Ben Brantley News

Jackie is just out of jail and trying to stay clean and sober. He turns to his AA sponsor when he suspects his longtime girlfriend, who is still into drugs, of cheating on him. What proof does he have? A man's hat has been left on the nightstand. This Broadway hit, a fast and furious study of lives in collision, is a bruising and very funny dance of love, betrayal and indecision.

The 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Billy Elliot the Musical, will play its final performance on Broadway today at the Imperial Theatre (246 West 45th Street). The show that Time Magazine called 'the best musical of the decade,' Billy Elliot will have played 40 preview and 1,304 regular performances. The production recouped its $18 million investment in only 14 months over 492 performances and on Broadway, the show has been seen by 1,659,867 theatergoers to date. Featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreographed by Peter Darling and directed by Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot began previews Wednesday, October 1 and opened to critical acclaim on November 13, 2008.

Boeing-Boeing, the uproarious jet-propelled comedy that had audiences and critics cheering in London and on Broadway in a 2008 Tony-winning production,is coming in for a landing on the TPT stage.

Jackie is just out of jail and trying to stay clean and sober. He turns to his AA sponsor when he suspects his longtime girlfriend, who is still into drugs, of cheating on him. What proof does he have? A man's hat has been left on the nightstand. This Broadway hit, a fast and furious study of lives in collision, is a bruising and very funny dance of love, betrayal and indecision.

Classic Stage Company's acclaimed, sold-out production of Anton Chekhov's tragicomic masterpiece THE CHERRY ORCHARD, featuring John Turturro and Dianne Wiest, among an esteemed cast, will extend by one additional week through Sunday, January 8. THE CHERRY ORCHARD is directed by Andrei Belgrader, with a translation by John Christopher Jones.

In honor of La MaMa's 50th Anniversary season, Italy's Dario D'Ambrosi will stage 'Teatro Patologico in New York,' a festival of Pathological Theater and Film, December 15 to 22, 2011, mounting one large new work plus three smaller plays that are a cross-section of his 31 years of productions at La MaMa.

McCarter Theatre will present GATZ, the critically acclaimed theatrical adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, performed by Elevator Repair Service, for four performances only.

Did the show 'score' with the critics? Let's find out!

Today, December 14, New York Times Chief Theatre Critic Ben Brantley released his list of favorite shows which premieres in 2011 in 'Ben Brantley's Best of 2011'. So who made the cut?

Grammy and Emmy Award winner, Tony Award nominee and multi-platinum recording artist Harry Connick, Jr. stars as Dr. Mark Bruckner in the newly imagined production of ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE FOREVER which opened December 11, 2011 on Broadway at The St. James Theatre. Let's see what the critics had to say...

Lincoln Center's acclaimed series American Songbook will close its 2012 season with two shows being added to the series: a second show by the legendary Elaine Paige on February 12th and a second show by Broadway star Laura Benanti on February 11th. Paige has a previously announced show on February 10th at 8:30pm. Paige's new show is on Sunday, February 12th at 6:30pm. Benanti's previously announced show is at 8:30pm on February 11th. Benanti's new second show is also on February 11th, at 10:30pm. Tickets for these two shows go on sale today.

New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) presents the Broadway-bound world premiere of the new musical Once, which is based on the Academy Award-winning film. Once began previews Tuesday, November 15 and opens tonight, December 6 at New York Theatre Workshop, 79 East 4 Street, between Bowery and Second Avenue. Also revealed tonight are plans for ONCE to open on Broadway, beginning previews at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theater on February 28, 2012, with an opening night set for March 18, 2012.

BONNIE & CLYDE opened tonight at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. BONNIE & CLYDE has direction by Jeff Calhoun, music by Frank Wildhorn, lyrics by Don Black, book by Ivan Menchell and music supervision/orchestrations/arrangements by John McDaniel.