Michael Dale

...while the philosophical issues of leadership, class and art don't always land as completely as the expertly-performed wordplay and slapstick, not to mention a rousing spectacle near the finish that is best left as a surprise, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus is bound inspire further thought about those who create madness in art to inspire revolts against the madness of the world's injustices.

One might wonder if, a century or so from now, audiences might be able to see Hillary and Clinton with fresh eyes, uninformed by public knowledge and public opinion. But for now, it's those previous opinions we hold that act as additional characters in this vibrant social commentary comedy about the job of getting elected.

If the story loses steam a bit in the second act, the storytelling doesn't, and at the center of Hadestown is the theme of why we repeat the songs and stories that we've heard and sung countless times before. As she did with her excellent staging of NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812, Chavkin turns her cast into an irresistible community of storytelling entertainers, carrying on their traditions even after they've taken their bows. Working with a turntable floor, she and choreographer David Neumann create a striking array of visuals, particularly when a group of hanging lamps appear to be choreographed as they swing above the audience.

Director Michael Mayer's generally well-acted production begins with an impressive visual, set designer Derek McLane's striking depiction of a downtown Manhattan loft apartment in what was once an industrial building, featuring square footage for days, tall windows offering a sweet view of the city and warmth provided by a parade of steam radiators lining a wall. Kerri Russell gives a fine, thoughtful performance as Anna, a dancer and aspiring choreographer who has just lost her best friend and artistic collaborator, Robbie, when he and his boyfriend perished in a boating accident. Anna and Robbie shared the loft with former dancer turned Madison Avenue wonk Larry. The funeral made it clear to them that most of Robbie's family was unaware of his sexual orientation, treating Anna as his girlfriend.

Some of the finest Broadway musical revivals of this young century have been directed by Bartlett Sher, who has staged handsome, traditional-looking productions of SOUTH PACIFIC, THE KING AND I, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF and MY FAIR LADY that, with minimal revisions, interpret the material with a modern eye. While Daniel Fish's mounting of Oklahoma!, may seem like an extreme departure on the surface, it displays the same respect for the authors' work while drawing out what will connect with modern audiences. This is a sensational Broadway debut for an artist we'll hopefully be seeing more from in years to come.

As the political power struggle intensifies and the body count begins to rise, Gold guides his actors to a smooth transition into the tension and tragedy of its climax. Jackson's Lear is no less pitiable in the play's final moments than he might have been with a less presentational performance. But for audiences, the journey getting to those final moments is a just a little more kick-back enjoyable than usual.

It's all an extraordinary balance of historical fact, legal analysis and personal experience presented with a warm, conversational tone. Because a great deal of her text involves facts and statistics concerning violence against women ('More American women have been killed by violent male partners in the last century than Americans have been killed in wars, including 9/11.'), Schreck explains that it's important to her to have 'some positive male energy up here with me,' so she shares the stage with Mike Iveson, who at first dutifully takes on the role of moderator/timekeeper in his VFW uniform, but then reveals a bit more of himself.

While the great Motown songs like 'Just My Imagination,' 'Get Ready' and 'Papa Was a Rollin' Stone' may be AIN'T TOO PROUD's main attraction, Morisseau's well-crafted storytelling proves just as important as the musical memories. This is the Broadway debut for the MacArthur Genius Grant recipient whose brilliant Off-Broadway contributions have included SKELETON CREW, PIPELINE and the trio of plays making up THE DETROIT PROJECT. Perhaps the next time her work appears on Broadway, the main attraction will be the music made by this exciting playwright's words.

The most recognizable change (aside from the elimination of the onstage moment when a fed-up Fred takes Lilli over his knee and spanks her) comes in the final scene, which, in 1948, Porter and the Spewacks lifted directly from the original. Petruchio's command that Katherine, 'tell these headstrong women what duty they do owe their husbands,' has been altered to 'tell these headstrong lovers what duty they owe their mates.' Her response, 'I am ashamed that women are so simple,' is now 'I am ashamed that people are so simple,' and the fellow no longer calls her a wench before they embrace.

Tracz's book solidly moves the story along, with Stephen Brackett's staging nailing comic moments without sacrificing sincerity. Chase Brock's fun choreography appropriately works within the capabilities of typical suburban high school sophomores.

While the play takes place in contemporary times, McCraney and director Trip Cullman's warmly affectionate tone gives it the kind of nostalgic feel that's familiar to the genre. And the issues that arise in the piece do have a touch of familiarity. What isn't familiar, though, is placing a young gay man of color - one who feels he has nothing to hide - at the center of it all, considerably raising the significance of placing a play like Choir Boy in front of Broadway audiences.

Without knowing any better, one might easily mistake the new stage adaptation of Harper Lee's Pulitzer-winning 1960 novel 'To Kill A Mockingbird' for a revival of a classic Golden Age Broadway drama. So earnest in tone and full of plainspoken poetics is Aaron Sorkin's thoroughly engaging text. So old-school honest are the performances given by director Bartlett Sher's 24-member cast, beautifully framed with an eye toward rural artistry by designers Miriam Buether (sets), Ann Roth (costumes) and Jennifer Tipton (lights).

While The Cher Show is flashy entertainment from start to finish, full of vibrant artists giving splashy turns, the center of it all is Block's solidly grounded acting performance, portraying a woman trying to maintain an idealized public image while privately grasping for control of her career in a business that hasn't quite heard the messages of the growing Feminist movement. Whether camping it up for 'Turn Back Time' or ripping her heart out in 'The Way Of Love' Block commands attention as Cher discovers her own path to liberation through self-reinvention.

And along with all the laughter, there's a great deal of feeling in The Prom, a musical that helps prove there's no better spectacle on Broadway than inspired writing, terrific melodies, big enthusiastic performances and a production loaded with honest-to-goodness heart.

Under Seth Barrish's direction, THE NEW ONE keeps a steady, casual tone consistent with Birbiglia's genial, nice-guy persona. The 80-minute piece is very funny on a sweet, realistic level. The only moment of shear theatricality, a really good one, comes from set designer Beowulf Boritt. I'll leave it to the storytellers to present you with that one.

Though loaded with flat, stilted dialogue, the biggest mistake of Thorne's book is to take away the tragic aspects of the film's two main characters, sapping them of empathy. The earnest and honest filmmaker Carl Denham is now a heartless villain who cons people with promises of fame and wealth. Ann Darrow, the role that made Fay Wray a star, is no longer fighting to survive the Depression -- stealing food to keep from fainting from hunger -- and willing to join Denham on his film shoot out of desperation. Now she's a young hopeful coming to New York with dreams of stardom and thinking this gig might be her big break. Unlike Wray, who screamed in terror for half the picture, this Ann reacts to the beast's roars by roaring right back at him and trying to relate on a deeper level. ('Anyone ever tell you you've got sad eyes?') Scenes between the two of them seem to go on forever as she voices her interpretation of every move and sound that Kong makes.

It's an interesting piece of writing that has opened at the Booth Theatre. The four characters are less fully-fleshed out humans than they are representations of types created to express four sides of what is arguably the most controversial issue facing America today; the combination of social media and cell phones with video recorders increasing the country's visibility of black men being killed by police officers.

When it opened in June of 1982, Torch Song Trilogy's success helped establish a changing Broadway, more open to realistic and sympathetic stories of people whose lives aren't lived as part of the heterosexual majority. Now Torch Song opens on Broadway during a time when New York's stages are seeing more portrayals of people whose lives aren't lived as part of the cisgender majority. The stories are being written. With visionary, risk-taking producers like John Glines, they will be seen.

Similar to Tennessee Williams' THE GLASS MENAGERIE, Lonergan's touching and humorous piece is a memory play, with the young Daniel occasionally narrating the story to the audience. For twenty-eight years the widowed Gladys has been running a small art gallery attached to a hotel across from Washington Square. It's never done great business, but the owner thought it attracted passers-by. Now he's decided to convert the place into a cafe and has given Gladys two months' notice.

Butterworth takes his time unfolding details of his plot, focusing more on how a continuing political issue affects family dynamics spanning three generations, leading up to a tense and violent conclusion. Under Sam Mendes' empathetic direction, the wonderful ensemble company provides deeply-textured and entertaining performances. Despite the three and a quarter hour length (one intermission and a brief pause) the play flies by.

So canny in its writing and presentation, The Lifespan of a Fact may not only inspire audiences to think more closely about the sources from which they get their news, but maybe even to question the accuracy of the social media memes they've been liking and forwarding.

Director Dan Sullivan's production is fine enough, though the pacing can slack at times when the funnier characters are offstage and the budding romance between Dylan and Eleanor takes over. The Nap may play better in Bean's home country, where audiences members are more likely to have a familiarity with the sport, but even on this shore it's a genial diversion with many good laughs.

Playwright Theresa Rebeck offers her star many such pithy moments in her fact-based comedy/drama Bernhardt/Hamlet. Her explanation as to why a woman would be the most sensible choice to play Shakespeare's 'passionate, confused boy with the mind of a man of forty,' is inarguably logical. Her act one curtain line is a real kicker and there's a glorious scene of intellectual fury as she justifiably chastises a playwright who has written a role for her that he regards as 'the embodiment of female perfection,' but she immediately recognizes as 'some statue for you to throw your genius poetry at.'

Newspaper ads during the play's original run boasted quotes like 'Screamingly Funny,' and 'Lancing Wit,' perhaps luring in hesitant straight ticket-buyers with the promise of a jolly comedy rather than witnessing the self-reflections of members of a group their society has marginalized. While Mantello's immensely engaging production certainly isn't stingy with the laughs, the director also has the liberty to play to a more sympathetic public, allowing the sharp edges to occasionally soften, giving clearer views of what all that laughter was hiding.

Don't expect anything resembling a linear plot inTravesties, which also features Carr's erudite butler (Patrick Kerr), Lenin's harried wife (Opal Alladin) and a giddy pair of ladies named for Wilde's characters Gwendolenand Cecily (Scarlett Strallen and Sara Topham), but a merrily disjointed mix of political, social and artistic commentary flavored with verbal dexterity and tuneful music hall exuberance. If brevity is the soul of wit, then 75 minutes without an intermission might be the soul of absurdist theatre, so at two and a half hours the madness of Travesties can get a little maddening. But stay alert and the charming company will guide you through an evening that can tickle your intellect as well as your funny bone.