Marilyn Stasio

Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxburgh lead the Sydney Theater Company in a sparkling production of 'The Present,' Andrew Upton's free-form treatment of Anton Chekhov's 'Platonov.' The original play, an early effort written when the playwright was 21, is quite the shaggy dog - rambling, unfocused and stuffed with gratuitous characters. But the spirit of Chekhovian farce shines bright, and the ensemble work of this Aussie company is just grand.

The very thought of a Broadway transfer of 'Dear Evan Hansen' might chill the blood of theatergoers who loved this bittersweet show when it played in the intimate setting of Off Broadway's Second Stage Theater. But through the alchemy of Michael Greif, who directed the original productions at Arena Stage and at Second Stage, Broadway's Music Box Theater proves a perfect fit for this sensitive musical starring a sensational Ben Platt as a neurotic misfit trying to survive senior year in high school. As for the music and lyrics by Benj Pasekand Justin Paul: Not since 'Next to Normal' has a score tapped so deeply into the troubled psyche of its needy protagonist.

To the best of our knowledge, 'A Bronx Tale,' Chazz Palminteri's love letter to the wise guys and tough street kids from his old neighborhood has not been re-imagined as a ballet, but given the popularity of this vintage material, that might very well be in the works. After the 1989 solo show, the 1993 movie directed by Robert De Niro and the 2007 Broadwayproduction staged by Jerry Zaks, where else could this show go but back to Broadway as a musical starring Nick Cordero? Is it a good fit? Not really, but there's something nicely symmetrical about the material progress. Next up: surely an opera.

'Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812,' with Josh Groban and Denee Benton in the title roles, is a luscious, 360-degree immersive experience that feels like being smothered in velvet. After transferring seamlessly from Ars Nova to Kazino, Dave Malloy's innovative musical treatment of a tiny wedge of Tolstoy's 'War & Peace' has re-surfaced at the structurally revamped Imperial Theater in a Broadway transfer of the original, wondrously well-staged production by director Rachel Chavkin.

Schreiber gives it his best shot, but the sensitive feelings of a charming libertine don't register in the same way that his more animal appetites do. Not that animal appetites are quite the thing for this play. Schreiber is a strong actor and a studly kind of male, and despite a constricting costume and skull-pinching wig, he exudes a modern manliness that hardly suits the effete Valmont.

The warm performances of a terrific cast soften the underlying sadness of Finn's breakthrough musical about a nebbish named Marvin (an endearing performance from Christian Borle) who leaves his loving wife, Trina (Stephanie J. Block, dynamite), and young son (Anthony Rosenthal, blessedly unaffected) for a male lover with the improbable name of Whizzer (Andrew Rannells, irresistible to all sexes).

The core component of their act is pure character comedy. Looking a fright in floppy old-man wigs and baggy old-man outfits designed by Emily Rebholz, Gil Faizon (Kroll) and George St. Geegland (Mulaney) are 70-something roommates who have been living in a rent-controlled apartment on the Upper West Side for about half a century. Taking upon themselves the theatrical vibe of the neighborhood, George fancies himself a writer and Gil insists he's a working actor. To enlighten us about their work, they illustrate the techniques of delivering nonsensical curtain lines and making one-sided telephone calls. We should also be aware that, 'if this is a drama, there will be screaming.'

Memories could be fatal to this revival of 'Cats' - specifically, the memory of Betty Buckley as Grizabella, singing 'Memory' as it's meant to be sung, with heartbreaking beauty and exquisite pain by a great stage performer. Leona Lewis, the British pop star anointed by Andrew Lloyd Webber himself, isn't in her league. Happily, nothing as catty can be said of the rest of this fabulous revival of the 1981 musical phenom that padded its way around the world on little cats' feet.

Both the opening and closing numbers of this ebullient show pay homage to alumni of the original production of 'Shuffle Along' and those who followed. Florence Mills didn't join the show until Gertrude Saunders was fired (both characters are played here by the dynamic Adrienne Warren), and Josephine Baker had to wait until she turned 16 to officially sign on. But Adelaide Hall was in the chorus of Jazz Jasmines. And the refined Lottie Gee, played here by that goddess we mortals know as Audra McDonald, was the star of the original production.

The tenderness between Gabriel Byrne, in the towering role of the fading Broadway actor James Tyrone, and Jessica Lange, as his beloved but tormented wife Mary, brings welcome relief from the overall misery of Eugene O'Neill's semi-autographical masterwork, 'Long Day's Journey Into Night.' As staged by British director Jonathan Kent and acted by a cast that also includes Michael Shannon, the Roundabout Theater Company's outstanding revival has a lighter tone and softer edges that, paradoxically, impart a deeper sorrow onto this classic domestic tragedy.

Without bringing anything special to the role of the beleaguered reservations clerk, Ferguson's performance should remind the industry why this clever trifle is among the ten most-produced plays in the country...The funny voices and comic poses Ferguson adopts to play all these characters are no more amusing than they need to be. But he shines as one character: Sam. Not only does he bring a sense of true if battered humanity to the role, he also gives Sam all the satisfaction he deserves as the worm who finally turns -- and reveals that he has teeth.

'Waitress' owes its sweetness to the mouth-watering goodness of Jessie Mueller. As a diner waitress named Jenna, Mueller is such a honey bun, she melts us like the mounds of butter that make Jenna's homemade pies so luscious. The musical resorts to comic overkill to create characters based on Adrienne Shelly's 2007 indie rom-com. But Sara Bareilles has written a charming score that suits the quirky material and Mueller's dazzling voice and endearing personality.

There's no real drama to the basic structure of the play, just the ruthless forward movement of one man's inevitable fate unfolding. To say the play is hard to take is a cruel understatement...Langella does a superb job of communicating the conflicted feelings of a man who can't believe - and won't accept - the changes in his life...Aside from letting Donald Holder get away with shining high-beam lights at the audience during blackouts, director Doug Hughes handles the material with sensitivity

There's bound to be head-scratching over Ivo van Hove's peculiar Broadway production of 'The Crucible,' Arthur Miller's towering 1953 drama about the infamous 17th-century Salem witch trials - and so much more. The ensemble, led by Ben Whishaw, Sophie Okonedo, Ciaran Hinds, and Saoirse Ronan, is superb, and the play sustains its power to shock and thrill. But the directorial concept is baffling. In stripping down the context of 'A View from the Bridge' earlier this season, van Hove did a brilliant job of isolating and illuminating the internal battle waged by its tormented hero to save his own soul. 'The Crucible' resists that treatment. It's too big, too complex, too philosophical to deconstruct and reduce to its 'essence.'

'Bright Star' is Broadway-slick under Walter Bobbie's direction...and an appealing lead performance from Carmen Cusack. But the sheer scale of the package overwhelms this sweet but slender homespun material...Eugene Lee's versatile set looks properly rustic while performing multiple dramatic duties...Martin is an accomplished banjo player and the sweetly melodic music he writes with Brickell sounds completely authentic. But after a bunch of choruses, they also sound repetitive...American roots music is grounded in the English narrative ballad, so it makes sense that Brickell's literate but plot-driven lyrics are intended to advance the story...The big drawback to the chatty lyrics is that they re-hash the plot's melodramatic content, but neglect to deepen or explore the characters.

The Roundabout Theater Company's enchanting Broadway revival of 'She Loves Me' is so charming, you kind of wish it would follow you home. The show is a special triumph for director Scott Ellis...Laura Benanti and Zachary Levi are endearing as the shy lovers in this intimate romantic comedy, the supporting cast (including Jane Krakowski) constitutes a dream team, and the stagecraft is absolutely flawless...In addition to her glorious soprano voice, Benanti has great comedy chops...She's at her best here in a part that has been waiting for her to come along, a part that seems to love her. The songs 'Vanilla Ice Cream' and 'Where's My Shoe?' have her name on them -- and that's that.

Now on Broadway under Joe Mantello's technically immaculate (if overindulgent) direction, Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams play the two deeply troubled lovers (or is it predator and victim?) who meet again, 15 years after their affair (or is it crime?) was abruptly terminated...It was Mantello's directorial choice to go big with the emotions in this first scene, which heightens the drama but also pitches the passion so high that the actors can only take it up... and up... to the edge of hysteria...Both Daniels...and Williams...become more physically invested in the battle and more drawn to one another...But even at this high decibel level, the disturbing substance of the play makes it riveting.

Calling all disco queens. Get out your best polyester frock and fluff up your fro -- it's party time on the Barracuda, the casino riverboat bound for destruction in 'Disaster!,' a ridiculously if unevenly funny Broadway musical...sending up the 1970s cultural zeitgeist. Corralling a catalog of pop and disco hits to tell their spoofy story, the creatives find much to laugh at in the garish fashions, cheesy movies, weepy pop songs and disco-druggy dance tunes of that beloved era...Although not particularly glitzy or glam, this is a good cast that knows the comic ropes...The fun is contagious as long as we're following these eccentric musical cues for plot and character development...At the helm, Plotnick manages the traffic well enough, and the actors are game, bless their hearts. But ultimately, 70s disaster movies were far more ludicrous than anything on this stage.

When experienced in the intimacy of the Public's LuEsther Theater earlier this season, Danai Gurira's searing drama about women's roles in the Liberian civil war had an extraordinarily visceral impact. With only 177 seats in the house, audience and performers seemed to be breathing the same air. One wondered whether that connection would be broken when the show moved to a much larger Broadway theater. Not to worry. The 900-seat Golden Theater was originally designed to be an intimate house, a good fit for small-scaled, serious plays, of which 'Eclipsed' is decidedly one. And while the $95 top-priced ticket was a draw for downtown theatergoers, at a new top of $145, the show hits the sweet spot for the serious New York theater crowd - the ideal audience for this intense drama - that often feels overlooked and underserved on Broadway.

Forest Whitaker is blessed with an air of warmth and decency that shines through in film roles like the one he played in 'The Butler.' Michael Grandage...has directed him with considerable sensitivity as Erie, the forlorn gambler in Eugene O'Neill's 'Hughie.' Erie feels abandoned after the death of the hotel clerk who was his only friend and lucky mascot. But Whitaker's warmth can also be a hindrance, as it is when the star, making his Broadway debut here, must also convince us that in better days he was a confident and happy-go-lucky sporting man...What Erie wants is his luck back, a need made palpable in Whitaker's heartfelt performance.

Each and every character is enormously appealing, and Karam takes care to reveal their guarded secrets with great tenderness, just as Mantello's directorial hand gently advances the play from comedy to tragedy. The revelations of weakness in this close-knit family are not entirely unexpected -- lost loves, failed jobs, depression, money troubles, health problems, unpardonable misjudgments and the overwhelming pain of grief and regret. The big question, of course, is whether the Blakes can survive after this emotional night. Karam doesn't make it easy for them -- or us -- and the ambiguous ending seems to tilt toward darkness. But don't bet on it.

Not even the sainted Linda Lavin can save the deeply unpleasant character she plays in 'Our Mother's Brief Affair,' a lazy play by Richard Greenberg...Stubbornly lacking in dramatic tension, the uneventful narrative features a mean-spirited woman who may or may not be on her deathbed, recounting a closely held secret to her disagreeable grown children. There's little to fault in the attractively mounted and very well cast production...Lavin's keen acerbic wit is wasted...on a character like Anna, who is, truth to tell, a sour woman with bitter views of everyone but herself.

Funny lady Andrea Martin leads the nimble cast of this well-tooled revival helmed by Jeremy Herrin, who kept his comedic sensibilities under wraps in last season's austere RSC production of 'Wolf Hall,' but cuts loose here...Act II is bust-a-gut funny...This is where helmer Herrin puts his well-drilled ensemble through the synchronized chaos that can come crashing down on their heads if someone misses a beat...Like 'Law & Order' reruns, 'Noises Off' seems to be always playing somewhere in the civilized world, a perfect specimen of its generic art form. And that's exactly the way it should be, because this kind of comedic brilliance never gets stale.

The ladies wear the pants in John Doyle's ravishing revival of 'The Color Purple.' Jennifer Hudson is radiant as the love machine Shug Avery. Danielle Brooks shakes the house as the earthy Sofia. And Cynthia Erivo, the tiny pint of dynamite who originated the role at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London, brings the audience roaring to its feet as Celie...All three performers are making their Broadway debuts, which makes it all the more thrilling. In a feat of reverse magic, Doyle's minimalist production maximizes the strength and beauty of Marsha Norman's book...Both the beauty and the brains of the score are evident in the fact that each character's signature song belongs only to that character.

While paying his respects to that manic role model, Alex Brightman maintains his own appealing brand of scruffy charm as Dewey Finn, amiably ceding the spotlight to a cast of super-talented kids who rock out on the kind of songs you always wished had been in the movie...Thankfully, nothing savage has been done to the original film story - except to lay on the energetic rock songs that people tend to remember as having been in the movie.