Matt Windman

It's so depressing when a new musical that explores an important historical event turns out to have so many problems.78-year-old George Takei, who appears in a supporting role, was himself interned when he was a young boy and spearheaded the musical's development.

'On Your Feet!' has a whitewashed, corporate-approved texture, which makes Gloria and Emilio come off as utterly devoid of personality despite their accomplishments and personal drama. It's so self-congratulatory that one gets the impression that they personally vetted every line. The production (directed by Jerry Mitchell and choreographed by Sergio Trujillo) comes to life during upbeat production numbers, which have lively, salsa-flavored movement and a hot sound. But more often than not, it gets mired in flashbacks and other downbeat sequences in which the songs lack impact. It feels rather like a pop concert that is too often paused...Ana Villafañe...is a beauty with a bright presence. She receives solid support from Josh Segarra as the gentle Emilio and Andréa Burns as Gloria's stern mother.

When was the last time you saw a new play that was written in iambic pentameter, or a futuristic fantasy about real-life, still-living political figures? Mike Bartlett's 'King Charles III,' a critical and commercial hit in London, audaciously applies the conventions of the Shakespearean history play to today's British royal family, who are portrayed immediately after the death of the currently reigning 89-year-old Elizabeth II.

If Daniel Sullivan's Broadway revival doesn't necessarily make you a fan of dogs, it will most definitely make you a fan of Annaleigh Ashford...Ashford gives an absolutely wonderful performance as the title character...As playfully portrayed by Ashford...Sylvia is everything at once: innocent, excited, confrontational, scared, silly, tender, hormonal, adoring and always adorable. This truly is one of those must-see performances that will stick with you for some time. Broderick gives the sort of cartoonish, oddball performance previously seen in shows such as 'The Producers' and last year's 'It's Only a Play,' but it works unusually well here, and he has terrific chemistry with Ashford. In their hands, 'Sylvia' is a most unusual, quite touching love story.

In a mind-boggling move, the show (which has not aged all that well) is being revived on Broadway, where it is uncomfortably out of place...The score has a few hummable melodies, but it's hardly top-drawer work. The jokes, which were intended for a gentler sensibility and an audience that was familiar with the 1930s films being evoked, land flat, as do all the references to celebrities from the period. Staged by director-choreographer Randy Skinner with lots of pep but little personality, the hardworking six-member cast tries to overcome the lackluster material by aggressively playing up the campiness, to the point of relentless irritation.

Although it's hard to believe that it deserved a Pulitzer Prize, 'The Gin Game' is a nice little play about an unlikely friendship, and Leonard Foglia's revival is generally pleasant. Showing strong chemistry, Jones and Tyson make fine sparring partners. With pitch-perfect delivery, Jones digs into every line with fervor, booming bombast and an endearingly cranky spirit, while Tyson has a warm presence and navigates her character's dramatic moments with aplomb.

The thin 70-minute drama, which won acclaim three decades ago and was made into a film with Kim Basinger, is essentially an unsettling character study with a sense of mystery behind it. Daniel Aukin's focused, highly physical revival is built around the intense interplay between Arianda, who evokes both a hurt young girl and a torrent of violent emotion, and Rockwell, who coolly struts around and cockily plays with his lasso as if he were the Marlboro Man.

There's really no middle ground when it comes to the late English playwright Harold Pinter. You're either mesmerized by his mysterious, menacing, pause-filled psychological dramas or you find them puzzling, inert and empty -- as I usually do. That being said, the Roundabout's new revival of his 1971 three-actor, 65-minute drama 'Old Times' (which has an all-English cast and is directed by Tony-winning English actor Douglas Hodge) more than captures the playwright's distinctive style, packed with steel and sexiness. It is far better than the 2013 Broadway revival of Pinter's 'Betrayal,' which starred Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz.

The use of sign language (which functions as a kind of gestural choreography) reflects how the teens are unable to meaningfully talk with their parents or teachers, while the adults cannot hear them. Standouts among the cast include Krysta Rodriguez as the sad but fierce runaway Ilse and the spirited Ali Stroker, who may be the first wheelchair-bound actress to appear on Broadway. Oscar winner Marlee Matlin makes a cameo as one of the adults, alongside Camryn Manheim ('The Practice') and the crisp-voiced Patrick Page.

I must confess that I gave one of the less enthusiastic reviews of 'Hamilton' back in February, finding the plot to be too dense (it is, after all, a biography) and the hip-hop sound to be monotonous. On second viewing, I was determined to accept the show on its own terms, and I ended up being absolutely entranced by Miranda's inventive writing, Thomas Kail's masterful direction and Andy Blankenbuehler's nonstop movement. I may be the last critic to join the 'Hamilton' fan club, but better late than never. Miranda tackles Hamilton's life, as well as the chaos and culture of the Revolutionary War and early years of the Republic, with genuine historical analysis, humor, tenderness and an eye for contemporary relevance.

On the heels of President Barack Obama breaking into 'Amazing Grace' during a eulogy, a well-meant but embarrassingly uninteresting musical depicting the life saga of the hymn' writer has opened. Watching it, you keep thinking, 'How in the world did this get to Broadway?'...Resembling an old-fashioned adventure novel, 'Amazing Grace' is packed with changes of fortune, sentimentality and one-dimensional characters. Smith's mushy, forgettable songs sound like the work of someone who loves 'Les Miz' but has little talent of his own...Too bad they couldn't just sing 'Amazing Grace' at the start and save everyone 2 1/2 hours.

'Airline Highway' presents a lively, detailed portrait of a lower class community in the South. But nice as it is to have a wide assortment of colorful characters, the focus too often drifts away from the central players of the plot. It ends with many of the conflicts unresolved. It's no surprise that this production was previously seen at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, which is renowned for its emphasis on ensemble acting. As directed by Joe Mantello ('Wicked'), the cast delivers detailed, sympathetic performances.

Although it makes for a provocative thriller, the score is weak, dreary and derivative of Kander and Ebb's earlier work. Considering how Rivera and Rees are limited vocally, it may sound better with stronger singers. Doyle's streamlined and ultra-stylized production...is visually striking, but perhaps too ghoulish for its own good -- to the point of being excessively creepy and gloomy. Take, for instance, the two blind eunuchs who follow Clara around, wear clown makeup and speak in falsetto. Rivera, unquestionably a Broadway treasure, has the star quality and grand composure to play the diva-like Claire. By comparison, Rees portrays Anton as a sad, broken man, all too willing to meet his dismal fate.

You could describe 'Something Rotten!' as 'Shakespeare in Love' meets 'Spamalot'...With all its showmanship and silliness, 'Something Rotten!' begins on an extremely promising note, sustains it throughout act one, and then falters in act two, where attempts are made to resolve the haywire plot...Even so, 'Something Rotten!' is a great deal of cartoonish fun, especially for musical theater fans who can appreciate the inside references...Its cheery songs are enjoyable and hummable...The cast is comprised of musical theater veterans who deliver larger-than-life performances. Borle is especially hilarious, portraying Shakespeare like a narcissistic rock star, and James gives a sympathetic turn in the leading role.

The musical is unexpectedly easy to follow despite heavy exposition, multiple character arcs and constant action...The songs are soft and often moving. And while it's admirable that the creators largely avoided bombastic gestures, it never captures the emotional agony and historical turbulence its characters confront. You come away with no sense of why 'Doctor Zhivago' has been turned into a musical in the first place. The lead actors are capable, but they turn in one-dimensional performances. Tam Mutu brings dashing looks to the title character but little else, and Paul Alexander Nolan ('Jesus Christ Superstar') resembles just a rush of intensity. As the elusive Lara, beloved by all the men, Kelli Barrett is attractive but hollow.

Fleming and Sills serve up over-the-top caricatures, while O'Connell and Chlumsky dutifully serve as their pawns and playthings. Fleming occasionally breaks into bits of familiar arias, adding some operatic flavor...The most inspired bit of comedy involves an encore curtain call that mocks the self-indulgent, overextended ones you can still see during revivals of Franco Zeffirelli productions at the Met. Directed with Technicolor flair by Kathleen Marshall...'Living on Love' might have been enjoyable were it not for the complete emptiness of the piece itself. Although reminiscent of the screwball film comedies of the 1930s, it never moves beyond a simple, static scenario.

'Fun Home' is a thoroughly dynamic piece that is just as emotionally piercing, good-humored and enjoyable as it is sharp, focused and culturally conscious. It belongs on the list of the smartest, most innovative musicals written in the Sondheim tradition of the past decade, such as 'Spring Awakening,' 'Next to Normal' and 'The Scottsboro Boys.'

The King and I' holds up incredibly well as a piece of drama. The songs are beautiful, the characters are complex and its themes of democratization, cultural miscommunication and gender inequality are timely. Sher's production, which features a 51-member cast and a 29-piece orchestra, is generally impressive and satisfying...It is very difficult to understand what Watanabe is saying. He has an imposing presence and highly theatrical spirit, but his diction stops the show in its tracks. O'Hara, one of the finest actresses working in musical theater today, delivers a fine, sympathetic performance as the staunch Anna, but it is hardly as captivating as her sexy Nellie. The standout of the production is Ruthie Ann Miles as Lady Thiang, the King's chief wife, who understands him better than anyone else.

It's frequently said that 90% of a director's job lies in the casting, and David Hyde Pierce indisputably nailed that part of the job as director of the new wedding-themed musical comedy 'It Shoulda Been You'...It's just a shame that the show itself is so dated and unfunny. When the material is this disappointing, no one can save it...Under better circumstances, this might have been a fun, feel-good trifle. Unfortunately, the sitcom humor is well-worn and hokey, the music is weak, the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes and the concept is tissue-paper thin. Ironically, having great actors involved doesn't make it any better. Instead, you feel frustrated that they're not in a better show...Pierce, who emphasizes the over-the-top, lighthearted tone in a clean and efficient production, might have a future as a director, but he needs to be more careful when choosing his material.

Lucas stresses the cultural tensions in postwar Paris, bringing up the painful stains of Nazi occupation... Though heavy-handed and drawn out, he deserves credit for trying to add depth to the film rather than simply recreating it or sanitizing it (i.e. 'Gigi'). Regardless of the book, the music is glorious, the visuals are innovative and the performances are top-rate.

Although full of intrigue and cruel twists of fate, 'Wolf Hall' is a stiff, step-by-step, plodding march through English history, leaving little space for character development. One-liners and broad jokes have been added in that inappropriately contradict the ominous tone. Given that Part Two is hardly the end of the King Henry saga, 'Wolf Hall' is incomplete as a narrative. Perhaps they should have waited for Mantel to finish all of her books before doing this onstage.

The stage version of the 1958 MGM movie musical 'Gigi' is a good example of what the late composer Mary Rodgers called a 'why musical' -- a tolerable but ultimately pointless adaptation that adds little to, and is inferior than, the source upon which it is based...Efforts to flesh out Gigi and her beau Gaston come off as labored...As directed by Eric Schaeffer ('Newsies'), the production has an elegant look and lively movement but nevertheless feels empty and stalled. Hudgens gives the sort of sincere but clumsy performance you'd expect to see in, well, a high school musical. But all things considered, she has been given a near-impossible task of injecting life and charm into what is essentially a two-and-a-half-hour slog.

'Hand to God' -- a dark, irreverent and smart comedy by the young, previously unknown playwright Peter Askins -- is one hell of a great success story, having graduated step by step from off Off-Broadway to Off-Broadway to finally Broadway itself. This is the kind of raw and raunchy play you don't typically see on Broadway, but once there ends up making Broadway a more exciting place...Yet despite how silly it gets, 'Hand to God' is also a seriously disturbing portrait of an emotionally scarred mother and son who have spent so long suppressing their rage that it comes out in unpredictable and inappropriate ways.

The Roundabout Theatre Company's new production with Kristin Chenoweth and Peter Gallagher doesn't live up to all that the musical could be theatrically, musically and comically. That being said, the production is still pretty damn enjoyable. To speak metaphorically, the glass may not be full, but it's certainly more than half full.

With its nonlinear format, the play was bound to be choppy. Some scenes are more dramatically charged than others, and some characters are more fully developed. There is also no overall conflict or plot. But taken as a whole, 'The Audience' is a fascinating meditation on the historic and present day role of the English monarch. Mirren, whose recent film credits include 'The Hundred-Foot Journey' and 'Hitchcock,' capably handles the challenging role, constantly altering her appearance while conveying the Queen's firm respect for tradition, a sympathetic ear and a witty sense of humor.