Matt Windman — Theater Critic

While Kathleen Marshall's crowd-pleasing production lacks the inspired showstopper choreography of her revival of 'Anything Goes,' it makes for nonstop giddy fun thanks to its dynamic cast, Joe DiPietro's wickedly funny dialogue and a treasure trove of timeless Gershwin favorites and rarities. At first, Broderick seems ill at ease, especially while dancing. But soon enough he wins over the audience with his charm and thin but pleasant singing voice. O'Hara, best remembered as Nellie Forbush in the 'South Pacific' revival, proves that she can also sparkle in a silly comedy.

The pottery wheel has been carried over. Same goes for the hit song 'Unchained Melody,' which is sung countless times. But that hardly helps 'Ghost the Musical,' a faithful but unmoving and overblown adaptation of the 1990 Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore romantic fantasy that has become an iconic chick flick.

As a dysfunctional family drama, 'The Lyons' is hardly as penetrating as 'Clybourne Park' or 'Other Desert Cities.' But as directed by Mark Brokaw, it's entertaining and full of witty one-liners. Lavin delivers a wild performance marked by wide facial expressions, an often screeching voice and kooky personality. She is nicely supported by an emaciated Latessa, tortured Grant and seemingly helpless Esper.

Although Nicholas Hytner's expertly staged production admittedly loses some steam during Act Two, it remains a riotous delight full of witty verbal wordplay and crude, often gross physical humor. Even the scene changes, during which a snazzy all-male band performs, are full of life.

Alex Timbers and Roger Rees' spirited production of Rick Elice's play is that rare kind of theatrical event that can appeal equally to kids — who will be captivated by the sentimental, action-packed plot — and adults — who will admire its imaginative theatricality.

The problem with 'Magic/Bird,' which is composed primarily of very short scenes, is that no conflict ever develops between the glitzy Johnson and the quiet Bird, who remain painfully polite and respectful to each other. The uneventful play ultimately resembles an audiovisual presentation of a Wikipedia article.

Grandage's accomplished production, which features Rob Ashford's stylish choreography, a beautiful two-story courtyard set design and truly spectacular costumes, has the potential to be a dynamic crowd-pleaser, but is seriously compromised by the casting.

Bennett successfully walks the fine line of convincingly portraying Garland's larger-than-life, bizarre behavior without making it feel like a campy parody. Although erratic, her Garland is also poised, witty and emotionally longing for some stability.

Jeff Calhoun's excellent production benefits from a three-story set design of scaffolds, complimented by cinematic projections, and Christopher Gattelli's spectacular choreography. The absolutely incredible young males in the cast do back-flips and audacious balletic spins, tap-dance on bar tables and shuffle with sheets of newspaper under their feet. Jordan, who starred in the flop 'Bonnie and Clyde' earlier this season, proves himself yet again to be a genuine matinee idol as Jack. His theatrical performance bursts with an aggressive fighting spirit and sincere adolescent emotion.

Des McAnuff's exciting new production, which premiered last summer at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, combines a rock-concert atmosphere with an elegant simplicity and runs exactly two hours in length.

At age 44, Philip Seymour Hoffman is still too young to be playing the 60-year-old Willy Loman. In a kind of dazed stupor, his Loman effortlessly switches between his out-of-control egotism and his private fears and insecurities. Still, Hoffman lacks the commanding ferocity that Brian Dennehy brought to the role in the 1999 Broadway revival. Rising film star Andrew Garfield, also too young for his role as Biff, holds his ground against Hoffman as they roar back and forth, and he emphasizes Biff's shame and discomfort. ... Linda Emond gives a radiant performance as Linda, stressing the character's unconditional love for Willy and her sober-minded ability to understand the realities of his situation. When she pronounces the now well-known line that 'attention must be paid,' a chill pervades the theater

William Shatner's new one-man show is not the most challenging piece of theater you're likely to see this year. You've probably also seen more inspired one-person shows. But it does make for a fun evening of personal reminiscence, gossip, video clips and old-fashioned humor - along with one of his strange musical performances. ... Shatner makes for a congenial presence and is very expressive throughout. He did seem a bit jittery and flustered at first, mumbling some of his lines and fiddling with the microphone packet in his back pocket, but he grew more relaxed as the 100-minute evening wore on.

It took more than a decade for 'Wit,' school teacher Margaret Edson's insightful medical drama, to make it to Broadway. But as demonstrated by Manhattan Theatre Club's elegant and intimate revival starring 'Sex and the City's' Cynthia Nixon, 'Wit' was well worth the wait...Nixon deserves a lot of credit for taking on such an unglamorous role. She nails the play's humor and captures Vivian's journey, which ends with her finally breaking down emotionally when she is no longer able to hide behind her 'wit.'

Although the production features a fine cast including Rosemary Harris, Jim Dale and Carla Gugino, it's about as exciting overall as watching paint dry. All three actors would benefit from bringing more passion to their performances. Although their characters are credibly portrayed, they approach them so gently that it makes this lightweight play feel even more insubstantial.

'The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess,' which trims the show's length to two and a half hours and adds new dialogue by avant-garde playwright Suzan Lori-Parks, both preserves the integrity of the original piece and makes for absolutely thrilling musical theater. It is directed by Diane Paulus, who staged the recent 'Hair' revival.

Something is very wrong when the transitional music played between scenes is treated as the most important part of a play...In spite of a few sincere performances, 'Stick Fly' is utterly derivative of better-known family dramas and dependent on shock value. It also doesn't help that the scene changes are painfully slowed down in order to showcase Keys' original music.

This really had the potential to be an entertaining, action-packed musical. Yet in spite of a mostly pleasant country-and-blues score and strong, sexy performances from the doll-faced Laura Osnes and heartthrob Jeremy Jordan, this remains a problematic show that lacks focus and tends to pause and meander too often.

Neither has lost any vocal power whatsoever. The problem lies in this production's really weird execution. As directed by Patinkin himself, this is a thoroughly austere and - except for a few silly bits - humorless concert. Accompanied by just a piano and bass, they tear through a large and varied stack of Broadway songs with barely any pauses or chitchat with the audience.

The play does not progress well. Douglas and Izzy more or less disappear. Kate's trajectory makes no sense at all. And by the end, it turns into a histrionic confrontation between Leonard and Martin chock-full of plot twists.

Richard Eyre's production largely fails to land even the easy laughs. While the first act - in which Amanda and Elyot rekindle their attraction - is still cute, the remainder of the play comes off as stale...Gross makes for a handsome and genuinely suave Elyot, and he has some great moments with Simon Paisley Day and Anna Madeley, who give fully dimensioned performances as Amanda and Elyot's nice but boring new spouses.

There's no getting around it: Hugh Jackman is the ultimate entertainer. Backed by an 18-piece orchestra and some very attractive back-up singers, he puts the rest of Broadway to shame in his extremely polished and thoroughly enjoyable song-and-dance show. Nay, let's call it a one-man spectacular.

As a seemingly scatterbrained young actress, Arianda is a total riot. But by the same token, she is completely convincing as the mature, mysterious and controlling figure in Thomas' play. Dancy, who stresses his character's frustrations and uprightness, gets easily seduced - along with the audience itself.

Sitting through the new Broadway revival of 'Godspell' is like watching an old high school friend getting beat up until he or she is barely recognizable. What was supposed to be fun and folksy has turned labored and excruciatingly painful.

At first glance, 'Other Desert Cities' doesn't seem all that different from numerous other family dramas in which tensions mount and secrets inevitably spill. But it is distinguished by the depth and complexity of each and every character, as well as the play's seamless structure...Under Mantello's directional finesse, this exceptional five-member cast turns Baitz's blueprint of family squabbling into a portrait of regret and denial that is as witty and entertaining as it is emotionally cathartic.

The play's best scenes, in which Hwang pinpoints the difficulty of conveying nuances and double meanings in the course of translation, are blissfully riotous. The other half of the play, depicting Cavanaugh's uneasy, often deceptive relationships with his Mandarin-speaking Australian translator and a Chinese official with whom he has an affair, is far less captivating.