Roma Torre — Theater Critic

Given the cartoon's manic vibe, it seemed impossible to me that 'SpongeBob' would fly - or make that swim - on the stage. How to translate the wacky animated creatures into live bodies was an obviously daunting task, not to mention capturing the rather subversive humor that children find so appealing. Well, hats off to director Tina Landau and her gifted company for being able to ride the wave so entertainingly. Enhanced by pitch-perfect sound effects, they managed to replicate the loony shenanigans of the Bikini Bottom dwellers, all the while making it somewhat palatable for adult tastes.

Theatre-in-the-round is always a big challenge to stage, but the dazzling revival of 'Once On This Island,' currently ensconced in the Circle in the Square Theatre, feels right at home - and long may it live. The show that first graced Broadway in 1990 is back in a production that comes to life in a burst of creative energy courtesy director Michael Arden. His staging of the vibrant musical written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty sprawls with abandon across the entire playing space, up the aisles, and along the back walls.

The entire production has an under-developed quality, even Thurman's Chloe seems half-baked. It's almost as if this is a show pilot that needs subsequent episodes to flesh it all out. It's easy to be cynical about Washington politics. The hard part is making it compelling. 'House of Cards' did it in spades with a stable of irresistible villains. Unfortunately, 'The Parisian Woman' is neither villainous nor irresistible enough to make us care one way or the other.

The bottom line: Moore is down these days, but given what he sees as America's growing liberal bent, don't count him out just yet. And despite the title of his show, surrendering is not an option. Another surprise is reading in the Playbill that Moore, long regarded as Public Enemy Number One by the National Rifle Association (NRA), is actually a card-carrying NRA member who won their Marksman Award years ago. It's no wonder he hit the target with this one, even if he is preaching to the choir.

The cast is excellent. Celia Weston expertly underplays Ruth's ditzy innocence; Janeane Garofalo makes an impressive Broadway debut as the controlling Lee; Jack Difalco as the disturbed Hank is a major talent; and in a role that could so easily turn maudlin, Lili Taylor's naturalistic performance is downright life-affirming.

It is truly frightening to see the parallels between George Orwell's dystopian novel '1984' and the state of our union today. Orwell wrote of 'doublethink' and 'Newspeak.' We have alternate facts and fake news. Of course, we're not ruled by an authoritarian Big Brother figure - at least not yet - but Robert Icke and Duncan Macmillan's harrowing stage adaptation leaves little doubt we are being watched. This is not an easy play for us to watch. Icke and Macmillan, who also co-directed, employ disorienting effects: light and sound disruptions mess with our heads, the story seems to jump back and forth in non-linear fashion, and the torture sequence at the end is brutally graphic.

It's perhaps a measure of my great admiration for this superlative production that I didn't even get to Jerry Herman's iconic score. The 23-piece orchestra plays it to perfection. And with the Divine Miss M to sing it, we've got a match made in heaven!

Besides turning an historic event into high-brow entertainment, 'Oslo' is impressively even-handed. Both sides emerge proudly arrogant, yet desperate for peace. And while that peace didn't last, this excellent play offers hope that history can once again repeat itself.

Director Moritz von Stuelpnagel does exceptional work with his ensemble, maximizing the manic comedy while allowing his leads to rise above type. There is humanity among these crazy characters and far more depth than you'd expect. And that's of course also attributed in large part to the performances. Cobie Smulders, making her stage debut, tackles the vixen role with alluring abandon. And Broadway veterans Kate Burton and Kristine Nielsen juicily sink their teeth into Coward's biting wit.

Matching the film's cast of eccentric characters, the talented performers are undermined by a diet of forced preciousness. And Adam Chanler-Berat is fine as the romantic lead, but it's tiresome watching how long it takes him and Amelie to finally hook up.

The sung-through musical echoes the lush melodies and themes from the composers' Les Miz score while peppering the narrative with politically satirical overtones. It falls on the Engineer to finesse the social commentary and comic relief, which Jon Jon Briones pulls off brilliantly. His biggest number 'The American Dream' can't resist poking fun at our current ruler. This is a most worthy revival, and now, minus the controversy, fans are free to re-live the thrill.

...what Gold has devised is quite confounding. Part of the problem is that his directorial decisions are so radical in some cases they take the audience out of the play's poetic reverie. The decision to cast a young disabled actress to play the painfully shy Laura puts the emphasis on the character's physical handicap, when in fact it's Laura's extreme insecurities that make her life tragic. And the play's text refers to her 'walking,' but that makes no sense as presented here.

'Sunday In The Park' won't appeal to everyone. But fans will not be disappointed. Director Sarna Lapine, employing state-of-the-art projections, delivers an immaculate production combining art, science and poetry in perfect harmony.

August Wilson may be a master interpreter of the black experience in America, but his plays more often than not evoke the gray areas of life. And how fortunate to have Ruben Santiago-Hudson in the director's chair, a frequent collaborator who recognizes, more than almost anyone else, the universal themes in Wilson's plays that sing to us all.

Though dated, and at more than two and a half hours, overwritten, 'The Heidi Chronicles' under Pam MacKinnon's thoughtful direction remains an invaluable work reminding us how far we've truly come.

David's play exploits human foibles - those silly, petty, mindless things that we think and do, like trying to find some real wood to knock on. In David's world, everything is a setup for his characters' self-centered behavior. With the stellar cast directed by Anna D. Shapiro, the payoffs are genuinely hysterical...He generously surrounds himself with masters of comic timing; Jayne Houdyshell, Lewis J. Stadlen, Rosie Perez, Rita Wilson, MaryLouise Burke and Ben Shenkman among them. Fans will be happy to note that David has the exact same whiny high-pitched persona from TV, hilariously kvetching all the way.

Nick Payne's compelling drama is one for the heart just as much as the mind...The setting for the play...is 'The Multiverse,' past, present and future. As Marianne explains, cosmologists see time as an illusion; and so the theory is put into dramatic practice by showing us how each encounter can be re-played adjusting to changes in verbal nuance or personality. It's a heady conceit, and in the wrong hands, the constant repetition could be a drag - but under Michael Longhurst's splendid, balloon strewn staging, I found it most compelling. But if that doesn't blow your mind, the wonderfully fine-tuned performances will...And without sacrificing characterization, they both expertly maneuver through each new scene shift, revealing how love, that immutable force of nature, transcends the laws of time and space.

Fortunately the ensemble is top shelf. Alessandro Nivola engagingly conveys Treve's soft heart and stiff spine. As the actress Mrs. Kendall, Patricia Clarkson is splendidly regal and warm, though strangely, her British accent did a disappearing act. Best of all, though, Bradley Cooper, forced to contort his body and render his face emotionless, managed to express a vast array of emotions through the tiniest of gestures. It's a towering performance delivered in the most subtle fashion and I was extremely moved by him.

Cynthia Nixon, featured at age 17 in the original Broadway production, is Charlotte now. She and Josh Hamilton as Max are quite good. Maggie Gyllenhaal gives a deeply honest portrayal as Annie. But it takes a special talent to pull off Henry's awakening. And Ewan McGregor is just the man. He delivers an array of emotions in this role, each one more real than the next. Some people find Tom Stoppard's writing not much more than brain candy but the brilliance of this eloquent writer is his ability to go beyond the head straight to the heart.

Akhtar writes with insight and passion, raising every imaginable argument associated with the Islam debate in America. And while the play's second half is riveting, it's also somewhat contrived as the characters' motivations and actions sometime strain credibility. It is acted beautifully by a five-member ensemble featuring Hari Dhillon, Gretchen Mol, Josh Radnor, Karen Pittman and Danny Ashok as Amir's impulsive nephew. And under Kimberley Senior's bracing direction, get ready to gasp.

There's so much to love in 'On The Town' it's easy to overlook its flaws, such things as plotting, characterization, logic. But I choose to view the show as a gloriously messy love letter to New York, gushing with gorgeous tunes, endearingly nutty characters and some of the loveliest dancing on Broadway. If it were just a concert, you'd still get your money's worth. Leonard Bernstein's magnificent score is richly enhanced with a 28-piece orchestra. And once that trio of hyped up sailors takes off on their 24-hour leave, New York does truly become 'one helluva town.'

Sally Bowles ranks right up there as an iconic figure in modern literature. Reckless and carefree, she's a British club singer in Weimar Germany of modest talent. Irresistible to men, she's insecure and must be seen as vulnerable. Natasha Richardson had those qualities in spades. Granted, this is not an easy role, but Michelle Williams, whether miscast or just not up to the challenge, is missing some vital ingredients. Sally talks of allure, but Williams' Sally is largely lacking in that department. And because of this, the entire show is thrown off. Suddenly, the people we care most about are Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz. And while Linda Emond and Danny Burstein are marvelous in the roles, they upstage the main plot - Sally's relationship with her American bisexual lover, Clifford Bradshaw.

Every rare while, a great play is given the production it deserves. That's how it is with this revival of 'A Raisin In The Sun'. Director Kenny Leon tackled the drama 10 years ago with Sean Combs in the lead, but what a difference a star makes. And because the 55-year-old work remains astonishingly relevant today, I can happily say Denzel and company are 'da bomb.'

But whoa Andy Karl! Channeling Stallone's star-making performance, he is a marvel. As a triple threat actor, singer and boxer, no one works harder on Broadway. Pound for pound, he ranks number 1. Theatre purists may balk at the flaws, but give the fans a guy to cheer for and a thrilling fight to the finish, and 'Rocky' is sure to emerge victorious.

Bryan Cranston is the big draw in 'All The Way,' a biographical drama about President Lyndon B. Johnson. And while the 'Breaking Bad' star actually exceeds the hype, the best news is that the play does, too. With 20 actors in dozens of roles, this is high drama spanning the year between the Kennedy assassination and the '64 election. The main focus is the intense fight to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964. As staged, the legislation is treated with the gravity of our nation's founding and the suspense of a first class thriller, and despite knowing the ending, we're on the edge of our seats.