Roma Torre — Theater Critic

It’s been said “dying is easy, comedy is hard”. Well, anyone who’s seen Gutenberg! The Musical might challenge that little showbiz maxim because Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells—the entire cast of this hilarious two-hander—are making the comedy seem downright effortless. The two stars, appearing together on Broadway for the first time since their Tony nominated turns in the original company of The Book of Mormon, are simply divine delivering a master class in musical comedy and likely setting a land/speed record for laughs per minute.

It’s going to be hard avoiding unfavorable comparisons to such other works as On The Town and A Star Is Born. And I wish I had better news to spread here. There’s a line near the end of the show in which a character says “Don’t bet against New York.” Unfortunately, I can’t say the same thing about its musical namesake.

Fans of Will & Grace, you ain’t seen nothing yet. Sean Hayes is delivering a tour-de-force performance, or shall I say a “twofer-de-force“ as he dazzles us with bravura skills as both actor and classical pianist. And if you think that this play set in 1958 about Oscar Levant—a man most audiences have never heard of–is too remote to hold much interest, you would be dead wrong. Good Night, Oscar is a captivating work, as hysterically funny as it is heartbreaking.

There’s a brilliant merging of the two plays when Ijames has Juicy recite verbatim Hamlet’s famous soliloquy “What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason…” It points to the two unhappy protagonists’ attempts to understand the human condition. But while Hamlet fails to appreciate humanity in all its messy glory, Juicy seems more hopeful. And if there’s any doubt about that optimistic tone, just wait till you see how Fat Ham ends. I was wondering how Ijames was going to wrap it all up, considering that in Hamlet practically everyone dies. Turns out to be a delightful surprise. Consistent with his message – choose pleasure over harm – Ijames offers us a gloriously uplifting takeaway that might have given even Shakespeare pause. Maybe they didn’t have to die after all.

The production will likely bring to mind two other ingenious displays of theatrical puppetry – Lion King and War Horse. Like them, Life of Pi does a phenomenal job of creating a sense of realism with extraordinary stagecraft. And while Life of Pi may not have the emotional punch of the other two shows, it succeeds in different ways. In light of Pi’s relentless pursuit of spirituality, the play prompts us to ponder our own beliefs, the nature of truth, morality, faith, and perhaps most resonantly, the incomparable power of live theater.

To anyone questioning Bob Dylan's Nobel Prize in Literature four years ago, I suggest you get a ticket to Girl From the North Country. Irish playwright Conor McPherson crafted this uniquely intimate work, and whether you call it a jukebox musical, a play with music or simply a theatrical tone poem, it is a ravishingly performed ode to Dylan's own poetic lyricism.​

I'm all for reimagining the classics through a modern lens, but Ivo van Hove took the notion literally when he added cameras to his staging of West Side Story, and transformed the Jerome Robbins/Leonard Bernstein/Arthur Laurents/Stephen Sondheim masterwork into an audacious hybrid of performance art. Gone is Jerome Robbins iconic choreography - the finger snaps, the ingenious mesh of ballet and modern dance - replaced by the geometric movements of choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. In this shortened version, we don't know if Maria feels all that pretty, the song is dropped along with the intermission. Rest assured though, Bernstein's magnificent score is mostly intact.

I'm all for reimagining the classics through a modern lens, but Ivo van Hove took the notion literally when he added cameras to his staging of West Side Story, and transformed the Jerome Robbins/Leonard Bernstein/Arthur Laurents/Stephen Sondheim masterwork into an audacious hybrid of performance art. Gone is Jerome Robbins iconic choreography - the finger snaps, the ingenious mesh of ballet and modern dance - replaced by the geometric movements of choreographer Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker. In this shortened version, we don't know if Maria feels all that pretty, the song is dropped along with the intermission. Rest assured though, Bernstein's magnificent score is mostly intact.

Grand Horizons' has an identity problem. It aims to be both funny like a sitcom and poignant like a perceptive drama, and while it strains credulity at times, thanks to impeccable acting led by Jane Alexander and James Cromwell, the play's forced marriage of humor and pathos does have its moments.

Kenny Leon deserves much credit enhancing the play's message through directorial flourishes. He adds historical allusions to the African American experience throughout, beginning with a stirring call-and-response from the soldiers in a darkened barracks suggesting the early roots of African music. And later we see the troops marching in a thrilling sequence, combining military cadence with stylized movements. It all comes together quite powerfully, evoking the emotional wounds borne by a lifetime of soul-crushing hate. After some 40 years, 'A Soldier's Play' still hits home, summoning a world at war with itself.

'Jagged Little Pill,' much like 'Next To Normal' and 'Dear Evan Hanson,' is concerned with the collateral damage inflicted on us by family and social pressures. And given Morissette's empowering lyrics, in this #MeToo era, the entire show becomes a moving anthem of our time.

'Jagged Little Pill,' much like 'Next To Normal' and 'Dear Evan Hanson,' is concerned with the collateral damage inflicted on us by family and social pressures. And given Morissette's empowering lyrics, in this #MeToo era, the entire show becomes a moving anthem of our time.

Director Matthew Warchus wastes no time putting us in a festive mood with the actors handing out cookies and Clementines as the audience enters under hundreds of lanterns strewn throughout the theatre. There is dance and music both original and traditional played sweetly at times with hand bells adding to the merriment. But unlike other versions of the iconic story, which attempt to dazzle with special effects, this one has a more introspective tone adding dimension to the characters that have come to be so familiar to us.

Director Matthew Warchus wastes no time putting us in a festive mood with the actors handing out cookies and Clementines as the audience enters under hundreds of lanterns strewn throughout the theatre. There is dance and music both original and traditional played sweetly at times with hand bells adding to the merriment. But unlike other versions of the iconic story, which attempt to dazzle with special effects, this one has a more introspective tone adding dimension to the characters that have come to be so familiar to us.

'The Inheritance' speaks to us on so many levels - politically, intellectually, and emotionally. If it rambles, it is an echo of our messy lives but it so clearly addresses the rootlessness that plagued the gay community for years. In the end, the lesson of this monumental production is that we all stand to inherit the profound consequences of our nation's communal neglect for many years to come.

With jukebox musicals seeming to dominate the Broadway landscape, it makes perfect sense to add Tina Turner's story to the mix. On so many levels, hers is ripe with the kind of soul-stirring drama that hits on so many levels - innocence lost, incomparable talent, horrendous abuse, family dysfunction and triumph over adversity. Like so many others, though, the on stage story-telling is mostly formulaic. But fortunately, with Adrienne Warren in the title role, this one has at least one element that lets it stand better than almost all the rest.

The play's moral ambiguity gives it an air of mystery and that's to its benefit. But it feels far more literary than theatrical and I think, in the end, even with Parker's superlative performance, 'The Sound Inside' is more suited to being read than seen or heard.

'The Rose Tattoo' is an anomaly among Tennessee Williams' great dramas. Despite the fact that it concerns a protagonist newly widowed, it's essentially a romantic comedy, a genre Williams was never really known for, but he came up with this charmingly spirited story after returning from a getaway in Sicily with his lover and was said to be floating on a romantic high. It's still far from his best, and it really only hits the mark when the lead performances are strong and the production is tightly focused. This time around, they got it only half right.

'Linda Vista' turns out to be an engaging, if flawed, portrait of a modern day everyman who's incredibly smart on the one hand while behaving so inexplicably dumb on the other. The bones of this play are all there, but like the 50-year-old Wheeler, the body could use some tightening.

It's a shocker alright, and provocatively compelling, many would say. And while I'm happy to see new works by young playwrights challenge the status quo, especially when performed so brilliantly as 'Slave Play' is...this one is dramatically quite a mess. Provocative? Yes. An intriguing premise? Yes. Important theatre? No, at least not yet.

I think they're all genies of a sort, magically rhyming without distort. Hats off to Lin-Man and his amazing tribe - it's impossible not to dig their crazy vibe.

If the play feels overstuffed, it's still an important history lesson. Schenkkan calls it a tragedy. But the real tragedy is that if we don't pay enough attention, history is hellbent on repeating itself.

The show is bound to keep audiences guessing how he does it night after night. Hard to believe it's just a bunch of tricks up his sleeve because he does seem to have some powers of thought control. And now that I've said it, I'm wondering who really wrote this rave review - was it me or was it him?

Charlie Cox as Jerry is oblivious to the collateral damage his affair has caused. So too Zawe Ashton's Emma, who blithely carries on despite the disruption to her marriage and family. As Robert, Tom Hiddleston has his own secrets. Fans of Hiddleston's blockbuster films get the added pleasure of discovering the movie star is even more thrilling to watch on stage.

The two one act plays in the double bill entitled 'Sea Wall/A Life' are, on the surface, very small works. But they concern some very big themes: life, death, birth. Even so, the idea of a show featuring a pair of monologues on a mostly bare stage will likely turn some people off. Certainly true in lesser hands, but this is a beautifully intimate production featuring performances so sharply focused, anything more would be a distraction.