GREEK TRAGEDY WITH A LOWRIDER HEART Luis Alfaro’s barrio reimagining of Sophocles turns Greek tragedy into a vibrant, joyous story of identity, fate, and survival Playwright Luis Alfaro’…
WHO KILLED EDWIN DROOD? WELL, IT’S UP TO THE AUDIENCE The musical whodunit is done with panache by the reliable J2 Musical Theater Company The unpleasant fact about life is that everybody …
LONG LIVE THE ABSURD Michael Michetti’s visually stunning staging transforms Ionesco’s meditation on death into a thing of eerie beauty It is rare, nowadays, when a play by the Romanian …
FATS WALLER’S JOINT IS JUMPIN’ AGAIN Ledisi and an all-star cast bring the Harlem Renaissance roaring back to life at the Nate Holden Center Ain’t Misbehavin’ is a sizzling celebrati…
GUILT TRIP TUTA Theatre turns Dostoevsky’s sprawling masterpiece into a feverish psychological horror story of conscience, damnation, and salvation Fyodor Dostoevsky’s masterpiece Crime …
THE WOMEN LEFT OFFSTAGE Lauren Gunderson reclaims Shakespeare’s sidelined women in a sharp, emotionally intelligent companion piece to Hamlet The women in Hamlet exist largely to reflect H…
LOG OFF AND SING Dave Malloy’s brilliant chamber musical turns doomscrolling, loneliness, and internet addiction into something unexpectedly humane I don’t know what I was expecting when…
A TRIAL FOR LENNY—AND SOMETIMES THE VIEWER A courtroom drama that probes language, censorship, and the cost of pushing boundaries Unique among the performing arts, standup comedy is the on…
MAKING A LIFE, ONE BIRTHDAY AT A TIME A meditation on aging, loss, and the small rituals that shape a lifetime After leaving Buffalo Theatre Ensemble’s sweet little play Birthday Candles l…
FIFTY YEARS LATER, STILL MAKING HISTORY A glittering lineup of musical giants turned Carnegie Hall’s anniversary celebration into an overwhelming tribute to artistic endurance Move over ME…
IT’S TIME TO RAGNARÖK ‘N’ ROLL An exuberant Norse rock opera with enough swagger to survive the apocalypse A corner of a decrepit night club greets you as you walk into Lifeline The…
THE MINOTAUR IN THE MIRROR A powerful performance anchors a portrait that never fully reveals its subject The journey of Picasso: Le Monstre Sacré to the Odyssey Theatre in L.A. is both con…
The Salon at the End of the Century: The Cardinal Assumption of Dark Library H.G. Wells published The Time Machine in 1895, The Island of Doctor Moreau in 1896, The Invisible Man in 1897, an…
THE COST OF STAYING A rigorously observed production that grips in silence, even as the play leans toward explanation There is a language people invent when citizenship can vanish with a kno…
ADRIFT, AND MORALLY AT SEA A haunting, musically rich survival tale that probes faith, labor, and the cost of living on Directed by Jeremy Johnson and driven by the highly listenable roots-i…
MOTHER KNOWS BEST— UNTIL SHE DOESN’T A devastating, clear-eyed revival that refuses comfort and lingers long after the lights go down I first watched ‘night, Mother, the Pulitzer-prize…
THE HOUSE THAT BUILT YOU A sweeping, structurally ambitious play that grips in the moment even as it searches for its final form There is a moment near the end of the first act of Fremont Av…
PUT THIS IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE A show that takes its audience on a ride, and shifts gears from drama to comedy and back The oft-heard practical advice to authors hoping that their stories, nove…
HERE’S SOMETHING DECIDEDLY NOT ROTTEN A lively, joy-filled production wins over even the most reluctant musicalgoer I was not looking forward to Something Rotten! I’m not big into Shakes…
POLITICS, IN FULL DRAG: A CAMPAIGN LIKE NO OTHER Wayne Brady leads a wild, urgent, and unexpectedly timely ride through queer history and unfinished business. There have been outsider candid…
A COMMUNITY PUSHED PAST THE LAW An electrifying solo tour de force that turns a town’s nightmare into gripping theater. The largest Off-Broadway cast this season—over a dozen roles—may…
TO GRIEVE OR NOT TO GRIEVE American Conservatory Theater presents Hamnet, the stage adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s historical novel, adapted by Lolita Chakrabarti (Life of Pi) and dire…
CASH, GRIEF, AND THE COST OF RESISTANCE A gripping, immersive premiere dissolves the line between audience and action Steppenwolf’s excellent 50th season continues with Windfall, the new p…
UNDER THE BIG TOP, A SMALL GEM ENDURES A tender revival of a vintage musical finds its strength in sincerity, not spectacle Poignancy, Pep, Pizzazz, and Puppets. If the age of 65 equals beco…
MAN IN THE MIRROR, SHOW ON FIRE A dazzling tour delivers the spectacle and the moves, even if the storytelling stays surface-level The national touring production of MJ the Musical is comple…