Dalton Ross

As for the stage itself, the design (also by Gilmour) consists of two towers of silver painted luggage of various sizes on a turntable. It’s not the most visually exciting backdrop, but the suitcases do prove inventive, opening at various points to reveal props, a closet, a bed, a vanity, and even a noodle shop. The turntable also leads to lots of dramatic walking in place. Not highly original, but effective enough. The same could probably be said of the entire romantic comedy genre, but when you have the right stars and the right songs, it doesn’t really matter. If it works, it works. And Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) definitely works. Grade: B+

It’s a situation where Jackie has both won it all yet also lost it all at the same time, and the show seems prepared to end abruptly with its protagonist forced to confront her entire life's mission that has left her at this crossroads. But the moment is fleeting, as the orchestra strikes back up, the sharp edge is dulled, the curtain falls, and audiences are left to ponder how a show so big could also say so little.

The original’s focus on the unchecked power of an elected official using fear, rumor, and lies against his enemies obviously hits even harder in 2025... But another theme lightly touched on in the movie — the future role of television in our society — gets even greater emphasis on the stage.

Unfortunately, all these performances are a bit undermined by the somewhat confusing and inconsistent modern-day setting. Why is the action still set in Venice and Cyprus, with Iago being described by Cassio as a kind and honest Florentine — yet he has a United States flag patch on his army fatigues? Why is there so much stabbing and knife play still taking place in the 2020s? Beyond all the camouflage, sharp suits, and fashionable Desdemona ensembles, what is the point, really?  

The momentum during the two-hour and 30-minute runtime also does stall somewhat in the second act — perhaps gently reminding audiences that indeed not everything should last, or take, forever — yet eventually recovers with a welcomely recrafted ending. The new finish may lack the side- (and arm- and leg- and head-) splitting gag of the film, but offers a touching and terrifically funny send-off to our tragic love triangle of doom. Madeline and Helen may have faked their deaths, but we’ll doubtlessly see them again. After all, the only thing more eternal than these brawling broads is the intellectual property that birthed them. Grade: B

The Hills of California does not necessarily venture to any places that dysfunctional family drama has not tread before, but the switching-back-and-forth-between-decades structure — coupled with a commanding and versatile centerpiece performance by Donnelly — still make these hills worth climbing.

What is so remarkable about Hell’s Kitchen, however, is that a story so familiar can also somehow feel so fresh. Right from the outset, both the neighborhood and stage come alive — bursting with energy as characters bound about in their FUBU shirts and saggy, baggy jeans, popping poses and banging buckets. The Hell’s Kitchen ensemble is working hard, interpreting the music through motion that feels like the bustling city streets outside Ali’s Manhattan Plaza building. If modern, hyped-up dance is your thing, they got you, thanks to scene-stealing choreography by Camille A. Brown.

At over three hours long, Stereophonic never feels like too much. And the extended runtime works to the show’s advantage in that it puts the audience into marathon mode with the band itself as they approach a year of recording and re-recording. It’s a riveting, painful, funny, intense, toe-tapping journey, and the end result can best be described as solid gold. A

No doubt fans of Succession, The Sopranos, and The White Lotus will be flocking to the Circle in the Square to see Strong and Imperioli do their thing in such close quarters. And they will not be disappointed. The actors are tremendous and completely lose themselves in the parts. But as audiences file out of the theater, they may also find themselves confronting some much thornier issues — issues that 140 years and thousands of miles have not dulled in the least. A–

Directed by Scott Ellis, Doubt makes every single second count, and even though it may be over at a brisk 90-minutes, the story and performances will stay with you for much, much longer. A–

How to Dance in Ohio — which features sparse staging and hardly any costume changes until the big dance itself — often misses by trying to cover too much ground from too many different angles and perspectives. And the music as a whole is only okay. But the moments that do hit — when we see these young adults confronting trepidation and unfamiliarity, and just generally celebrating life — hit hard, and will resonate with both the neurotypical and neurodivergent alike. Just ask all the folks in my row reaching for tissues.

But The Shark Is Broken - directed by Guy Masterson — is far from a maudlin experience. There are also laughs aplenty as the three argue about their billing on the movie poster, discuss the relationship between golf and sperm, break into impromptu song, and engage in all manner of games and bets to pass the time. Those moments ground the characters and work better than when the script goes for the low hanging fruit of actors from the 1970s commenting on the idiocy of sequels (Jaws would have three of them), and how ridiculous it would be to make a movie about outer space (Close Encounters, anyone?) or dinosaurs (hello, Jurassic Park!) Easy jokes like these may get some of the biggest laughs in the room, but feel a bit cheap and take away from the interplay between the characters.

Unfortunately, unlike the DeLorean, Back to the Future: The Musical itself never quite hits 88 miles an hour. But while the rest of the production is content to play it safe and steady, give Bart credit for always putting the pedal to the metal. After all, if you're going to throw a time machine onto a Broadway stage, why not do it with some style? Grade: B

Under the direction of Daniel Sullivan, Linney and Hecht deliver commanding performances in sharply different ways. Linney exudes steely confidence with a dash of haughty arrogance as Diana — perhaps masking insecurities over the humble trajectory of her own career. Meanwhile, Hecht's wide smile and easy-breezy tone disguise issues at home that Annie may not have the strength to acknowledge. Again, people are not just one thing.

While watching this new stage adaptation of Cameron Crowe's 2000 coming-of-age-on-a-tour-bus film, I couldn't help but wonder what the actual Bangs - the preeminent rock critic of his era obsessed with the anarchic lo-fi danger of the Stooges - would make of being a character in a splashy Broadway musical. It's safe to say he would probably not be a fan. But Bangs might also find himself wondering how a musical all about the love of music could fall so flat when it comes to the actual, you know, music. That is the biggest flaw in an adaptation that faithfully follows the original source material... sometimes a little too faithfully, with entire sections of dialogue and almost every scene and plot point seemingly lifted directly from the original film. In the end, you find yourself wishing that a production about the rebellious world of rock & roll would let its hair down a bit more and take bigger risks instead of playing it safe at almost every turn.