'KPOP' review — the South Korean music phenomenon bursts onto Broadway with dazzle

KPOP definitely pops off the stage. No one could accuse this show celebrating Korean pop music of skimping when it comes to fervent flash and electrifying oomph. The production makes amazing use of Circle in the Square’s thrust stage and boasts enough dazzle and energy to power up two Broadway shows. On the other hand, KPOP, written by Jason Kim and d

'A Christmas Carol' review — Jefferson Mays's inventive solo adaptation is a holiday blessing

The splendid production of A Christmas Carol starring Jefferson Mays in a solo tour de force gets off with a bang. Suffice it to say that a rousing theatrical effect does its job. It grabs you by the lapels — actually, the eardrums — and commands your complete attention. This show and the actor playing some 50 roles deserve it. Drawn from Charles Dickens’s 1843 classic about transformation, redemption, and the Chri

'& Juliet' review — the Bard meets 21st-century bops in energetic pop musical

Anne Hathaway – the wife of William Shakespeare, not the Oscar-winning actress – has a message for her famous husband. In a nutshell: Your star-crossed-lovers tragedy stinks. That’s the start of & Juliet, a slim but cheeky and eager-to-entertain jukebox musical bursting with chart-toppers made famous by Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Bon Jovi, Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys, and other pop stars. “What if Juliet didn’t kill hers

'Sandra' review — one-woman thriller sails calmly through dangerous territory

David Cale's new one-woman thriller, Sandra, promises a globetrotting (well, from the U.S. to Mexico) mystery that lures its title character into ever-increasing danger. On paper, that's true. But this Vineyard Theatre production, while it might make an absorbing novel, doesn't quite thrill as theatre, feeling less like a journey through choppy waters and more like

'the bandaged place' review — moving new play captures the messiness of trauma and healing

To get right to the point: Harrison David Rivers's the bandaged place has no cuts or holes that need bandaging up. Every plot point, every character, every moment in this nearly perfect new play, presented by Roundabout Underground, has been stitched together perfectly. It will make your heart bleed in many different ways; i

'Camp Siegfried' review — a summer-camp fling with a sinister twist

I'll admit I had some preconceived skepticism walking into Second Stage Theater's production of Camp Siegfried. About a summer-camp fling between two teenagers being gradually indoctrinated into Nazism, it reminded me of This Beautiful Future, another Off-Broadway "love story" involving a young Nazi from earlier this season. That sh