Robert Kahn — Theater Critic

'Rotten!' delivers the same sort of accessible and over-the-top laughs as 'Mormon'...A generous sampling of Shakespearean conventions helps elevate an otherwise-thin and double entendre-laden plot. While Borle's role is flashier, it's d'Arcy James...who does the heavy-lifting. He's the closest thing 'Something Rotten!' has to a serious character...Tony-winner Borle...is clearly beside himself with glee at the chance to play the preening rock-star scribe who throws parties in the park...'Rotten!' paints musical theater culture in the same broad strokes that the 'The Book of Mormon' used to satirize religion -- everyone gets to be in on the joke. This new musical makes us do just enough work that we feel satisfied for picking up on them. Go for the production numbers and the big-hearted turns from the leads, whose enthusiasm ultimately proves even more infectious than the plague.

'Rotten!' delivers the same sort of accessible and over-the-top laughs as 'Mormon'...A generous sampling of Shakespearean conventions helps elevate an otherwise-thin and double entendre-laden plot. While Borle's role is flashier, it's d'Arcy James...who does the heavy-lifting. He's the closest thing 'Something Rotten!' has to a serious character...Tony-winner Borle...is clearly beside himself with glee at the chance to play the preening rock-star scribe who throws parties in the park...'Rotten!' paints musical theater culture in the same broad strokes that the 'The Book of Mormon' used to satirize religion -- everyone gets to be in on the joke. This new musical makes us do just enough work that we feel satisfied for picking up on them. Go for the production numbers and the big-hearted turns from the leads, whose enthusiasm ultimately proves even more infectious than the plague.

The new Des McAnuff-directed musical...boils the story down to a romantic core. That may have seemed like a winning approach, but this over-ambitious production...never manages to pull the heartstrings quite the way you wish it did...Mutu, a phenomenal London talent...is dapper enough to be convincing as a degraded aristocrat, but rugged enough to be believable risking himself to help people in the street...The ballads he's given are lovely, if not particularly memorable. Barrett keeps her soft-focus girlishness throughout, so it's hard to feel why three very different men devote their lifetimes, often at great risk to themselves, to loving and protecting her -- Lara could be more compelling...The battle scenes and recurrent explosions are vivid, and may leave you feeling as if you'd wandered into 'Les Miserables.'

A little knowledge of opera helps, but it's not key to admiring the frothy and fizzy 'Living on Love,' in which soprano Renée Fleming makes her Broadway debut -- you're apt to enjoy the celebrated diva in this send-up of celebrated divas, even if the in-jokes about Maria Callas pass you by...Fleming, with her silk caftans and gorgeous arias (she has ample opportunity to break into song, and it gave me goosebumps each time) throws herself into all the diva cliches as she tries to outdo her philandering husband...Sills...is a comic marvel as the out-of-tune conductor who thinks he still has a way with the ladies...Most of the time, Fleming is boozy and Sills is flamboyant. It's not until the end of the two-act confection (you won't be blamed for wishing director Kathleen Marshall had made things just a bit tighter), that they have to do anything bittersweet. When Vito and Raquel finally drop their schtick and connect with each other, it makes for an impressive conclusion, especially considering the abrupt change in tone.

Jeanine Tesori's music still resonates (the sharp-as-a-razor book is by Lisa Kron). Crowd-pleasing comic turns have Small Alison and her brothers (Oscar Williams and Zell Steele Morrow, both talented mop-tops) imagining a TV commercial for the 'Fun Home.' In a fantasy sequence, Lucas recasts the people in her orbit as members of The Partridge Family.

O'Hara's Anna is fiercely determined, if cautious as a newcomer, and it's thrilling to watch her negotiate the pitfalls involved in establishing herself at court...It's hard not to be moved as O'Hara describes the beauty of a snowflake after the blissful 'Getting to Know You' sequence. O'Hara's voice is in prime operatic form throughout, rivaled only by her ability to waltz in Catherine Zuber's lavish, flowing gowns. I had mixed feelings about Watanabe's performance...Watanabe's got the imperiousness down pat, but he's falling back on enough of his Japanese accent that it makes some of his line readings difficult to parse...It's not a fatal flaw, whatever you've read in the chat rooms. And anyway, I could watch these two perform 'Shall We Dance?' all night long...'The King and I' requires a regal, charismatic leading lady, and in O'Hara, it has one who's just about perfect.

The end result is both rousing and erratic, with bits of thrilling stage magic that are signature Diane Paulus...and dialogue that sometimes feels as if it's been focus group-sanitized to within an inch of its life...Morrison has a consistent Scottish brogue and a melancholy demeanor in a performance that's very likable...The quartet of boys playing the Llewelyn Davies children are exceptional...The melodies are pop-song good, if not likely to linger long with you...the first act closer 'Stronger,' which soars to a finish indeed so strong it left me trembling. One of the areas in which 'Finding Neverland' succeeds is in its balance between technical and non-technical wizardry. Paulus knows when to use her bag of tricks...and when to let our imaginations do the work...'Finding Neverland' is best in its scenes with surrogate father Barrie and the four boys...Alongside Morrison, I think they're the ones who deserve a lot of the credit for getting 'Finding Neverland' to fly.

Broadway's so-far stuffy spring season needed to loosen up, and relief arrives with the campy ensemble comedy 'It Shoulda Been You'...Jenny is the emotional heart of the comedy, a hodgepodge of capers and confessions that would probably fall flat in the hands of less experienced performers. As it is, this cast is probably as close to a dream team for a wedding comedy as you can get...A big twist at roughly the halfway point sends 'Shoulda' off in a more serious direction. It feels dated, and it certainly caught me by surprise. 'Shoulda' has a book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove (he's Pierce's husband), and pleasant, if run-of-the-mill, music by Barbara Anselmi. Overall, this is fair-to-middling material that's elevated by a superior cast. It's a good show, but you can't help thinking it shoulda been better.

Part deep-dive into Tudor-era historical fiction and part endurance contest, 'Wolf Hall' has settled into the vast Winter Garden Theatre...Even if you walk in with ample historical context about Henry VIII's volatile court, the story demands intense focus to keep pace...Indeed, the focus of 'Wolf Hall' is on Cromwell...and how he comes to earn the king's trust as others around him are losing their jobs, or heads...In a complex portrayal, Miles paints Cromwell as a stable center of the universe, around whom orbits the wrathful king, his angry lovers and the opportunistic Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Paul Jesson). The major takeaway about Cromwell? He's so cunning that he manages to hold the trust of everyone, almost all the time, over an incredible stretch of years ... at least until he betrays them.

Part deep-dive into Tudor-era historical fiction and part endurance contest, 'Wolf Hall' has settled into the vast Winter Garden Theatre...Even if you walk in with ample historical context about Henry VIII's volatile court, the story demands intense focus to keep pace...Indeed, the focus of 'Wolf Hall' is on Cromwell...and how he comes to earn the king's trust as others around him are losing their jobs, or heads...In a complex portrayal, Miles paints Cromwell as a stable center of the universe, around whom orbits the wrathful king, his angry lovers and the opportunistic Cardinal Thomas Wolsey (Paul Jesson). The major takeaway about Cromwell? He's so cunning that he manages to hold the trust of everyone, almost all the time, over an incredible stretch of years ... at least until he betrays them.

Vanessa Hudgens brings verve and vivacity to a reimagined version of the classic musical 'Gigi'...There is, as you might anticipate, an element of Eliza Doolittle in Hudgens's endearing performance -- she makes these grand, oversized gestures while gamely learning how to pour coffee or even settle into a chair the proper way...Cott has a stunning voice, on display noticeably in solos and ensembles pieces such as the first act closer 'The Night They Invented Champagne.' He and Hudgens are sweet together, and seem to share a genuine rapport. Hudgens may have the drawing power, but Clark is crafting a performance that will linger after the curtain falls...Clark...hits every note perfectly...Clark imbues Mamita with a sweet sadness that keeps you rooting for her...As Honore Lachaille, McGillin does a fine job of being both good-natured and rakish...'Gigi' boasts classic orchestrations, Catherine Zuber's gorgeous costumes and appealing dance numbers. It's a delightful production.

Boyer so skillfully separates the roles of awkward teen and possessed puppet you can forget you're watching just one performer. Carr, too, is super-likable as a woman susceptible to bad choices and blind to her son's struggles...There are stand-alone scenes in 'Hand to God' that will floor you....Structurally, 'Hand to God' never quite adds up to the sum of its brilliant parts. There are only so many ways we can be told that faith isn't quite enough, and that we need to find specific ways of dealing with our problems...'Hand to God' helped me finally see the allure in using a puppet to express feelings. It offers distance from ourselves, enabling us to say what we mean-what we feel-without tripping over the baggage that makes it hard to be a human: Will what I say hurt feelings? Is it morally dicey? Is it perverted? There's obviously some Tyrone in all of us. Praise the devil he's found a way to be heard?

The sharp writing has Kyra both peeling away Tom's many layers, and peeling onions -- the actress cooks spaghetti Bolognese during the first act, and the theater fills with the tangy smell of the sauce. Mulligan slices and dices as she deploys Hare's complex dialogue, accusing her ex-lover of trying to mask his guilt with exorbitant expenditures...Mulligan makes cooking while acting seem easy; it can't be. Nighy, reprising a role he first played in 1997, is excellent at portraying his irritation with his surroundings, eyeing an unappealing morsel of cheese Kyra has asked him to grate as if it were a personal affront...Nighy's performance is full of that nervous energy that makes him so much fun to watch...Bob Crowley's set captures the anonymous feel of the freezing council flat, with a transparent wall that allows the audience to see beyond to the next set of soulless apartments. The design underscores the very different realities that Kyra and Tom, once inseparable, live in now -- 'Skylight' leaves you with the feeling there's no going back for either of them.

Pam MacKinnon ('A Delicate Balance') snappily steers a story that tracks Heidi Holland, a stand-in for the playwright, from her high school years through adulthood...Moss is an excellent actress with an accessible warmth. The discussions Heidi has with the friends in her life, about how trapped they are by gender roles, have an air of familiarity -- I think about all the women in my own life, and it's easy to imagine many of these conflicts still playing out. The biggest surprise here is Bryce Pinkham, the charismatic actor who originated the title role in 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' and who is just marvelous as Peter, Wendy's gay confidante...'The Heidi Chronicles' never feels like a time capsule memento. The subject matter is as relevant today as it was 25 years ago.

Theatergoers get pretty passionate about Cy Coleman's score. I'm not one of them-this isn't really one of those shows with songs that you leave the theater humming. That said, a slew of polished comic turns and some stellar staging make it a shrewd move to hop aboard this train.

Polished visual images aside, we have less a personal sense of Queen Elizabeth than we do so many members of American political 'royalty.' How often do we ever even hear Elizabeth's voice? Through a variety of often workaday anecdotes over two-plus hours, Mirren fills in the blanks, crafting a portrait of a tough and empathetic woman who has survived thanks to personal warmth, good humor and a profound sense of duty.

What plays well on the small screen occasionally generates honest laughs on stage, though 'Fish' becomes ponderous and ultimately feels like a sitcom episode tenuously stretched over two-plus hours...The humor is vintage David, and you either find it appealing or you don't; I thought a lot of the writing was lazy or boorish...This 'Fish' has a tendency to meander. More than once I felt as if the comedy was hitting a brick wall, only to be jarred out of my stupor by a set-up that could only come from David's sharp, Sheepshead Bay-cultivated mind. Those moments are too rare. Among the fresher things about David's comedy is the endearing performance by newcomer Jake Cannavale...The young man makes the most of his big moment in the second act, holding his own against seasoned pro Houdyshell...Hardcore Larry David fans will get a kick out of seeing the comic live on stage. Most theatergoers, though, will be better off throwing this one back in the river.

Tony Danza...engages in crowd-pleasing, low-impact tap dancing, strums a ukulele and makes a valiant effort at singing (the show's big numbers aren't written with him in mind). As it is, the most killer thing about Danza is his threads...Meanwhile, the hero, a mama's boy who self-identifies as a 'schmuck'...McClure sells this show every moment he's on stage...As Betsy, the schoolteacher eager for Jack to put a ring on it already, O'Malley has all the best qualities of a leading lady. The supporting cast members are stand-outs...Composer Brown has crafted an exceptional score, particularly in its more morbid incarnations...'I Love Betsy,' meanwhile, is as charming a curtain-raiser as I've seen this millennium, with its instantly recognizable urban homages, down to the D'Agostino delivery cart. Brown's legion of fans are apt to consider this one of his finer achievements, in spite of the source material's garish qualities...'Vegas' ends up feeling a lot like 'Bullets Over Broadway'...though at the end of the day this new musical has the benefit of a novel original score.

'Constellations' takes a little more work to follow than, say, 'If/Then'...As it turns out, cues aren't so necessary. That's partly because 'Constellations' forsakes any linear quality for sheer chaos...It's also because the actors are so confident and well-paced (and clearly having fun) that you never doubt how they're playing any moment...The actors give true tour-de-force performances...Wilson...duels and parries with her partner to memorable effect, whether she's a sloppily emotional figure out on a first date, or an academic methodically enchanted by the mysteries of the universe. That's a tightrope to walk. Both really have to know this script like a comfortable old sweatshirt, they're wiggling around in it so much...Gyllenhaal and Wilson, with all of their many sides, are a dynamic pairing no matter which direction they're coming at us from.

In Ellis's efficient production, first staged two years ago in Williamstown with the same lead actors, the audience is, obviously, tasked with imagining Merrick's disfigurement. Some theatergoers will suggest that you can't look at Cooper and 'not' see a movie star, People magazine's 2011 'Sexiest Man Alive.' They'll be wrong, but that's beside the point. Cooper humanizes a man few at the time were willing to treat as human.

Heraclitus once said it, and it was even seconded by Pocahontas in the eponymous Disney film: 'No man ever steps in the same river twice.' The sentiment, the Greek philosopher argued, alludes to the idea of ever-present change in the universe-the always-moving river. Some people, of course, aren't so comfortable with change. The Man, I think it's safe to acknowledge, is one of them.

It's a familiar story that in lesser hands would quickly wobble under its weight. As it happens, a great cast, led by Esper and Rachel Tucker (a one-time West End Elphaba, in 'Wicked') as Meg, that one-time love, prevent that from transpiring. It's bracing to see Esper in a more adult, even paternal role, and it's one he pulls off with charisma. That Esper's Gideon must somehow make peace with his past, the abusive father and so on, is a foregone conclusion, but his methods of doing so struck me as exceedingly honest.

'It's Only a Play' makes for an exciting way to spend a night, but keep your expectations in check. This season's hottest ticket...is a behind-the-scenes Broadway satire starring a murderer's row of talent, each in roles that hew closely to the parts that made us love them in the first place...It's also trying to be too many things to too many people, and occasionally tripping over itself in the process...Mullally's hold-her-head-high producer has sass, but less edge...I kept wishing for a sharpness that never materialized, particularly in McNally's meandering second act. As James Wicker...Lane's performance -- he's essentially playing himself -- is the most consistently funny...Channing...mugs her way through some pretty good one-liners as an old pro who hoped the show would rehab her reputation... F. Murray Abraham seems to be having a swell time as snide critic Ira Drew...Grint makes a hilarious un-Ron Weasley-like entrance, and then tears through the rest of the production behaving like a cross between Billie Joe Armstrong and Richard Branson.

We'd talk about Christopher today as falling 'somewhere on the autism spectrum,' though Haddon would prefer we thought of him simply as 'an outsider,' a stance that makes the story that much more of a relatable experience. This kid up on stage, as portrayed by the nimble Sharp? Well, he's me. And my friends. And probably you, too, on any day when you feel overwhelmed, or more than a little obsessive-compulsive.

YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU still feels like the perfect escapist comedy for tough times, in spite of its creaky references to 'the 48 states' and Eleanor Roosevelt. For that, you can thank a top-notch ensemble that includes Rose Byrne, in an impressive Broadway debut, as well as helmsman Scott Ellis ('Drood'), whose zippy direction brings the play's three acts in at 2 hours and 20 minutes... It's worth the price of admission alone to see the usually booming actor in a calming and comedic role.