Gordon Cox

God may have created the heavens and the earth and all living things -- but the Devil surely created Tyrone, the filthy-minded, foul-mouthed sock puppet that has audiences howling at 'Hand to God.' Robert Askins' furiously funny comedy about adolescent rebellion against religious cant has made a smooth passage from workshop (at Ensemble Studio Theater) to Off Broadway (in an MCC production) to Broadway. Moritz von Stuelpnagel hasn't touched a hair on the head of his clever production and the original cast is still golden. At 800 seats, the intimate Booth proves extremely hospitable to this fiendish little satire of all things holy.

Lincoln Center Theater's stunning production of Douglas Carter Beane's 'The Nance' is a textbook example of how to put on a classy show. It helps to have a bona fide (and certifiably bankable) star like Nathan Lane casting his glow in the title role of a Depression-era comic who plays 'pansy parts' in burlesque shows. Another smart move was booking this period piece into a beautiful old Broadway house. The final coup was entrusting the helming to Jack O'Brien, whose impeccable taste in casting and keen eye for design guarantee a seamless show.

No one saw it coming. A debuting musical theater team adapting a Roald Dahl children's story about an unhappy girl whose life is saved by the magic of books? True, helmer Matthew Warchus ('God of Carnage') was aboard, but his tuner credits include 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Ghost.' Yet 'Matilda' turns out to be an explosion of joy, the most exhilarating and flat-out best musical since 'Billy Elliot.'...'Matilda' comes with a ready-made audience via generations who have feasted upon the original story. But this transcends its source. As with 'Billy Elliot,' having the narrative led by the title character and numerous other children necessitates expensive multiple casts. But 'Matilda' is so riotously enjoyable that if the figures can be made to work, its future could be limitless.