Brian Scott Lipton

As with his recent Broadway success, “Gutenberg!,” director Gordon Greenberg takes his job seriously, keeping the show moving as a fleet pace. Better still, he also never makes the show too serious, ensuring that its tongue remains firmly planted in one cheek or another almost the whole time.

Being able to brilliantly straddle the line between (semi)autobiography and a universal coming-of-age tale is just one of the many achievements of the vibrantly exciting new musical, “Hell’s Kitchen,” now at the Shubert Theatre. Expect a lot of Tony Award nominations – and perhaps even a statuette or two – for this extremely accomplished, feel-good musical!

As a book writer, though, Taub can get a little too preachy and sanctimonious (much like Paul). Moreover, since the story is a bit A-to-B – and we already know how it ends – the piece could use some extra drama, especially in letting us know a bit more about the characters’ personal lives. And the piece still could use just a bit of judicious editing.

Sadly, don’t expect to hear the same kind of exuberance for director Schele Williams’ current production of “The Wiz” at the Marquis Theatre – at least from me. Yes, the show remains a crowd-pleaser, with its catchy Charlie Smalls songs (I’m still humming “Ease on Down the Road”) and clever-enough, fairly faithful book by William F. Brown (here punched up with some contemporary jokes by Amber Ruffin) to keep us entertained for 2 ½ hours. Still Broadway audiences deserve something far better than this middling national-tour production that has been dropped into the Marquis for a limited run the same way Dorothy’s house was dropped into Oz after a tornado. True, no fatality occurs, just a sadly missed opportunity to introduce the show to new audiences (as well as delight older ones) with a first-rate reimagining of this beloved material.

Yet, under Rachel Chavkin’s surprisingly frazzled direction, the show, now at the Longacre Theatre, often feels like you’re watching someone put together a misguided collage – one that often incorporates elements of other stronger musicals, most notably “Cabaret” -- as it struggles to decide what story it wants to tell us and what message we’re supposed to take ith us as we leave the theatre. Women can do anything? Women never get the same credit as men? Women are brilliant? Art isn’t easy? You tell me?

While an immediate ticket to this sure-to-be-hit may be hard to come by, don’t let yourself stay an outsider. This show is worth coming into a theater!

Taking his second stab at this seminal if tricky material, director Des McAnuff (who won the Tony Award for his first attempt in 1993) has wisely hired some of theater’s smartest wizards (including scenic designer David Korins, projection director Peter Negrini, lighting designer Amanda Zieve and sound designer Gareth Owens) to give the show its unusual look, full of both realistic sets and technological visuals that delight the eye throughout the two-hour, two-act show.

It’s all quite entertaining, but also a bit vexing, since these activities keep getting in the way of the show’s main plot. But eventually you realize that there’s not of lot a plot here, nor is it all that original (even if Sara Gruen’s 2006 novel which forms the basis for the musical, was a number one best seller, and the show’s book is by three-time Tony Award nominee Rick Elice). In fact, all the diversions simply add up to a major cause of coitus interruptus.

Outrageously funny. Outrageously smart. Outrageously tuneful. Simply outrageous. All these descriptions fit “Teeth,” which should hopefully keep making its mark on New York’s theatrical scene long past whenever it closes at its current home, Playwrights Horizons. While “Teeth” is sometimes raunchy, frequently foul-mouthed, and a tad bit gory (in movie terms, it’s a definite R), it’s still the best new musical I’ve seen all year.

Indeed, the result of “All the Devils Are Here” can be summarized by the reaction of my companion for the evening, a self-admitted non-Shakespeare lover who now wants to see Page flex his acting muscles (and, probably, his actual muscles) in a full production of one of the Bard’s works. I’m not sure I can think of any better compliment – or audience reaction -- than this one.

As jokes land and jokes sink, there’s still the joy of hearing many of Dion’s greatest hits, a cavalcade of top-tier pop. As with “Mamma Mia!” and other jukebox musicals, if you take time to think beforehand where these songs will fit, you can probably guess the placements of such earworms as “Taking Chances,” “Tell Him,” “Because You Loved Me,” “I Drove All Night,” “The Prayer,” and “To Love You More.” And if you love these songs, it doesn’t really matter where they end up – just that they’re enthusiastically and often superbly sung!

Scott Ellis’ much-anticipated revival of John Patrick Shanley’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 2004 work “Doubt: A Parable,” now at the Roundabout Theatre Company’s recently renamed Todd Haimes Theatre, checks off all the previous boxes, for better and worse. Most importantly, though, it proves the case – beyond any doubt – what a well-structured theatrical work Shanley crafted.

Someday, I suspect some arts organization will put on a festival of works by John Patrick Shanley that focuses on his penchant for unlikely couples, which will include his landmark first play “Danny and the Deep Blue Sea,” his Broadway outing “Outside Mullingar” and the Oscar-winning film “Moonstruck.” Now, another play can be added to this repertoire, “Brooklyn Laundry,” currently getting its world premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club at NY City Center Stage 1. But whoever that festival producer turns out to be, they may want to ask Shanley to expand this engaging, 75-minute work to give more background and substance to its main female character.

Yet, for all the issues and viewpoints Moses brings up, the salient takeaway of “The Ally” is that no one really has the so-called “winning argument” and that we owe it to both ourselves and others to listen to -- with open ears if not open arms -- political points of views that differ from own. Then and only then can we do what we believe is truly right.

The show’s physical production is equally first-rate. Clint Ramos’ nightclub set is dominated by an art-deco style door that is both inventive and terrifying, if you look closely; its only drawback is that there may not be quite enough dance floor for this unusually large ensemble. Dede Ayite’s costumes, as is consistently the case, are both stunning and period-appropriate (although I suspect Porter’s gender-bending outfit may have come from his own closet) and Adam Honore’s lighting design truly shines brightly. (The sound design, by Megumi Katayama, does need a bit of fine-tuning.)

As we have all learned, the past inevitably bumps up against the present. Sometimes it’s a headache, sometimes it’s an opportunity, and sometimes it’s a bit of both. Such is the case of the long-overdue reunion between Kenyatta (the riveting Russell Hornsby), a former Black revolutionary, and his estranged daughter Nina (the magnificent, heartbreaking Moses Ingram), a small-time hustler, in Dominique Morriseau’s bracing 2013 drama “Sunset Baby,” now being given a superb revival at the Signature Theatre Company under Steve H. Broadnax III’s sure-handed direction.

Even then, at the very least, you will be unbearably grateful to have heard the clarion, celestial voices of the wonderful Kelli O’Hara, in her finest stage performance to date as the naïve secretary Kirsten Arnesen, and the sublime Brian D’Arcy James as the more worldly PR man Joe Clay, who fall in love with each other and the bottle.

That the extremely earnest new tuner “White Rose: The Musical,” now at Theatre Row, works as well as it does is a testament to a very talented cast who handle their roles with sincerity and seriousness, as well as a pleasing-enough score by newcomers Brian Belding (who also wrote the book) and Natalie Brice, and the simple yet effective direction of Will Nunziata. And, at 95 minutes, this poignant yet slender tale doesn’t wear out its welcome.

With so many characters and so many themes, the work could feel overwhelming. But Cromer, as he has done so often, ensures the show flows smoothly and feels much shorter than its running time. However, neither the play, which can feel overwritten at times, nor the production is perfect. For example, Takeshi Kata’s set design is visually too spare for such a long show while Sarah Laux’s costumes feel uninspired. Still, we should be profoundly grateful that a work of such ambition, scope and importance has made it to the stage, not once but twice. The many questions the play poses, not just Marcelle’s, are like most prayers: necessary but not easily answered.

Raucous laughs. Loud gasps. Stunned silence. All turn out to be appropriate responses to “Appropriate,” Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ provocative play, now getting a belated – and yes, excellent -- Broadway production via Second Stage at the Hayes Theater.

But the usually wonderful director Rachel Chavkin (“Hadestown”) hasn’t totally found her way into this material, robbing the show of some of its humor -- and injecting TV screens a la Ivo Van Hove isn’t really the answer. (The video and projection design by David Bengali isn’t to blame and set designer Riccardo Hernandez does what he can with a play that is inherently cinematic.)

The real star of the show is the divine Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer as the Lady of the Lake in what deserves to be a Tony Award-winning turn. (I don’t care that it’s only November!) Channeling a bit of Carol Burnett with a soupcon of Celine Dion, she is both consistently hilarious and vocally spectacular, stealing every spotlight that is shone on her! Indeed, if Broadway could just can this dynamic diva, that would be worth all the Spam in the world.

Fortunately, for Adjmi and viewers alike, Daniel Aukin’s production of the work, now on view at Playwrights Horizons, could not be more immaculate – from David Zinn’s unbelievable re-creation of a California recording studio (aided by the superb sound design by Ryan Rumery) to the stunningly authentic costumes by Enver Charkatash (flares, flares, everywhere), to the deeply-felt performances by a mostly little-known, seven-person cast.

And while the show’s title has many meanings, it does derive, in part, from Etheridge’s mega-hit “Come to My Window,” which closes the show on a literal high note. And unlike cabaret, there is no encore! When the song is over, the “window” is closed. Fortunately, we’ve been able to take a long, sometimes hard, and often revealing look at the life of an extraordinary woman!

Anyone who’s ever watched “America’s Got Talent” and wondered what the grand prize winner’s show might look like can now skip the flight to Las Vegas. Well, that’s if they can get to Broadway in the next seven days and see the extraordinary spectacle being offered by Spanish illusionist Antonio Diaz in “El Mago Pop,” now at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. Without question, the 75-minute show (at my performance) is both visually and intellectually dazzling – and, luckily, proves quite entertaining for audiences of all ages and nationalities.