Ben Brantley News

Alissa Norby and Lampkin Music Group are proud to present acclaimed Tony Award winner and star of Broadway's Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal Alice Ripley in DAILY PRACTICE: THE ACOUSTIC SESSIONS. The celebrated stage artist will perform an exclusive one-night-only engagement at the newly revamped Stage 773 Theatre (1225 W. Belmont in Chicago) May 2nd, 2011. The performance will mark Ripley's Midwest concert debut.

Sh-K-Boom has announced that Broadway favorite Alice Ripley will realease a new album, Daily Practice - Volume 1 on February 15, 2011.

IN THE HEIGHTS, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards® and the 2008 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, is coming to the Belk Theater in Charlotte, NC from Feb. 15-20. Tickets go on-sale today.

Gexa Energy Broadway at the Hobby Center turns the spotlight on the newest hits from Broadway in its 2011-2012 season, announced today. Houston theater audiences will be captivated with new Broadway shows this season!

IN THE HEIGHTS, winner of four 2008 Tony Awards® and the 2008 Grammy® Award for Best Musical Show Album, will close at Detroit's Fisher Theatre on February 13, 2011.

With SPIDER-MAN's less-than-appealing reviews hitting newsstands this week, the producers of the $65 million giant are looking to see what the average audience member thinks of the production by offering 'goodie bags' to those who participate in focus groups. According to the New York Times, however, participants will not be viewing the entire show. They will view one act only - either act one or act two, not both.

The 2011 GARAGE REP starts next week as robots invade the Steppenwolf Garage. Seriously, real robots.

Sideshow Theatre Company is proud to present the Chicago premiere of Elizabeth Meriwether's Heddatron as one of three storefront theaters selected for Steppenwolf's 2nd annual GARAGE REP. The play, directed by Sideshow artistic director Jonathan L. Green, is one of Sideshow's most ambitious projects to date, both for its artistic and technical challenges, and will conclude Sideshow's 2010-2011 season. Heddatron will run in repertory for 11 weeks starting February 11 through April 24, 2011, in Steppenwolf's Merle Reskin Garage Theatre, 1624 N. Halsted St.

From the Cast of ANYTHING GOES and SPIDER-MAN, to the Ladies of THE VIEW, Raul Esparza, Barbra Streisand, Alan Menken, Bernadette Peters, Susan Boyle, Kelsey Grammer, GLEE and everyone in between...it's the BroadwayWorld.com 2011 Valentine's Day Special! Its Biggest Ever!

The Public Theater's acclaimed production of THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Lily Rabe as Portia, will conclude its successful Broadway run on Sunday, February 20 at the Broadhurst Theatre. The critically lauded production began at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park last summer and officially opened on Broadway on November 13. It recouped its capitalization after only 10 weeks and will be making its first profit distribution to investors next week. Tickets are on sale now at Tele-Charge at 212-239-6200 or www.telecharge.com.

After what's reported as two sold out shows yesterday, the cast of SPIDER-MAN will be back at work in rehearsal this afternoon, on tech work on the still being tweaked 'Deeply Furious', flying work, understudy rehearsals and more. The cast is also working on new scene work as well, with unspecified changes coming to the script of the show, which despite the reviews earlier this week remains fully committed to going forward and to doing more work on the show until their official opening on March 15th. There's no word however if any substantial changes are planned for any of the issues that were raised across the board by multiple critics.

Aurora Theatre continues the 2010-2011 GGC Lab Series with the comically brutal Fat Pig by Neil LaBute running February 10-27, 2011.

In response to overwhelming box office demand-and before its official opening performance tonight-the West Coast premiere of Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park has been extended through February 20 at American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.). The five additional performances will take place on the following dates: Wednesday, February 16, at 8 p.m.; Thursday, February 17, at 8 p.m.; Friday, February 18, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, February 19, at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, February 20, at 2 p.m. Directed by Jonathan Moscone, this 'buzz-saw sharp new comedy' (The Washington Post) cleverly spins the events of A Raisin in the Sun to tell an unforgettable new story about race and real estate in America. Act I opens in 1959, as a white couple sells their home to a black family, causing uproar in their middle-class Chicago neighborhood. Act II transports us to the same house in 2009, when the stakes are different, but the debate is strikingly familiar.

After many major newspapers published their reviews for SPIDER-MAN Turn Off the Dark on Tuesday, other major news outlets are picking up on the buzz: the $65 million (and counting) spectacle was essentially lambasted across the board. With a headline that screamed 'THE NATIONAL JOKE', NBC's The Today Show spoke with critic Ben Brantley and producer Michael Cohl, and had a look at the reviews, saying '[The reviewers note that] the show is 'hanging on by a thread'...'laughable'...and these are the good ones.' Watch the segment below!

In the New York Times, Ben Brantley writes that 'You are of course entitled to disagree with our decision. But from what I saw on Saturday night, 'Spider-Man' is so grievously broken in every respect that it is beyond repair. Fans of Ms. Taymor's work on the long-running musical 'The Lion King,' adapted from the animated Walt Disney feature, will have to squint charitably to see evidence of her talent. True, signature Taymor touches like airborne puppets, elaborate masks and perspective-skewing sets (George Tsypin is the scenic designer) are all on hand. But they never connect into a comprehensible story with any momentum. Often you feel as if you were watching the installation of Christmas windows at a fancy department store. At other times the impression is of being on a soundstage where a music video is being filmed in the early 1980s. (Daniel Ezralow's choreography is pure vintage MTV.)

Classic Stage Company's acclaimed new production of Anton Chekhov's THREE SISTERS sold out its entire engagement through March 6 within 24 hours of its opening this past Thursday, February 3. Directed by Austin Pendleton, the production features Maggie Gyllenhaal, Josh Hamilton, Jessica Hecht, Marin Ireland, Juliet Rylance and Peter Sarsgaard. Also featured in the cast are Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Anson Mount, Roberta Maxwell, Louis Zorich, George Morfogen, Paul Lazar, Gabriel Bettio and James Patrick Nelson.

BroadwayWorld.com was the first to report that multiple critics from major newspapers have indeed purchased tickets in recent days to SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark, and they have come out in force. All but a few papers have filed reviews timed to tonight's performance which was, until the most recent delay, scheduled to be the show's opening night. Here are all the reviews for SPIDER-MAN: Turn Off the Dark to date and we'll keep updating as new ones come in.

The 2011 GARAGE REP starts next week as robots invade the Steppenwolf Garage. Seriously, real robots.

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director), in association with Tracy Aron, announces additional casting for the new Broadway musical THE PEOPLE IN THE PICUTRE, starring two time Tony® Award-winner Donna Murphy, directed by Leonard Foglia. THE PEOPLE IN THE PICTURE features book & lyrics by Iris Rainer Dart and music by Mike Stoller and Artie Butler.

In the following video, Julia Stiles reveals what movie made her want to become an actor. Click below to find out!