Broadway Show Reviews & Critics' Ratings - Page 2

In her PhD on “Deconstructing the Spectacle: Aerial Performance as Critical Practice”, Dr Laura Murphy had a singular mission: “to challenge normative ideas attached to and embedded in aerial work”. In A Spectacle Of Herself, she delivers on this challenge with style and conviction.

Walking into Shelf: Teenage Men, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Based on the show’s description, there would be “anecdotes, songs, jokes about performing for kids, the Instagram algorithm, confronting your toxicity, and more.” How was all of this going to fit into an hour-long show? Luckily, I had nothing to worry about.

A charming adaptation of Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Sebastian Armesto’s Moby Dick mixes music and drama in an effective, atmospheric production that never gets lost at sea, no matter how daunting a task it is to stage the novel.

A person’s life can be dictated by many things - career, relationships, decisions made… In the case of Andrée Bernard’s What (is) a Woman it seems that men have dictated the protagonist’s life.

Under the meticulous direction of Chuck Smith, the Goodman’s newest revival of JOE TURNER’S COME AND GONE emphasizes the play’s continued relevance through masterful performances that find cause for celebration and laughter even in the face of oppression. The production has already been extended through May 19 due to popular demand.

If there’s one thing, Dear Readers, that Disney is good at, it’s spectacle. But when you take that spectacle and combine it with one of their most musically magical properties such as “Aladdin”, it should end up with theatrical gold for the whole family. When the genie first poked his head from the lamp on stage back in 2011, I’ll admit it was less than magical. But, by the time it went to Broadway it grew by leaps and bounds. And even now, this tour currently playing at the Paramount, they seem to have updated some of their Disney Imagineering to make the experience even more magical and when combined with a killer cast, just hold on for a good time.

Most of Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musicals comprise a large cast and elaborate sets. TELL ME ON A SUNDAY is different: this understated, one-woman musical tells the story of Emma, a Brit who journeys to America to find a man and who ends up finding herself along the way.

I’ve seen a lot of extraordinary theatre at Shaking the Tree. This spine-tingling production just might be the best so far.

'A Better Planet, a Better World”,  held last Saturday April 6th, at St. Jean Theater, showcased a unique fusion of visual and performing arts, paying homage to nature, love, and the power of female energy. The Gala performance offered a captivating blend of dance and art inspired by the work of director, choreographer and dancer Analia Farfan,   inspired by, and featuring art from “A Better Planet, A Better World”, an art exhibit at the UN Headquarters by multimedia artist Alessandra Mattanza, now showing partly at the Permanent SDGs Mission of Italy to the United Nations.

Just because you saw ROUND OF APPLAUSE in 2023 does not mean that you’re exempted from seeing Round 2.0. On the contrary, the follow-up to Marianne Thamm’s performative journalism is an absolute must – especially for those who attended last year’s show. It’s one of those rare occasions when the sequel is somehow even better than the original.

There was a considerable buzz of excitement at the West Coast premiere of Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop. Could the musical live up to the hype generated by its eleven Tony nominations and wins for Best Musical and Best Book? That would be a hell yes! Right from the opening number “Intermission Song,” A Strange Loop bursts with a kinetic energy and excitement not felt since Hamilton blew my mind.

As many students of history know, 1929 was the beginning of a chaotic, and often tragic, decade for the United States. Seven months after a small stock market crash and recovery on March 25, the bottom fell out.

“This way, you win, no matter what.” The Women’s Cricket World Cup Final in the present day, and eighteenth century Calcutta – on the face of it there’s the barest of connections, but when you drill down a bit deeper you can see how the relationship between England and India was first forged. Or, perhaps more accurately, forced.

Through April 27, Aimée and a six-piece band bring jazz flavors and smiles (theirs and the audience's) to Birdland with energy galore. Celebrating a new recording, and adding in some other material, Cyrille Aimée and band take command in a grand way this week at midtown Manhattan's home for jazz.

Following its sold out run in 2023, Boys from the Blackstuff has returned to Liverpool’s Royal Court, before the show transfers to the National Theatre in London and Garrick Theatre in the West End.

I was doubtful of Doubtfire. Musicals fashioned out of nonmusical comedy films are seldom stellar, and unlike so many of the patrons inside Dr. Phillips Center on opening night, I hadn’t grown up on 1993’s Mrs. Doubtfire movie, so I couldn’t count on nostalgia to pull me through. I figured I was in for a Tootsie Part Two.

Ladies and gentlemen and children of all ages, The Illusionists brings the fun of magic and the magic of fun at a time when a little voluntary, recreational misdirection sounds like a great idea. Indeed, through the magic of a big screen and a little camera, The Illusionists have solved the problem of how to do card tricks for an audience of 2500--the smallest moves of The Manipulator (Hyunjoon Kim) can be seen from every seat--just don't expect to see how he does it.

Twelfth Night is a glorious example of how to do Shakespeare right.  This production is full-bodied, fresh, cheeky, lighthearted, inventive, imaginative, and flat-out hilarious.

Musical theater performers must do it all and make it look easy. The actors appearing in Godspell at Players Circle Theater more than meet the challenge with exuberance. They act, sing, and dance and then add pantomime, funny accents, and playing musical instruments to the mix.  And get up close and personal with the audience, making eye contact without missing a beat.

Is there anything similar to The Sleeping Beauty overture? With Tchaikovsky filling the theatre with full-blown fairy tale drama - it's quite the opener.