season finale MUSE/IQUE has come …
COME FROM AWAY GETS CLOSER AT MARRIOTT Marriott’s intimate in-the-round staging brings the audience directly into Gander’s remarkable story Twenty-five years ago on September 11, 38 comm…
PERICLES IS WORTH THE VOYAGE A questionable framing device doesn’t sink Boston Court’s lively take on Shakespeare’s rarely staged adventure The groundlings who attended William Shakesp…
CITY LIT SADDLES UP A WINNER A terrific central trio and striking stagecraft make Mark Pracht’s world-premiere adaptation a winner The venerable City Lit opens its 46th season with Shane, …
BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE Taylor Mac and Matt Ray dig into history for a two-hour explosion of music, theater, and drag Taylor Mac does not do small. The MacArthur-winning playwright, perfor…
A MERRILY MARVELOUS REVIVAL Sondheim’s famously backward musical moves splendidly forward in Signature Theatre’s hands How do three talented, idealistic friends end up bitter, estranged …
A DEVILISHLY GOOD TIME WITH THE NOT-SO-ANGELIC Paul Slade Smith’s delightful farce earns hearty laughs from a terrific cast Playwright and actor Paul Slade Smith is on a winning streak. Be…
RAIN OR SHINE, SWEET BABY JAMES DELIVERS At 78, James Taylor still has the songs, the voice, the humor and one hell of a band There are concerts that are simply enjoyable, and then there are…
A MUSICAL WORTH ROOTING FOR Four likable friends chase Broadway dreams in this clever and thoroughly enjoyable production A clever script and engaging performances offer an impressive rendit…
Seeing live theater for the first time can feel surprisingly unfamiliar. If most of your entertainment experience comes from movies, streaming shows, or online videos, walking into a theater…
Now 70 years old, Bryan Cranston remains active in the acting circuit. While he rose to prominence in TV sitcoms, Cranston has gone on to prove himself a titan of the dramatic, be that on TV…
WHAT MAKES TOVAH TICK David Serero looks beyond the résumé to capture the woman and artist behind a remarkable career Tovah Feldshuh has been a formidable presence on American stages for m…
THE PICTURES WE CANNOT LOOK AWAY FROM Moisés Kaufman investigates what an album of Nazi photographs can tell us about the people smiling inside them I’ll see anything Moisés Kaufman puts…
A JAZZY 60TH FOR CHRIS WALDEN Pacific Jazz Orchestra gathers some formidable |friends for its founder’s milestone birthday I’ve seen jazz pianist Emmet Cohen in New York at least half a …
FIVE REASONS TO KEEP YOUR DANCING SHOES HANDY A season with remarkably little overlap If you like your dance seasons varied, The Music Center is making it difficult to pick a favorite for 20…
THE MONSTERS HAVE NOTES Two kaiju flatten a city, then stick around to argue Godzilla generally has better things to do after destroying a city than discuss the cultural implications. KAIJU,…
BEA, UNFILTERED A never-before-seen interview brings us closer to the woman behind that voice, that stare, and those indelible performances There are performers we admire, and then there are…
GROBAN WITH THE FLOW A soaring baritone meets the sweep of the National Symphony Orchestra There are singers who command a stage, and then there are artists who seem genuinely delighted to s…
PIAF, WITHOUT THE PARROTING Eleanora Owen finds the heartbreak and defiance inside the Little Sparrow’s songs Édith Piaf’s life overflowed with the severest of extremities: the writhing…
BROADWAY GETS FANTASTICK The world’s longest-running musical takes its first Broadway bow in a beautifully reconsidered form It took The Fantasticks 66 years to get to Broadway. Then again…
IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CIRQUE-MAS A high-flying holiday spectacle takes its acrobatic wonder on a 50-city tour If your holiday traditions could use a little more danger, Cirque …
STELLA! MEET TENNESSEE Once Tennessee met Brando, American theater would never be the same Before Marlon Brando bellowed “STELLA!” into theatrical immortality, he was a hungry 23-year-ol…