Thom Geier — Theater Critic

The wonderful Emmy-winning actor has been touring versions of the show - sometimes one act, sometimes two - for about a decade now. And he's gotten it to a good-as-it's-gonna-get place. But this modest celebration of the joys of storytelling, which opened Thursday, is at its heart a chamber piece that feels woefully out of place in a Broadway theater.

Even for audiences inclined to feel jaded about revisiting a story from a long-ago school reading list, this '1984' manages to pump new, discomforting life into the mother of all dystopias. Icke and MacMillan also hit on some home truths that feel all too pertinent at a time when so many are called to 'resist' authority. 'The people will not revolt,' O'Brien notes. 'They will not look up from their screens long enough to notice what's really happening.'

'The Play That Goes Wrong' sometimes threatens to outstay its welcome and dissipate its considerable charms over time. There is, after all, a fine line between repetition for comic effect and the tedium of beating a punchline until it is good and dead. But the Broadway production is considerably tighter than the one that played two years ago on London's West End...For much of its two-hour running time, 'The Play That Goes Wrong' offers a hilarious tribute to the spirit of the theater and the mantra that the show must go on - served up with a thick slice of ham.

McGregor is confident and sexy, using badinage as a bandage over wounds he'd rather not examine too closely. Nixon...is a worthy foil, wearing dowdy dresses and a look of wry resignation. Gyllenhaal, a pixie-cut dream girl, has a chillier but still effective presence. But director Sam Gold's fussy production blurs the distinction between scenes with a single drab set and cast-sung interludes of '60s pop. Not only is it harder to follow the tricky plot (and its plays-within-plays), but the songs suggest a kumbaya solidarity among the characters that undercuts the show's message about the challenges of forging connections. B+

Akhtar packs a lot into his scenes, in terms of both coincidence-heavy personal drama and talky disquisitions on religion and politics, but he usually manages to pull back from the edge of too-muchness. Director Kimberly Senior...shows an admirable restraint in her well-paced scenes...Dhillon, an American-born actor who's spent much of his career working in the U.K., shows more stiff-upper-lip reserve in the early scenes, merely pacing and fidgeting to signal Amir's discomfort in his own skin. It's an approach that doesn't go far enough to establish Amir's coiled volatility. The rest of the cast seem more attuned to the demands of the material; Mol in particular radiates a sensuous intelligence that is enormously appealing. B+

Andnow it's landed on Broadway at last in a hilarious and star-packed evening of theater in-jokes that often plays like a nonmusical version of Forbidden Broadway...Director Jack O'Brien's production reteams Tony winners Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, who these days pack a bigger punch at the box office than in terms of natural onstage chemistry. The two play old friends...But while Lane commands the stage with his quippy narcissism (abetted by some of McNally's strongest meta-jokes), Broderick continues his recent run of stiff, somnambulent, and overly mannered stage performances. The energy and pace of the show deflate whenever he opens his mouth...The rest of the cast, though, enlivens characters who can border on the thanklessly one-dimensional...Despite McNally's considerable revisions, there's just not enough plot here to sustain a two-and-a-half-hour show -- and what plot there is can seem thinner and more obvious than Abraham's toupee...It's Only a Play is a poison-pen mash note to New York theater, at once gleefully bitchy and affectionate. B+

Dennehy, a two-time Tony winner, has been a steady presence on Broadway in the last few decades--and he brings a stalwart, hunched-over gravitas to Andrew, a self-serious young man who's brief youthful indiscretions naturally give way to a Rockefeller-Republican conservatism. The real surprise here is Farrow, returning to the Main Stem for the first time in 18 years...She's a real actress, and she uses her considerable tools and her wonderful voice to evoke Melissa's girlish naivete, her teenage petulance, and then her grown-up insecurity...Love Letters reminds us that class can not only us in our place, but thwart any effort to forge real connections outside of ourselves. B+

Culkin is sensational as Dennis, a talkative schemer whose occasional stumbles in no way impede his innate sense of self-confidence. Cera is nearly as strong as Warren, a willfully quirky boy who collects action figures and vintage toasters and who endures Dennis' poetic rants of invective against him like a pound puppy who craves attention no matter what form it takes...At 18, Gevinson is closer to her character's age than her castmates--but she can seem less at ease on stage for reasons that have nothing to do with Jessica's natural discomfort hanging out in a strange apartment with a virtual stranger.

Just how edgy can Hedwig remain on the Great White Way? There is, after all, a bit of cognitive dissonance in a supposed outcast selling out a giant theater filled with fans screaming, 'I love you, Neil!' While director Michael Mayer's tricked-out production abandons the show's seedy origins, there's still a satirical edge that reflects the more upscale venue...Purists may balk at Harris' punk-lite vocals on Trask's infectiously rockin' score -- he's less Iggy, more pop -- and his threats to 'cut you, bitch' come off with more of a wink than actual menace. But in a bravura performance, the actor proves the perfect instrument for Hedwig's transition into world-class superstardom. He's honed his showmanship on four Tony Awards gigs, of course. But he's looser here, and lewder, more spontaneous and quick on his pumps. A-

Thanks to McDonagh's clever writing and the sharply drawn performances by Radcliffe & Co., these seeming stereotypes keep upending our expectations - and their own - as they spin their yarns and shade some closely held truths. This is one of McDonagh's lighter works, without his usual burst of Tarantino-esque violence, but there's enough edginess to pull the story back from the cliff's edge of sentimentality. A-

In his Broadway debut, Franco shows a relaxed stage presence and real charisma, though his occasional explosions of anger or frustration seem to rely more on turning up the volume dial rather than digging for any deeper nuance...The real surprise in Anna D. Shapiro's finely staged production is Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids) as George's mentally challenged travel companion, Lenny. The gifted comedic actor brings a studied and skillful physicality to Lenny, a gentle giant with a stubbly shaved head who's not aware of his own strength even as he compulsively touches soft things -- a scrap of velvet, a puppy, a young woman's neck. O'Dowd's riveting performance is a study in underdeveloped impulse control: He frequently reaches out his hand with crooked fingers, then just as quickly withdraws. Though his native Irish accent occasional pokes through, O'Dowd makes Lenny sympathetic without ever stooping to caricature.

While McDonald's vocal inflections can seem a tad overstudied in the show's opening number, 'I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone,' as she spits out breaths at the end of each musical phrase, the actress quickly settles into the role and erases all memory of her operatic belter's soprano and her naturally bubbly personality. In their place: a voice both smoky and breathy, and a demeanor that suggests a hard-lived life in the first half of the 20th century. The physicality of her portrayal is similarly remarkable.

While McDonald's vocal inflections can seem a tad overstudied in the show's opening number, 'I Wonder Where Our Love Has Gone,' as she spits out breaths at the end of each musical phrase, the actress quickly settles into the role and erases all memory of her operatic belter's soprano and her naturally bubbly personality. In their place: a voice both smoky and breathy, and a demeanor that suggests a hard-lived life in the first half of the 20th century. The physicality of her portrayal is similarly remarkable.

The show's exploration of fate and chance seldom rises above Hallmark-card sentimentality - and the characters have no more depth...But as even John Travolta must know by now, the real star here is Menzel, and she delivers a powerful bipolar performance that often masks the shallowness of the material. In her triumphant final ballad, 'Always Starting Over,' she proves she doesn't need to defy gravity to win over fans. With her feet planted on terra firma, she can shake the rafters and pierce your heart all at once.

The show's exploration of fate and chance seldom rises above Hallmark-card sentimentality - and the characters have no more depth...But as even John Travolta must know by now, the real star here is Menzel, and she delivers a powerful bipolar performance that often masks the shallowness of the material. In her triumphant final ballad, 'Always Starting Over,' she proves she doesn't need to defy gravity to win over fans. With her feet planted on terra firma, she can shake the rafters and pierce your heart all at once.

The revelation is Ramin Karimloo, an Iranian-born Canadian who is well known in London but makes his Broadway debut here. As Jean Valjean, the petty criminal turned respected citizen still on the run from the law, Karimloo projects a masculine authority that cannily reveals hidden pockets of vulnerability. He's blessed with matinee-idol looks and a crystalline tenor that pierces the back rows of the Imperial Theatre. With apologies to Hugh Jackman, his may be the best sung, best acted Valjean I've ever seen. Will Swenson (Priscilla Queen of the Desert) has never sounded better as the by-the-book Inspector Javert, who has been chasing Valjean for decades, though his performance at times edges toward the bombastic...The rest of the cast is mostly solid...In [Karimloo's] solos, 'Who Am I?' and particularly 'Bring Him Home,' not only does he inject each phrase with feeling and musicality but he fully embodies the message of the song. There's not a gesture, not a head bob out of place. At the end of the day, he brings the most luster to this stirring revival.

As in many a Disney stage production, the big showstopper isn't even human: During 'A Whole New World,' a flying carpet carries our lovers aloft in a night-time ride, swooping and spinning with how'd-they-do-that wonder. (Jim Steinmeyer and Jeremy Chernick are credited with designing the onstage illusions and special effects.) It deserves its own curtain call.

Despite the high-tech stagecraft, director Alex Timbers remains faithful to the indie spirit of the 1976 Oscar winner that made a star of Sylvester Stallone...At times the show plays less like a splashy Broadway musical than a Clifford Odets revival...The real trouble is that, unlike 'Eye of the Tiger' or the snatches of Bill Conti's triumphal theme, Stephen Flaherty's bland new songs merely shadowbox at melody and never land the pop-rock punch they often seem to be seeking...Even so, Rocky delivers edge-of-your-seat thrills - particularly in the final 15 minutes - that underscore the fact that fans of boxing and live theater share some DNA: They love to see their stars battered, bloodied, but still standing. B

It helps that Jason Robert Brown (Parade, The Last Five Years) has written a lush and deeply romantic score, filled with rich and melodic duets that show off its leads' terrific voices - their second act rafter-shaker 'One Second & a Million Miles' is destined to become a cabaret staple. The tunes help compensate for Marsha Norman's more problematic book, which stumbles whenever the spotlight isn't on Francesca and Robert. The story has no real villains, or even antagonists, to work up a plot worth sustaining for 2 hours and 45 minutes...Director Bartlett Sher does his best to fill the space in the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Ultimately, this is a chamber musical that is both introspective and modest at its core. But when O'Hara lets her guard down and opens herself up to the possibility of romance, and when her magnificent soprano belts out Brown's swooping melodies, even a small space can seem as wide and expansive as an Iowa cornfield. B+

Messing acquits herself well in her Broadway debut. Though she seems ill at ease through the first half of the show, too aware of the audience and of the effort to keep up her accent, she settles in toward the end when she's able to deploy her gifts for physical comedy...Ultimately, Outside Mullingar is wispier than the smoke from a peat bog. Shanley has a fondness for quirkiness, which provide some of the biggest laughs. At times, though, the oddities threaten to overwhelm the whole affair, particularly in the long final scene between Anthony and Rosemary where they finally, inevitably confront their long-suppressed feelings...For plays, though, feelings can come in handy. In the end, too few of them quite ring true here. B

Watching Beautiful, the new jukebox musical celebrating the remarkable life and work of Carole King, you may not feel the earth move under your feet. But the new Broadway show emerges as a slick and joyous celebration of female empowerment. Like Jersey Boys, Beautiful features a smart, well-crafted, and often funny book (by Douglas McGrath) that cleverly threads together a memorable catalog of early rock hits such as 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'Take Good Care of My Baby.' It also boasts a winning central performance by Jessie Mueller as the shy Jewish girl from Brooklyn who only gradually comes into her own as a headlining voice of a generation... Beautiful fills the charisma vacuum with the substantial addition of King and Goffin's friendly songwriting rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, played with megawatt scene-stealing abandon by Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector...

Watching Beautiful, the new jukebox musical celebrating the remarkable life and work of Carole King, you may not feel the earth move under your feet. But the new Broadway show emerges as a slick and joyous celebration of female empowerment. Like Jersey Boys, Beautiful features a smart, well-crafted, and often funny book (by Douglas McGrath) that cleverly threads together a memorable catalog of early rock hits such as 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'Take Good Care of My Baby.' It also boasts a winning central performance by Jessie Mueller as the shy Jewish girl from Brooklyn who only gradually comes into her own as a headlining voice of a generation... Beautiful fills the charisma vacuum with the substantial addition of King and Goffin's friendly songwriting rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, played with megawatt scene-stealing abandon by Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector...

Watching Beautiful, the new jukebox musical celebrating the remarkable life and work of Carole King, you may not feel the earth move under your feet. But the new Broadway show emerges as a slick and joyous celebration of female empowerment. Like Jersey Boys, Beautiful features a smart, well-crafted, and often funny book (by Douglas McGrath) that cleverly threads together a memorable catalog of early rock hits such as 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'Take Good Care of My Baby.' It also boasts a winning central performance by Jessie Mueller as the shy Jewish girl from Brooklyn who only gradually comes into her own as a headlining voice of a generation... Beautiful fills the charisma vacuum with the substantial addition of King and Goffin's friendly songwriting rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, played with megawatt scene-stealing abandon by Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector...

Watching Beautiful, the new jukebox musical celebrating the remarkable life and work of Carole King, you may not feel the earth move under your feet. But the new Broadway show emerges as a slick and joyous celebration of female empowerment. Like Jersey Boys, Beautiful features a smart, well-crafted, and often funny book (by Douglas McGrath) that cleverly threads together a memorable catalog of early rock hits such as 'Some Kind of Wonderful' and 'Take Good Care of My Baby.' It also boasts a winning central performance by Jessie Mueller as the shy Jewish girl from Brooklyn who only gradually comes into her own as a headlining voice of a generation... Beautiful fills the charisma vacuum with the substantial addition of King and Goffin's friendly songwriting rivals Cynthia Weil and Barry Mann, played with megawatt scene-stealing abandon by Anika Larsen and Jarrod Spector...

In both plays, McKellen and Stewart deliver a master class in acting that seems to echo Beckett and Pinter's underlying theme: the struggle of men against the challenge and inevitability of death. By their age-defying enthusiasm, the seventysomething stars manage the tricky feat of making challenging material engaging, fun, and ultimately life-affirming. The ease of their companionship is almost infectious, elevating these productions to the sublime.