Broadway Reviews

'Camelot' review — this shining kingdom's revival has bright and dull spots

The optimistic notion that greatness is within reach if only for “one brief, shining moment” is indelibly ingrained in Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s 1960 musical Camelot. Director Bartlett Sher’s gray and forbidding revival of the classic show could definitely use a bit more shine. It’s dark a lot in this Camelot. Running 3 hours at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater, the production is stately and beautifully sung, yet it’s seldom exciting or joyful. That's a long sit for,...

'Fat Ham' review — a smart, savory sendup of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'

If Hamlet were to partake in karaoke, the troubled prince might perform Radiohead’s “Creep.” In James Ijames’s Pulitzer Prize-winning tragicomedy Fat Ham, the character Juicy, loosely based on Shakespeare’s forlorn prince, does just that. The rock song’s moody lyrics about searching for masculinity and self-worth are fitting for Hamlet — and his Black, gay derivative. This riff on the Bard’s tragedy takes place at a backyard barbecue in the South. Juicy (Marcel Spears) and his family are...

'Shucked' review — the countrified, comedic cream of the crop

Storytellers have long looked to cornfields for ideas. Field of Dreams turned them into heaven. Evil lurked amid the rows in Children of the Corn. Now, in the deliriously dopey countrified musical comedy Shucked, corn is cause for nonstop funny business — and some terrifically catchy tunes. Credit the creative team for recognizing there’s more than a kernel of truth in the adage about knowing oneself. They are fully aware their show is wall-to-wall silliness, and they embrace that concept...

'Life of Pi' review — a marvel of theatrical design

How does an Indian teenager adrift in the Pacific Ocean in a tiny lifeboat – with a ferocious Bengal tiger, no less! – live to tell the tale after 227 harrowing days? That question is at the core of Life of Pi, a fantastical fable about survival, faith, and how stories help us make sense of our lives. Visually, the play is a deeply wondrous spectacle that teems with beauty and brutality. Narratively, the script does less to impress, as if written at times in magic marker, and supporting...

'Sweeney Todd' review — Josh Groban-led revival doesn't frighten, but still thrills

Sweeney Todd is back on Broadway, and there’s much to savor in this musical revival starring Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. Stephen Sondheim’s sublime score sounds deliciously lush as played by the 26-piece orchestra, the singing is uniformly excellent, and Hugh Wheeler’s morbidly gripping story unfolds in crisp fashion. However, there’s an ingredient missing in Hamilton director Thomas Kail’s star-studded but standard take on the 1979 musical: its essential dark edge. Subtitled The Demon...

'Bad Cinderella' review — fairytale reinvention only goes skin-deep

Before the curtain rises on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Bad Cinderella, a recognizable tune floats through the theatre: “In My Own Little Corner,” Cinderella’s wishful thinking classic from Rodgers and Hammerstein’s musical. Webber uses the song as a leitmotif throughout his adaptation, setting the notes to his protagonist’s confession that she is “bad” and “wild and free.” This bold choice invites instant comparisons to Cinderellas past and reveals the depths that Laurence Connor’s production at the...

'Bob Fosse's Dancin' review — a testament to the joy of theatrical dance

With two Bob Fosse dance revues in existence — 1978's Dancin', now having its first revival at the Music Box Theatre, and 1999's Fosse — comparisons are inevitable, so let me make mine and get on with it. Fosse, a minimalist highlight reel of his best-known choreography, reflects what most people associate with him today: black hats, black leotards, precise yet slinky movements in which even the isolated wag of a finger drips with sex appeal. That show, created by Fosse's collaborators after his...

'Parade' review — Ben Platt leads a first-rate cast in this dark, gripping revival

It’s a rare and thrilling gift when a musical presents a song that stirs up a legitimate lump in your throat. Parade, back in a banner revival, sees its stars Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond work that special magic twice with a pair of duets, one hopeful and one crushing. Memo: Bring tissues. First (and last) seen on Broadway in 1998, this unflinchingly dark show by composer-lyricist Jason Robert Brown and writer Alfred Uhry – who each won a Tony for their toils – was sparked by infamous true...

'A Doll's House' review — Jessica Chastain takes flight in Ibsen revival

The new Broadway production of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House starring Jessica Chastain is laser-focused, laid bare, and simply stunning. As always, the play tells the story of Nora Helmer, a wife and mother who finally summons the power to stand tall on her own two feet. British director Jamie Lloyd ingeniously runs full tilt with that image. For nearly all of the play’s unbroken two hours, Nora remains rooted in a chair (vaguely Norwegian, a nod to Ibsen’s background) situated downstage, close...

'Pictures From Home' review — family drama captures the challenges of art and mortality

“I’m exploring.” That’s what the acclaimed photographer Larry Sultan tells his parents in Pictures From Home, a surprisingly touching new play based on his 1992 photo memoir of the same name. It’s 1982. Larry (Danny Burstein), a married father of two who lives in San Francisco, is explaining plans for his new art “project” to his mom and dad, Jean and Irving (Zoë Wanamaker and Nathan Lane), in their southern California home. Larry’s exploration will ultimately take ten long years to complete....