Helen Shaw News

New York theatre critics got their first taste of Funny Girl when it opened on Broadway this past spring, starring Beanie Feldstein. Now the show has a new Fanny Brice in Lea Michele and a new Mrs. Brice in Tovah Feldshuh, and the critics are weighing in once more. 

Theatre Forty once again presents Theatre Appreciation Seminars on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. The series of rehearsed play-readings will be presented on Zoom, with the exception of the final play in this series, A Christmas Truce, which will be presented on stage at Theatre Forty on November 7.

the american vicarious will present a Five-Borough NYC Tour (5BT) of their critically acclaimed production of Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, a staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr.

Soho Rep will present Montag, written by Kate Tarker, directed by Dustin Wills and with original opera music by Daniel Schlosberg. The world premiere production of Montag runs October 12–November 13 at Soho Rep.

Tony and Olivier-winning OHenry Productions, in association with Seaview Productions, Eric Kuhn, and Jonathan Demar, has announced the Off-Broadway transfer of the sold-out, New York Times critic's pick production of This Beautiful Future.

i am a slow tide, a performance and media collective founded by director Gus Heagerty, is  presenting the world premiere of The Gold Room by Jacob Perkins, which marks the playwright’s professional debut. Starring Scott Parkinson and Robert Stanton, The Gold Room is an acerbic, mind-bending fall into the genesis of queer identity.

Written by Rita Kalnejais and directed by Jack Serio, This Beautiful Future is a story of young love set during World War II. The production, which was twice-extended at Theaterlab and marked the playwright's New York debut, was embraced by critics and audiences alike during its limited run in January 2022.

Playwrights Horizons will present the second season of Soundstage, its scripted fiction podcast. With plays written specifically for the audio format, not translated or recorded live from the stage, Soundstage has established itself as a singular, adventurous presence in both the podcasting and theater worlds. Listen to the Season 2 intro here!

Theatre critic Helen Shaw is departing from her position at Vulture/New York this week, and taking up a new job at The New Yorker!

EPIPHANY, a new play by Brian Watkins, directed by Tyne Rafaeli, officially opened at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater. Read all of the reviews for Epiphany here.

Check out the critic's reviews from the New York Times and elsewhere for the The Public Theater and National Black Theatre production of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize-Winning Play FAT HAM at The Public Theater.  

The New York Drama Critics' Circle today named Samuel D. Hunter’s A Case for the Existence of God best play of the 2021-22 season. The award for best musical went to David Lindsay-Abaire’s and Jeanine Tesori’s Kimberly Akimbo. The selections were made at the organization’s 86th annual voting meeting.

TFANA has extended the run of Alice Childress’s Wedding Band, directed by Awoye Timpo, to May 22. (The production, which began previews April 28—postponed from an original date of April 23 due to two COVID-19 cases—was formerly set to close May 15).

The winners of the 2022 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards will be announced Thursday, May 12 at 6pm. The selections will be made immediately beforehand at the organization's 86th annual voting meeting.

Signature Theatre's world premiere of Samuel D. Hunter's A Case for the Existence of God, directed by David Cromer (Tony Award-winner, The Band's Visit) opened on May 2 on The Irene Diamond Stage at The Pershing Square Signature Center (480 W 42nd St).

Read reviews of Tony Award winner Sam Gold's Macbeth starring Daniel Craig in his return to Broadway as Macbeth and Ruth Negga's Broadway debut as Lady Macbeth.

The Broadway production of A Strange Loop, Michael R. Jackson's Pulitzer-Prize winning musical, opens tonight at the Lyceum Theater. Read the reviews!

Read all the reviews of Lincoln Center Theater's production of Thornton Wilder's Pulitzer Prize-winning classic The Skin of Our Teeth, at the Vivian Beaumont Theater.

Martin McDonagh's Olivier Award-winning and New York Drama Critics' Circle Award-winning comedy Hangmen opens at Broadway's Golden Theatre tonight! Read the reviews!

Read all the reviews for FUNNY GIRL on Broadway. The show stars Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice, Ramin Karimloo as Nick Arnstein, Jared Grimes as Eddie Ryan and Jane Lynch as Mrs. Rose Brice. See what all the critics had to say!