Dated but delightful May-December romance--

Middle Of The Night - Paddy Chaefsky's May-December love story is dated — but delightfully so. . . Read More

Ode to Joy : Fine acting but hard to enjoy

Ode to Joy - Craig Lucas's new play is named for the choral movement of Beethoven's beloved Ninth Symphony. But unlike this beloved symphony, this is hard to love play even though Kathryn Erbe is superb in depicting her character's painful trajectory through passion, addiction and illness

A revisit to England's "angry young woman" of the 1950s

A Taste of Honey - Shelagh Delaney's 1950s play stands the test of time and of course it reminds us how far we have come in terms of attitude to her then unconventional characters. . . Read More

A welcome return to Tom Noonan's Paradise Factory

The Shape of Something Squashed - Tom Noonan's new play is populated with complex figures who are simultaneously proud and vulnerable, sympathetic and distasteful, in touch with reality and completely removed from it. .

No glass ceiling to crash for these working "Misses"

London Wall - The Mint revival of John Van Druten's office comedy is an entertaining an picture of a by-gone era; and it has its parallels in today's world . . . Read More

Martial Arts as Dance upstages this bio-play

Kung Fu - David Henry Hwang's latest exploration of the Asian-American experience is a visually stunning Dance-Play about martial arts legend Bruce Lee . . Read More

Chekhov inspires an intriguing London production

Storm In a Teacup - an original and intriguing piece of physical theatre inspired by Chekhov's Three Sisters. It's a small tale with a big heart . . Rea

Shakespeare doesn't need glitzy staging to please

The Winter's Tale - While this Workshop rendering is less ambitious than some productions I've seen, this one captures its life-enhancing message of rebirth and redem

Orwell's 1984 = 90 horrendous minutes for London theater goers

1984 -  At just 100 minutes without an interval, Orwell's nightmare novel is brought to life. . . Read More

Why do good satire ideas so often misfire?

Branched - The makings of a biting satire of contemporary life are there in Erin Mallon's playy, but an unnecessary grab for extra laughs spells its all too quick descent into absurdity and physical comedy. . . Read More

solo musical is a mother/daughter love story

My Mother Has 4 Noses - This is a love story. The love is between singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke and her mother, Darren Stone, a victim of Alzheimer's Disease. Depressing, right? Actually not. . . Read More

The page to screen fantasy love story now sings gorgeous music, gorgeously sung

Bridges of Madison County - The love story that moved from page to screen. . . and now, with a lovely score by Jason Robert Brown, to the stage . . . Read More

information overload is subject of & problem with this play

Love and Information - Caryl Churchill's play about the effect of information overload, could use a bit less information to be loved without reservations . . . Read More

A reporter' s 9/11 memories now adapted for the stage

"Bikeman - CBS News writer/producer Thomas F. Flynn's stage adaptation of his memories of the horrors of that "Forever September Morning" . . . Read More

Julius Caesar Nipponese style in Philadelphia

The Tragedy of Julius Caesar - Friends, Nipponese, countrymen, lend me your ears. Here's

A slice of history musicalized at the Irish Rep

Transport - A slice of history plucked from Thomas Keneally's family tree staged as a chamber musical at that invaluable source of all things Irish, the Irish Rep in Chelsea . . Read More

London's first Finian's Rainbow since 1947

Finian's Rainbow - In the small space of the Union Theatre where every seat has a good view of the stage, is this musical's first London professional production since its opening in London in 1947. And it's a very welcome one. . . Read More

3 old plays made new with site specific staging

The Hotel Plays - The Langham, the historic hotel these Tennessee Williams one-acts are set in was the real life setting for a dinner between Arthur Conan Doyle and Oscar Wilde. . . Read Mor

A disturbing slice of history in DC

We Are Proud To Present A Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known As South-West Africa, From The German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915 - a disturbing slice of history. . . Read More

The Rattllestick Theater's unsettling new play

The Correspondent - Losing a loved one does strange things to people. There may be no better case study than the protagonist in Ken Urban's new play . . Read Mo

A 2000 Pulitzer drama about the delicate arithmetic of relationships

Dinner With Friends - The Roundabout revisits Donald Margulies' 2000 Pulitzer Prize winning play . . . Read More

David Henry Hwang's Yellow Face well done in DC

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Yellow Face - This revival of David Henry Hwang's play is typical of Theater J's programming as it has plenty of ideas to nosh on after the show . . . Read More

This Week's London Theater Recommendations

The White Carnation - Thank goodness we have theatres like The Finborough giving plays like this from 60 years ago space and fine productions . . Read More

The Domino Heart - Matthew Edison's well written play confirms the Finborough's knack of choosing plays with affecting depth . . . Read More

How far would you go to get hold of a 12-million $ townhouse?

The Tribute Artist - Playwright/performer Charles Busch is back in wig and stiletto heels in an intermittently funny show but one which does have something to say about the current economic climate. . . Read More

The problem with Little Me: Too little time at City Center

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Little Me - Nothing little about the talent in this all too brief Encores! production . . . Read More

a book, a movie, and now a potent solo play

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Riding the Midnight Express With Billy Hayes - this limited run solo play takes us back to the harrowing true story of 23-year-old Billy Hayes after his arrest at the Istanbul airport and the nightmare that followed. . . . Read More

If you're in London, the Finborough Theatre is a "should go to"

The Domino Heart - Matthew Edison's well written play confirms the Finborough's knack of choosing plays with affecting depth . . . Read More

John Cariani's wintry romance back in wintry NYC

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Almost Maine - The Tranport Group brings John Cariani's wintry romance back to New York . . . Read More

A powerful play that loses credibility with NYC setting

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I Call My Brothers - Moving Jonas Hassen Khemiri's play play is powerful but moving it to New York from its original European context creates some distracting implausibility. . . Read More

An excellent scaled down version of Titanic--

Sometimes small is better--  and this one   can be enjoyed with dinner--  provided you're near Elmsford, NY. . .


Titanic - a very satisfying streamlined version of the original more daunting version . . . Read More

A Pulitzer Prize winner comes home to Philly . . .

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Water by the Spoonful - Quiara Alegria Hudes'prize winning play comes home, with no Philly vibe. . . Read More

Lope de Vega reminds our critic of Shakespeare, but

A Lady of Little Sense - a delightful comedy by Lope de Vega . . Read More

well acted but flawed slice of history play

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Row After Row -Perhaps it's inevitable that a play about re-enacting the past would ultimately get stuck in it.

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2 of London's finest thesps not to be missed performances

King Lear -If you're new to Lear, it's a clear, uncluttered account, the perfect introduction. If you're a Lear veteran, the freshness of the ideas will keep you hooked and allow you to rethink your preconceptions of the piece. Either way this production will lodge itself in your mind for life. . . Read More

Ellen Terry with Eileen Atkins Dame Atkins' solo play about another great actess - . . Read More

No danger to Lunt-Fontanne's reputation from this husband-wife 2-hander --

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One of Your Biggest Fans - There is talent afoot, especially with regard to the credits of wonderful stage, screen, and TV character actor Dooley (affectionately known as "America's Dad") and that of Holzman, the Tony-nominated writer of the book for the hugely successful musical Wicked and the Emmy-nominated creator of the television drama My So-Called Life. Read More

Just right for Black History month.

. Dr. Du Bois and Miss Ovington - Clare Coss's slice-of-history drama is buoyed by Kathleen Chalfant's performance. . . Read More