Theatre Reviews

Off-Broadway Review: “Liberation” Misses the Mark at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (Closed Sunday, March 30, 2025)

There is nothing about liberation, nor is there anything liberating in Bess Wohl’s “Liberation” currently running at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. There is gratuitous and unnecessary nudity on stage that requires patrons to relinquish their phones before entering the theater. That nudity is completely unnecessary: the questions raised about the characters’…

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Off-Broadway Review: “Curse of the Starving Class” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Romulus Linney Courtyard Theater (Closed Sunday, April 6, 2025)

Sam Shephard’s iconic 1977 “Curse of the Starving Class” is enjoying its second revival production at The Pershing Square Signature Center. The 2019 Terry Kinney revival (also at Pershing Square Signature Center) starred Maggie Siff and David Warshofsky as Ella and Weston. The current revival, directed by Scott Elliott and starring Calista Flockhart as Ella and Christian Slater as Weston,…

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Broadway Review: “Redwood” at the Nederlander Theatre (Closed Sunday, May 18, 2025)

February 22, 2025 | Broadway, LGBTQ+, Queer > | "Redwood", BANDALOOP (Vertical Movement/Vertical Choreography), Bradley Dean, Daniel Brackett, De’Adre Aziza, Evan Zimmerman, Haley Bennett (Associate Music Supervision), Hana S. Kim (Video Design), Idena Menzel, Idina Menzel, Jason Ardizzone-West (Scenic Design), Jennifer Weber (Dream Choreography), Jessica Phillips, Jonathan Deans (Sound Design), Joseph Verlezza, Julie McBride, Kate Diaz, Kenneth Ferrone, Khaila Wilcoxon, Matthew Armentrout (Wig Design), Matthew Murphy, Melecio Estrella, Michael Park, New York Theatre Reviews, Patrick Goodman, Scott Zielinski (Lighting Design), Telsey + Company, The Nederlander Theatre, Theatre Reviews, Theatre Reviews Limited, Tina Landau, Tom Kitt (Music Supervision), Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design), Veronica Otim, Zachary Noah Piser

The new musical “Redwood,” which recently opened at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway, certainly lives up to the title, featuring the magnificent giant redwood tree that seamlessly moves on and off-stage as needed. In fact, it may be one of the best characters, given the name Stella, in this long, tedious and banal musical which was conceived by its star…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Antiquities” at Playwrights Horizons (Closed Sunday, March 2, 2025)

February 21, 2025 | Dance, mcneal, News, Off-Broadway, Previews, purpose > | "The Antiquities", Amelia Workman, Andrew Garman, Ann James (Intimacy Coordinator and Sensitivity Specialist), Aria Shahghasemi, Brenda Abbandandolo (Costume Designer), Caitlin Sullivan, Christopher Darbassie (Sound Designer), Cindy Cheung, David Roberts, Erin Gioia Albrecht (Production Stage Manager), Goodman Theatre, Jeremy Chernick (SFX Consultant), Jordan Harrison, Julius Rinzel, Kayla Uribe (Assistant Stage Manager), Kristen Sieh, Layan Elwazani, Leah Loukas (Wig and Hair Designer), Marchánt Davis, New York Theatre Reviews, Paul Steinberg (Scenic Designer), Playwrights Horizons, Ryan Spahn, Sarah Lunnie (Dramaturg), Theatre Reviews, Theatre Reviews Limited, Tyler Micoleau (Lighting Designer), Vineyard Theatre

The full title of “The Antiquities” currently running at Playwrights Horizons is “A Tour of the Permanent Collection in the Museum of the Late Human Antiquities.” The title contains two important pairs of words: “Permanent Collection” and “Late Human.” The play begins at some point in the far distant future with two museum docents W1 (Aria Shahghasemi) and W2 (Amelia…

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Broadway Review: “Gypsy” at the Majestic Theatre (Closes on Sunday, August 17, 2025)

December 27, 2024 | Broadway, into the woods, last five > | "Gypsy", Aliah James, Andrew Kober, Arthur Laurents, Audra McDonald, Brandon Burks, Brendan Sheehan, Brittney Johnson, Camille A. Brown, casting by Jordan Thaler CSA/Heidi Griffiths CSA, Cole Newburg, costume design by Toni Leslie-James, Danny Burstein, Ethan Joseph, George C. Wolfe, hair and wig design by Mia Neal, Hunter Capellán, Iain Young, Jace Bently, Jacob Ming-Trent, Jade Smith, James McMenamin, Jayden Theophile, Joe Osheroff, Jordan Tyson, Jordan Wynn, Joseph Verlezza, Joy Woods, Jule Styne, Julieta Cervantes, Kellie Jean Hoagland, Ken Robinson, Kevin Csolak, Krystal Mackie, Kyleigh Denae Vickers, Lesli Margherita, lighting design by Jules Fisher + Peggy Eisenhauer, Lili Thomas, Majestic Theatre, Majo Rivero, makeup design by Michael Clifton, Marley Lianne Gomes, Mylinda Hull, Natalie Wachen, New York Theatre Reviews, production stage management by Rick Steiger, Sally Shaw, Sasha Hutchings, scenic design by Santo Loquasto, Shanel Bailey, sound design by Scott Lehrer, Stephen Sondheim, Summer Rae Daney, Theatre Reviews, Theatre Reviews Limited, Thomas Silcott, Tony d’Alelio, Tryphena Wade, Zachary Daniel Jones

The widely anticipated revival of “Gypsy “on Broadway has finally arrived, along with the reopening of the Majestic Theatre after a healthy renovation, requiring the theatre to be closed for nearly eighteen months. Most of the excitement was generated by the return of the renowned Broadway star Audra McDonald to the stage who would take on the iconic role of…

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Broadway Review: “Cult of Love” at the Helen Hayes (Closed Sunday, February 2, 2025)

The title of Leslye Headland’s “Cult of Love” at the Helen Hayes demands attention. The Dahl family cult began in childhood: Diana (Shailene Woodley), Evie (Rebecca Henderson), Johnny (Christopher Sears), and Mark (Zachary Quinto) attended church faithfully with conservative Christian parents Ginny (Mare Cunningham) and Bill (David Rasche), vacationed annually at Big Meadows Lodge in Shenandoah National Park, never slept…

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Broadway Review: “Eureka Day” at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (Closed Sunday, February 16, 2025)

What could go wrong at a private school whose five-member board of directors makes all decisions based on consensus and has what benefitted the community at heart as their guiding principle. A board so committed to inclusion that The Eureka Day School in Berkeley, California’s cultural identity drop-down menu for prospective parents offers eleven choices. And if Eli (an oblivious…

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Off-Broadway Review: The New Group’s “Babe” at The Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater (Closed Sunday, December 22, 2024)

Abby (Marisa Tomei) has co-produced records with Gus (Arliss Howard) for thirty-two years. She had been his right hand, but her name never appears on the album as co-producer. She finds talent. Gus takes the credit. Recognition is not the only problem. Gus is a misogynist and a prime example of toxic masculinity in the workplace and elsewhere. Abby colludes…

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Off-Broadway Review: “The Blood Quilt” at Lincoln Center Theater’s Mitze E. Newhouse Theater (Closed on Sunday, December 29, 2024)

Families of any number, age, or culture often meet for special occasions, some more special than others. Depending on the mix of those above descriptors, these get-togethers result in quite different outcomes ranging from collegial to catastrophic. These gatherings can be around any number of holidays or around some specific tradition. Those celebrating a specific tradition are often annual events….

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Broadway Review: “Maybe Happy Ending” at the Belasco Theatre (Currently On)

The charming new musical, “Maybe Happy Ending,” now playing at the Belasco Theatre, with music composed by Will Aronson and the book and lyrics penned by Mr. Aronson and Hue Park, will certainly make an audience leave the theatre smiling and thinking. Unlike many of the big, bombastic musicals arriving on the Great White Way, this is small and quiet,…

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