Never Norman Rockwell Reviewed by Karl Levett

Kyle Baxter's genial coming-out comedy finally proves to be too kind-hearted for its own good.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A Question of Mercy Reviewed by Erik Haagensen

David Rabe's 1997 play about euthenasia is passionate, thoughtful, and disturbing, though somewhat unwieldy, and PTP/NYC (Potomac Theatre Project) struggles with it in an uneven production, …

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Manhattan Transfer</cite>, reviewed by Robert Windeler

John Dos Passos' novel, a sprawling, impressionistic portrait of New York in the early 20th century, is diminished by this stage adaptation, which all but obliterates its parallels to the pr…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Fresh Fruit Festival: <cite>Hassan & Sylvia</cite>, <cite>Sarah Was Mine</cite>, and <cite>Whore Works</cite>, reviewed by Erik Haagensen

Consistently fine acting distinguished this one-afternoon sampling of three intriguing if flawed works in the LGBT-themed festival.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>In God's Hat</cite>, reviewed by Ron Cohen

A good show deserves a usable quote, so let's just say that this is the best motel thriller since Psycho.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Lovesong of the Electric Bear - Reviewed by Robert Windeler

This is a carnival-like trivialization of the life and tragic death of an eminent scientist and courageous pioneer of out homosexuality; fortunately, Alan Turing's reputation can easily rise…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

We the People: America Rocks! - Reviewed by David Sheward

Theatreworks USA makes civics and history fun with this hourlong lesson in how government works.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Barker Poems: Gary the Thief and Plevna: Meditations on Hatred - Reviewed by Robert Windeler

You might not feel the felicity of Howard Barker's language and the power of his observations by merely reading these poems rather than hearing them recited. Then again, you might.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Teorema - Reviewed by Jason Fitzgerald

Ivo van Hove brings theatricality and bravado to this stage adaptation of Pier Paolo Pasolini's film, here in its North American premiere.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A Disappearing Number - Reviewed by David Sheward

You don't have to be a math scholar to appreciate Simon McBurney's brilliant staging of this theatrical meditation on how numbers and patterns influence our lives.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Layla and Harley Together Again</cite>, reviewed by Ron Cohen

Jonathan Wallace's fantastical tale of two Brooklyn babes is imaginative but too clever by half to be engaging.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Are We Here Yet?</cite>, reviewed by Nicole Villeneuve

Director Anna Brenner and her cast rely heavily on the often-hackneyed idea of human interconnectedness, in a production that struggles to find a balance between conceptual and concrete.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>Aspettando Nil (Waiting for Nil)</cite>, reviewed by Cindy Pierre

Rather than wait for Godot, an Italian mother and daughter wait for a groom to arrive in this feminist interpretation of the Beckett classic that succeeds in execution and comedy as its own …

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Reviewed by Erik Haagensen

What might have passed for charm at the Theatre de Lys in JKF's America comes across today as dull and derivative. At times I was convinced I was watching a rediscovered piece of Clark Gesne…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Reviewed by David Sheward

The world's first couple are given the musical treatment-again-in this slight, mildly amusing 90-minute show.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Sweet, Sweet Motherhood Reviewed by Clifford Lee Johnson III

"Sweet, Sweet Motherhood," written by Jeremy Kareken in collaboration with Lee M. Silver and currently running at Here Arts Center, derives neither heat nor meat from its Frankenstein story.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Country Wife Reviewed by Ron Cohen

If you ever wondered why talky Restoration comedy holds a high place in English theatrical literature, this smartly put-together show might help you understand.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

<cite>I'll Be Damned</cite>, reviewed by Erik Haagensen

This irritatingly naive, dramaturgically challenged musical-comedy riff on the Faust legend is being presented by Jaradoa Theater before the work is ready to be seen.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Pearl Project Blue Series: Something Blue and The Encounter - Reviewed by Nicole Villeneuve

For a project intent on offering new and diverse perspectives, the one-sided portrayal of Filipino history in Jorshinelle Taleon-Sonza's "The Encounter" leaves audiences with no deeper or mo…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

The Little Death: Vol. 1 - Reviewed by Mitch Montgomery

This eroticized electro-opera about Christian chastity has loud fun but peaks early, a victim of its lack of a defined storyline.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Our Town - Reviewed by Erik Haagensen

A female Stage Manager brings intriguing colors to Thornton Wilder's American masterpiece, and Helen Hunt is giving an admirable performance. She's the perfect spur to revisit or discover th…

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

A Night at the Tombs - Reviewed by Erik Haagensen

In her solo show "A Night at the Tombs," the beguiling Bianca Leigh tells us what it was like to be young, gifted, and transgendered in 1980s Manhattan.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Musashi - Reviewed by Mitch Montgomery

This grand but comedic take on a Japanese legend comes complete with diverting Noh theater flourishes, but it gets awfully talky in the second act.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

Bintou - Reviewed by Cindy Pierre

America and Africa duel to the death for the soul of a fiery 13-year-old female gang leader in the North American premiere of Koffi Kwahulé's rousing, roaring play.

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑

London Assurance - Reviewed by David Sheward

The National Theatre of Great Britain has given us a delightful summer cocktail with a rousing knockabout production of Dion Boucicault's 1841 comedy "London Assurance."

SOURCE: Backstage at 5:58pm on May 25, 2015☆⚑