Frank Scheck — Theater Critic

The battle sequences are also particularly powerful, with evocative sound, lighting and projection effects employed that thoroughly draw us into the action. Such sequences as when the British officer is literally blown off his steed by a flying projectile and another in which Joey is confronted by a menacing tank are staged with a nightmarish intensity.

The Motherf**ker With the Hat has at least two things going for it right off the bat. The first is that marvelously profane--albeit generally unprintable--title. The second is the coup of having landed comedian Chris Rock for his Broadway debut in this new dark comedy by Stephen Adly Guirgis (Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train and Our Lady of 121st Street, among others). Ironically, both elements actually work against the production. The title, although certainly memorable, has proven off-putting to mainstream Broadway audiences. And Rock has been less of a box-office draw than expected, even though his presence no doubt accounts for this Broadway engagement of a play that would have seemed far more at home in an intimate, non-commercial environment.

There’s so much that works about Catch Me if You Can that it’s easy to overlook what doesn’t. This adaptation of the 2002 Steven Spielberg film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks boasts the sort of old-fashioned aspects so many contemporary musicals lack: solid storytelling, characters you come to care about and a tuneful, memorable score. Only the awkward structure and slow patches of Terrence McNally’s book prevent it from being a total triumph.

Not everyone in the large supporting cast is up to her level. Colin Donnell is bland as Billy Crocker, the young stockbroker who stows aboard the ship to pursue Hope Harcourt (Laura Osnes), the pretty debutante with whom he’s fallen hopelessly in love; Joel Grey milks his cutesy shtick too shamelessly as the gangster Moonface Martin; and Jessica Martin is largely wasted as Hope’s gold-digging mother.

The immediate question, of course, is whether Radcliffe is up to the demands of his leading musical comedy role. The answer is a qualified yes. The young actor has clearly worked hard, very hard, and while his singing is merely pleasant at best, he displays a very likeable and charming stage presence as J. Pierrepont Finch, the relentlessly ambitious schemer working his way up the corporate ladder. He lacks the inspired comic impishness of such predecessors as Robert Morse and Matthew Broderick—his too earnest delivery of the classic self-love number “I Believe in You” falls flat, for instance—but his youthful eagerness serves him well here. He speaks and sings with a flawless American accent, and his athletic dancing reveals plenty of hours spent in the rehearsal room.

Leguizamo brings much energy to the proceedings, which is filled with funny one-liners and hilarious impressions of such co-stars as Al Pacino. But the overlong evening begins to wear thin over the course of its two-and-a-half hours. When he goes on at length about his arduous pursuit of the woman he would later marry and then proudly displays pictures of their adorable babies, it’s like running into an old classmate at a high school reunion from whom you can’t wait to tear yourself away.

There have been reports about Priscilla Queen of the Desert having been made more family-friendly for Broadway. But it’s hard to imagine that this musical, arriving here after successful runs in Australia and London, could have been any bawdier. For all its undeniably entertaining aspects, the overall experience is akin to spending two-and-a-half hours watching floats in the Gay Pride Parade pass by.

Although purists might sneer at this concert/theatrical experience, there's no denying that, as cover bands go, this is one of the best.

Still, despite any quibbles, it remains a pleasure to watch these two old pros at work, and Gaines, as usual, is an absolute delight, more than keeping up with his older co-stars.

Finally, there’s a Broadway show to which husbands can drag their wives rather than the other way around. But though the new biodrama about famed football coach Vince Lombardi is bound to attract sports fans who otherwise would not venture near a theater, theatergoers not inherently interested in the subject are going to be a much tougher sell. Heavy on sports atmosphere but light on content, “Lombardi” doesn't make it to the goal line.

Bottom Line: The brilliant Mark Rylance and David Hyde Pierce bring whatever comic life there is to this spoof of 17th century theatrical conventions.

Bottom Line: Snarky rock musical about 'Old Hickory' is more sophomoric than satiric.

You can practically feel Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight's joy in performing in the Broadway revival of David Mamet's 1977 'A Life in the Theatre.' With his well-honed physicality and booming stentorian voice, Stewart is a master at conveying vainglorious self-regard. And Knight, who worked extensively on the New York stage before his Emmy-nominated, personally stormy stint on 'Grey's Anatomy,' seems delighted to be back.

On one level, this work -- about a female photojournalist and her writer boyfriend coping with the physical and emotional aftereffects of her near-death experience while covering the Iraq War -- deals with such themes as the responsibilities of journalists to their subjects and the thrill-seeking addiction that drives them. But the playwright cannily uses this as a framework to explore the shifting trajectories of relationships, with longtime but unmarried couple Sarah (Linney) and James (d'Arcy James) discovering that the incident has dramatically shifted their priorities and emotional needs.

But despite their efforts, the production never catches fire, a result not only of the play's datedness -- it's not one of the playwright's best -- but also the general stodginess around them. Although the director has assembled a decent supporting cast, including Mark Harelik as Mrs. Warren's pragmatic business partner and Adam Driver as the young man who admits to romantically pursuing Vivie basically for her money, the proceedings lack the emotional and moral charge that Shaw intended.

Upon entering the theater, you're greeted by ushers in period garb who regale you with comic banter and musical numbers. This immersion continues with the show proper, which ingeniously incorporates old-style film images and projections into which the characters pop in and out. The overall effect is visually dazzling, but the neatest trick is that the technological gimmickry never overwhelms the simple emotionality of the tale.

Bottom Line: New leads Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch bring a whole new level to a show that demands a repeat visit.

But for all the script's funny one-liners, vignettes like Scott's account of losing her virginity to a Times Square street magician don't have much resonance. A lengthy segment centering on an obsessive teenage fan (Eamon Foley) who posted a video on YouTube of himself lip-synching to one of her songs is more creepy than amusing. Scott, accompanied by backup singers Lindsay Menez and Betsy Wolfe, handles the musical and narrative demands of the show in fine fashion. But 'Rapture' comes across as overly precious and lacking the thematic heft that would justify its unexpected Broadway berth.

Margulies' play certainly is schematic -- the audience pretty much sees where it's going right from the beginning -- but his characterizations are so incisive and his dialogue so rich that one hardly minds. The details of the New York literary scene are rendered with a rich authenticity; there's plenty of in-the-know name dropping, and the play gets one of its biggest laughs with a simple re-creation of the iconic 92nd Street Y logo.

But for all its imaginative conceits, 'Enron' is more intellectually than emotionally engaging. The characters rarely rise above the level of caricature and, with rare exceptions -- like the shattering moment at Lay's funeral when a financially devastated former employee angrily confronts an unrepentant Skilling -- the play fails to provide a human element to its complicated narrative.

His movie-star charisma on full display, Washington infuses his compelling turn with equal doses of raucous humor and barely contained violence that keep the audience constantly off-guard. He's beautifully matched by Davis, who conveys her character's indefatigable inner strength and endless reserves of warmth so vividly that when her character suffers a deep betrayal in Act 2, the effect is shattering.

The Broadway Theatre's musical adaptation of Billy Wilder's classic film 'The Apartment' has clearly tapped into the '60s era nostalgia so vividly rendered by the AMC television series. While there are plenty of quibbles to be found in this production directed and choreographed by Rob Ashford and starring Sean Hayes (in his Broadway debut) and Kristin Chenoweth, it's a generally winning evening that restores a much-needed dose of musical comedy to Broadway.

The best parts of the show, ironically, are the interview segments, in which the erudite and witty composer provides an entertaining running commentary ranging from breezy showbiz anecdotes -- the one about Ethel Merman's run-in with Loretta Young is priceless -- to explications of his creative process to self-revealing autobiography. Anyone interested in the famously private songwriter will relish the opportunity to see footage of him puttering around his home, not to mention the close-ups of the bric-a-brac littering his office. Unfortunately, these informative segments are too often interrupted by the live performers on hand, who provide wildly uneven renditions of songs that usually fare much better. For instance, 'Comedy Tonight,' performed by the ensemble, is seriously unfunny, and 'Something's Coming' has the blandness of Muzak.

Although the original concept album is reasonably cohesive, it's a thin premise on which to base a musical, and the show's book, by the band's Billie Joe Armstrong and director Michael Mayer, doesn't manage to flesh it out sufficiently. Telling its story largely through music and movement with only a smattering of dialogue, 'Idiot' never manages to make us care about the fate of its thinly drawn characters. Still, there's a lot of passion onstage, and Mayer has provided the sort of propulsive staging that helps put the material over.

The setting is seedier, more realistically evocative of the sort of decadent seaside nightclub it depicts. The Cagelles are unpolished and decidedly tough looking; glaring during their routines, they seem as likely to accost audience members as entertain them. The orchestra is smaller, and at the intimate Longacre Theatre, one is much closer to the action. The results, thankfully, are simply wonderful. Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein's 1983 musical, which already has received two lavish Broadway productions, is even more touching and entertaining in this chamber-style version, imported from London's Menier Chocolate Factory (currently white-hot thanks to this and its 'A Little Night Music,' which also transferred).