Robert Kahn — Theater Critic

To truly appreciate all that 'Love Letters' has to offer, just sit there and listen...Dennehy and Farrow have chemistry in abundant supply...Their rhythms--the hurried back-and-forths in the heat of an argument, the pregnant pauses, when someone's feelings have been injured--are a testament to strong direction by Gregory Mosher...I thrilled at Farrow's relief when Melissa hears from Andy after a prolonged absence. I felt the agony to my bones when Melissa realizes Andy has abandoned her...Dennehy, with his gruff mannerisms and scowl, is excellent in a role that is, in ways, the more complex. Andy proves partly responsible for Melissa's descent--yet the play can only stay on solid ground if Andy is ultimately likable. He pulls it off with authority. Dennehy and Farrow are simply well-matched.

In spite of it all, I walked out of the two-acter curiously unfulfilled. The play rarely feels relatable, and I'm afraid it's mostly an issue with Cera, the talented 'Juno' and 'Superbad' star who here steps into a role quite similar to that of George Michael, the awkward man-boy he played on 'Arrested Development.' That's the rub -- I think Warren would be better cast with an actor who's got more range...'This Is Our Youth' comes to life whenever Culkin -- 31, but playing a character a decade younger -- is on stage. Dennis, the alpha, is abusive, caustic, violent and a crappy friend -- and yet, you absolutely care about him, because Culkin makes him human...Gevinson, 18, a fashion blogger and burgeoning actress, does effective work making us see Jessica as a young woman trying to own her sexual identity...Shapiro directs with her usual spot-on spontaneity and fluidity.

It's a safe bet that a swath of theatergoers has steered clear of hip-hop -- at least, the kind not scripted by 'In the Heights' composer Lin-Manuel Miranda -- because it's gritty, racy and has a perception problem in some quarters. If that's you, then 'Holler If Ya Hear Me,' the Broadway musical 'inspired by' the lyrics of Tupac Shakur, is a chance to correct a grave omission. If, however, you've been on the Tupac train all along, then 'Holler,'...is a banner opportunity to stand in awe of a rich canon that, it's difficult to grasp, originated with a man who died at only 25. But the two-dozen songs lushly presented...are threaded together by a fictional story so tired, and so often told, that you can't help but walk away feeling that an opportunity has been missed.

The main question I had going into 'Hedwig' was how a show built on outsider-appeal and intimacy would play in a colossal Rialto venue, where just weeks ago Mark Rylance led a troupe of actors also cross-dressing ... but in the service Shakespeare. Harris quells any doubts just after his extraordinary entrance, via parachute...With respect due Harris, there's a tentativeness to his performance in the show's hallowed opening number, 'Tear Me Down'--could jumping onto car bumpers in platform heels possibly distract him from singing? But what kinetic energy!...As with any piece that is essentially a straight monologue by a single person, there are places where 'Hedwig' slows down. But 'Hedwig and the Angry Inch' is still the finest musical you're going to see this year about a transgendered Berliner with a chip on her shoulder, and it only further burnishes the crown on the head of the reigning king, and now queen of Broadway.

Radcliffe is appealing in a role that must be extraordinarily uncomfortable to play. He's constantly wheezing, and one damaged leg remains stuck out, straight as a board. For any movement around the stage, which includes climbing over walls in Christopher Oram's evocative turntable set, he must oblige that impediment...McDonough is responsible for some of the darker material to appear on the Rialto in recent years ('The Pillowman' et al), and 'Inishmaan' is considered a piece that shows he has 'a sentimental side.' The play ends on a note that will make you question whether that's true-we are reminded of life's fragility going out, as we were going in. It's not a play that will appeal to everyone, but you couldn't ask for a more first-rate group of actors to join you for a couple of hours in a village full of eccentrics.

Celebrated director Anna D. Shapiro pulls no punches in her savage take on 'Of Mice and Men'...It certainly helps that she has two gifted performers as her leading men, James Franco and Chris O'Dowd, both making memorable debuts...It's O'Dowd (the doughy Irish actor and comic, of 'Bridesmaids'), as Lennie, who has the hardest job...His Lennie is a human being of emotional intelligence, whose overwhelming feelings often get the better of him. O'Dowd gives an endearing interpretation of a mentally addled man who wants nothing more than 'to live off the fat of the land.' Franco, the performer-director-writer-teacher -- geez, he's such a multitasker that he even appears in a Gucci ad on the back of the Playbill -- is such a cult object that I feared his presence would throw the characters out of equilibrium. My fears were unwarranted, because he gives such an understated and natural performance.

Most of us would pay just to hear McDonald recite availability on the TKTS board, and her recreation of Holiday's voice was just swell to my ear. Indeed, casual Holiday fans might have difficulty distinguishing the two...Ultimately, Lady Day should appeal to a broad cross-section of theatergoers-you don't need a vast familiarity with Billie Holiday to enjoy the show, and McDonald gives another powerful and distinct performance.

Most of us would pay just to hear McDonald recite availability on the TKTS board, and her recreation of Holiday's voice was just swell to my ear. Indeed, casual Holiday fans might have difficulty distinguishing the two...Ultimately, Lady Day should appeal to a broad cross-section of theatergoers-you don't need a vast familiarity with Billie Holiday to enjoy the show, and McDonald gives another powerful and distinct performance.

Now open at the St. James Theatre, 'Bullets Over Broadway' is a zany, old-fashioned spectacle that features the Broadway debut of actor-writer Zach Braff and a marvelous turn from three-time Tony nominee Marin Mazzie as an aging diva...While not without some curious choices, 'Bullets' is certainly the best of the musicals to open on Broadway so far this season, though make note ... it's a new musical with old music...The mark of director-choreographer Stroman...is all over the deliciously escapist piece, which boasts showstoppers and glitzy costumes that would be right at home in a vaudeville revue... What's important here is this: Stroman's brand of showmanship and Allen's unparalleled wit go together, in the end, just like a hot dog and a roll.

Now open at the St. James Theatre, 'Bullets Over Broadway' is a zany, old-fashioned spectacle that features the Broadway debut of actor-writer Zach Braff and a marvelous turn from three-time Tony nominee Marin Mazzie as an aging diva...While not without some curious choices, 'Bullets' is certainly the best of the musicals to open on Broadway so far this season, though make note ... it's a new musical with old music...The mark of director-choreographer Stroman...is all over the deliciously escapist piece, which boasts showstoppers and glitzy costumes that would be right at home in a vaudeville revue... What's important here is this: Stroman's brand of showmanship and Allen's unparalleled wit go together, in the end, just like a hot dog and a roll.

All members of the foursome give performances much in keeping with how we've experienced them before: Tomei is spacey, Letts wields defense mechanisms powerful enough to fend off an alien attack, and so on...Eno's ultimately too-indulgent comedy is a gentle reminder that none of us know what we are really facing, and some of us are more acutely aware of that 'unknown' than others. The trouble with 'The Realistic Joneses' is that it's more concerned with making the point over and over, rather than exploring anything new.

Washington has such an easygoing way about him that it seems to transfer by osmosis to the other actors -- we experience this in his first scenes on stage, where he seems to bring his own age down by a half-century, cavorting with son Travis (a very good Bryce Clyde Jenkins, in his Broadway debut) after they one-up Ruth over some small change Travis needs for school. Washington switches just as easily to a man simmering with rage that he can't amply provide for his family. But here's the thing: the actor, 59, plays a character on the cusp of 40 -- that age when we realize we might not accomplish all the things we dreamed of doing in our 20s. From the audience, the discrepancy makes a difference. I spent too much time thinking about how Washington is older than his character, and not enough time enjoying his performance.

With 'Mothers & Sons,' McNally has again crafted a narrative that could not be more particular to time (the present) and location (the progressive Upper West Side). This time, it's a story rooted in optimism, and one that manages to look simultaneously over its shoulder and straight ahead. Daly gives an exquisite performance as a lonely, suicidal woman desperate to imagine a life her son might have led...Together, Daly and Weller have dynamic chemistry, lurching from moments of mutual respect to moments of accusation, and back...I thought 'Mothers & Sons' was fantastic, for how effectively it locks down this unique period of time that is 2014, in New York City, amid the explosive progress of the gay rights movement in the last handful of years. I hope it finds a broad audience. If you're under 30, 'Mothers & Sons' is a history lesson; if you're older, it may feel like the sun on your face.

Who is he? Who is he? He's Ramin Karimloo, and as Jean Valjean, he's the main reason to reacquaint yourself with the 'newly reimagined' revival of 'Les Miserables,' now open at the Imperial Theatre... this 'Les Miz' is Karimloo's story. I was awed by the actor's soaring voice, particularly during the final notes of 'Bring Him Home,' which seem to last blissfully forever. He's captivating and charismatic...Ultimately, the dynamic between his Javert and Karimloo's Valjean feels a bit askew. How could anyone, really, possess the gravitas of this Valjean, and thus seem a suitable rival? Still, Swenson's second act soliloquy, in which he pledges to escape from the world of Jean Valjean, is a high point.

In the case of 'Rocky,' let's begin at the end. The electric final 15 minutes of the new musical based on Sylvester Stallone's small-town Philly boxer, now open at the Winter Garden Theatre, are likely to inspire a heavy outpouring of adjectives: Game-changing. Jaw-dropping. Astounding. All are fair. Preceding the high-voltage conclusion-a round-by-round battle between the idealistic Italian Stallion and world champ Apollo Creed that makes use of the theater space in a quite novel way -is an otherwise-workaday musical buoyed by enough built-in goodwill to lift it up the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and beyond.

'All the Way' replays the battles of the Freedom Summer, many neatly drawn between North and South or black and white. But there's so much procedural material rehashed in the cluttered drama it can feel as if you were being smacked upside the head with a Robert Caro volume...Director Bill Rauch, of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival...energizes the material when he can, often with unexpected juxtapositions...'All the Way' probably isn't a play that would make it to Broadway without an enormous draw as the lead--the real threat to LBJ's campaign here is the proselytizing. It's a story for diehard politicos, students of the civil rights movement or those who enjoy the social capital of saying they've seen one of the top TV actors of our generation in a drama that lets him flex serious muscle.

The engaging new musical 'The Bridges of Madison County,' now open at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, left me wondering two things. First: Can Kelli O'Hara do anything? And second: Are we so starved for affection we're willing to give over our hearts to a story that is - sorry, folks! - utterly preposterous? Even after swooning over the book? And sighing over the movie? The answers: Indeed, Kelli O'Hara can do anything, darn near perfectly, including transform herself into a chestnut-haired Italian beauty who, for the better part of two decades, has assumed the role of an Iowa housewife. And, apparently ... yes. We are suckers for a good love story, no matter the form, and even when it's likely we recall the outcome.

Sharpened, but still dubiously crafted, 'Bronx Bombers' is a jock drama that will appeal to any Yankees fanatic, but leave others restless in the bleachers...But most important, the script has been tightened, lending needed clarity to its simple message: The Yankees organization has churned with personal drama since before the days of intrusive media and free agency, but ultimately, the team will thrive and the fans will maintain their bond...There are colorful performances from the committed ensemble, many doing double duty...'Damn Yankees' this is not, but it may keep sports fans distracted until spring training.

Debra Messing, a nice Jewish girl, slides effortlessly into a foursome of otherwise Irish actors in the wistful 'Outside Mullingar,' a new romantic comedy - that is, by the time it resolves an identity crisis - from award-winning writer John Patrick Shanley ('Doubt')...That Messing makes for a fine ensemble actress is hardly astounding...What is surprising is how convincingly she plays an Irishwoman in her Broadway debut...The erratic, or at least elastic nature of the script almost doesn't matter, though, because the dialogue is so colorful (the college-aged victims of an auto wreck are said to be found with a 'badger licking the blood' off their bodies - hey, this is an Irish play) and the acting so sharp, that the 95-minute, intermission-less rom-com, or whatever-this-is, seems to fly by.

'Machinal' is a tough piece of theater. Society drove Ruth - and so, for our purposes, Helen - to kill her husband. To actually be free, Helen has to die. How you ultimately view 'Machinal' depends enormously on your sympathy for Helen and your ability to empathize with her actions. I just didn't like Helen very much, so her death never felt like a terrible loss.

Beautiful' is a must-see if you're a King fan, or you're fascinated by the music business during a potent time when chart hits were coming out of cubicles in places like the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway, where King and husband Gerry Goffin set up shop...With an understated performance, Mueller, seen recently in the Roundabout's 'Drood,' establishes herself among the elite of Broadway leading ladies. The actress, 30, doesn't sound much like King, but she makes each song her own while respecting the original imprint. She has lovely chemistry with Epstein, who you can't help but feel a bit sorry for: he's on his game, but Goffin, who is said to have suffered from manic depression, comes off mostly as a wounded misanthrope.

Beautiful' is a must-see if you're a King fan, or you're fascinated by the music business during a potent time when chart hits were coming out of cubicles in places like the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway, where King and husband Gerry Goffin set up shop...With an understated performance, Mueller, seen recently in the Roundabout's 'Drood,' establishes herself among the elite of Broadway leading ladies. The actress, 30, doesn't sound much like King, but she makes each song her own while respecting the original imprint. She has lovely chemistry with Epstein, who you can't help but feel a bit sorry for: he's on his game, but Goffin, who is said to have suffered from manic depression, comes off mostly as a wounded misanthrope.

Beautiful' is a must-see if you're a King fan, or you're fascinated by the music business during a potent time when chart hits were coming out of cubicles in places like the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway, where King and husband Gerry Goffin set up shop...With an understated performance, Mueller, seen recently in the Roundabout's 'Drood,' establishes herself among the elite of Broadway leading ladies. The actress, 30, doesn't sound much like King, but she makes each song her own while respecting the original imprint. She has lovely chemistry with Epstein, who you can't help but feel a bit sorry for: he's on his game, but Goffin, who is said to have suffered from manic depression, comes off mostly as a wounded misanthrope.

Beautiful' is a must-see if you're a King fan, or you're fascinated by the music business during a potent time when chart hits were coming out of cubicles in places like the Brill Building and 1650 Broadway, where King and husband Gerry Goffin set up shop...With an understated performance, Mueller, seen recently in the Roundabout's 'Drood,' establishes herself among the elite of Broadway leading ladies. The actress, 30, doesn't sound much like King, but she makes each song her own while respecting the original imprint. She has lovely chemistry with Epstein, who you can't help but feel a bit sorry for: he's on his game, but Goffin, who is said to have suffered from manic depression, comes off mostly as a wounded misanthrope.

“Waiting for Godot,” to my taste the more palatable of the two plays, has the famous wanderers Vladimir (Stewart) and Estragon (McKellen) idling by a barren tree, expecting to meet up with Mr. Godot, who they hope will improve their lot. Beckett’s play is an examination of time, memory and identity, set, we’re told, over consecutive days.