ConstellationsThe phrase "emotionally satisfying" is rarely seen alongside that of "experimental drama" -- which makes Nick Payne's arresting, intelligent new play "Constellations" all the more exciting.David Benedict1/20/2012 12:09pm PT
Travelling LightAbroadSurrounded by friends and relations in an East European shtetl circa 1900, wannabe helmer Motl Mendel (Damien Molony) is being terrorized by timber merchant and tyro moving picture producer Jacob Bindel (Antony Sher).David Benedict1/19/2012 6:50pm PT
Our New GirlAbroadIn Charlotte Gwinner's well-calibrated production, Irish scribe Nancy Harris' new play "Our New Girl" walks an impressive stylistic tightrope between suspense, satire, and psychological drama.Karen Fricker1/19/2012 6:46pm PT
The Road to MeccaBroadwayOn the occasion of his 80th birthday, Athol Fugard deserves a retrospective. Which is what this distinguished South African playwright, director, actor and social activist will receive as resident playwright for the Signature Theater Company's inaugural season in its new home -- but Roundabout gets in the first tribute with this respectful revival of the scribe's most personal drama, "The Road to Mecca."Marilyn Stasio1/17/2012 6:38pm PT
LovesongAbroad"Leap with me," says the young husband (Edward Bennett), hoping to persuade his cautious wife (Leanne Rowe) to approve of the loan he's taken out to finance his dental practice. There is surprisingly little literal leaping in this tender piece from physical theatre company Frantic Assembly, whose pieces usually intercut text with dynamic choreographed passages (as with co-helmer Steven Hoggett's movement direction of touring hit "Black Watch"). In fact the biggest leap is the one auds are asked to make in accepting the lack of driving forward movement in the script by red-hot scribe Abi Morgan ("Shame," "The Iron Lady").Karen Fricker1/17/2012 8:59am PT
Ghost LightRegionalA long winning streak like Berkeley Rep's was bound to hit a snag sooner or later. Unfortunately, it's arrived in what had been the most eagerly anticipated new play of the Bay Area season. Dennis Harvey1/13/2012 8:14am PT
The Gershwins' Porgy and BessBroadwayWhen Audra McDonald joins Norm Lewis in singing "I Loves You, Porgy," their duet will thrill "Porgy and Bess" newcomers and purists alike. But when McDonald delivers a newly devised reprise of "There's a Boat Dat's Leavin' Soon for New York" to her baby while snorting cocaine, theatergoers with a knowledge of the original will roll their eyes. This new Broadway version is a re-envisioned and streamlined version of the 1935 folk opera with smudgy fingerprints affixed; McDonald and Lewis make it reasonably entertaining, but this "Porgy Lite" is not nearly as electrifying as the real thing.Steven Suskin1/12/2012 5:30pm PT
Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly IvinsRegionalThose wishing columnist Molly Ivins (1944-2007) could cast her caustic, gimlet eye on the GOP primary doings will likely be drawn like a magnet to the Geffen's "Red Hot Patriot," with Kathleen Turner reprising her Philly turn as the lonely liberal from the Lone Star State. Bob Verini1/12/2012 3:32pm PT
Outside PeopleOff BroadwayIn the land of been-there-seen-that theater, surprises are generally welcome. Just not the kind of phoney, irrational shockers that make you scratch your head and go "Huh?" Marilyn Stasio1/10/2012 6:34pm PT
Fruit FlyLos AngelesLeslie Jordan's latest monodrama "Fruit Fly" goes heavy on the nostalgic reminiscence and light on the politics, with a sentimental message of social tolerance and self-acceptance built in.Bob Verini1/8/2012 12:53pm PT
AnnRegionalFormer Texas governor Ann Richards, one of the Lone Star State's more colorful and outspoken figures, is impersonated with full frontal feistiness in "Ann," a solo play written and performed by Holland Taylor.Paul Harris1/5/2012 1:51pm PT
Bananas! A Day in the Life of Josephine BakerOff BroadwayThe unique career of Josephine Baker (1906-1975) is as ripe for dramatization as the bananas adorning her skirt in her famous Folies Bergere dance specialties. Actress-scribe Sloan Robinson takes a well-meant stab at it in "Bananas! A Day in the Life of Josephine Baker," but her writing isn't yet bold enough to peel back the skin and reveal the woman beneath.Bob Verini12/27/2011 11:28am PT
I Love Lucy Live On StageRegional"I Love Lucy Live On Stage" is kitschy fun that could be more fun but hardly more kitschy.Bob Verini12/23/2011 11:36am PT
Swallows and AmazonsAbroad"Crikey!" That old-fashioned expression of astonishment doesn't just pop up in Helen Edmundson's perky script for "Swallows and Amazons."David Benedict12/21/2011 12:48pm PT
Close Up SpaceOff Broadway"Close Up Space" is a conventional generational play about a rebellious teenager taking revenge on her tyrannical father.Marilyn Stasio12/19/2011 5:30pm PT
A Christmas Story: The MusicalRegionalThe show honors above all its ability to capture a tone generated by the central character's imaginative, pre-pubescent worldview.Steven Oxman12/18/2011 12:07pm PT
A Christmas Westside StoryLos AngelesThere's no earthly reason why the 1983 cult classic "A Christmas Story" should comfortably converge with Robert Wise's Best Picture tuner of 1961, but go figure: "A Christmas Westside Story" is one of the cleverest efforts in their 10-year history.Bob Verini12/18/2011 11:24am PT
Noises OffAbroadThe best farces employ ruthless logic to stop audiences asking questions like, "Why are characters behaving in so deranged a fashion?" And the elaborate, seemingly foolproof backstage sequence of Michael Frayn's 1982 play "Noises Off" is routinely upheld as the greatest scene in the finest farce.David Benedict12/15/2011 6:14pm PT
Fela!Los AngelesL.A. gets a welcome early present for Christmas, Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, to be cherished by anyone moved by music's power to resist oppression.Bob Verini12/15/2011 11:55am PT
Some LoversRegional"Some Lovers," the new Burt Bacharach-Steven Sater vestpocket tuner, takes its inspiration from the dual irony of O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi": Husband sells watch to buy wife combs, while wife sells tresses to buy spouse watchfob.Bob Verini12/14/2011 6:32pm PT
Lysistrata JonesBroadwayThis college-level "High School Musical" is layered with giddy and sometimes wicked sophistication, and its company of 12 delivers bright performances backed by energetically brisk staging in this sweetly silly romp. Auds will find it difficult to abstain from laughter.Steven Suskin12/14/2011 6:27pm PT
Farm BoyOff Broadway"Farm Boy" is a sweet show, but it comes to the Brits Off Broadway festival with marketing issues.Marilyn Stasio12/13/2011 6:37pm PT
Haunted ChildAbroadDread-filled worry generated by helmer Jeremy Herrin's spellbinding cast creates almost palpable static in the mysterious first act of Joe Penhall's "Haunted Child," when formerly missing Douglas (Ben Daniels) returns home unexpectedly a severely changed man.David Benedict12/13/2011 6:00pm PT
Krapp's Last TapeOff BroadwayJohn Hurt's lived-in and existentially stepped-on face is so familiar from films (currently "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"), it's a shock to realize this great British actor has never appeared on an American stage. Marilyn Stasio12/12/2011 6:35pm PT
The LadykillersAbroadConsidering that classic movies are immediately available to watch in the privacy of one's home for considerably less than a fistful of dollars, there really is no point in faithfully turning them into expensive-to-see plays. David Benedict12/12/2011 1:24pm PT
Neighbourhood WatchOff BroadwayPeople are thought to mellow when they get older, but that doesn't seem to apply to 72-year-old Alan Ayckbourn, prolific Brit scribe who has penned a play or more each season since 1959 for the Stephen Joseph Theater in the Yorkshire city of Scarborough, where he lives. Marilyn Stasio12/11/2011 6:40pm PT
On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverBroadwayDirector Michael Mayer ("Spring Awakening," "American Idiot") has taken it upon himself, with the help of playwright Peter Parnell, to reconceive Alan Jay Lerner and Burton Lane's 1965 musical "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever." Steven Suskin12/11/2011 6:27pm PT
MistermanConsider Enda Walsh's harrowing "Misterman," another play about people whose response to tragedy is to relive, over and over again, the last few moments of their lives that were worth living. Sam Thielman12/9/2011 4:50pm PT
The Cherry OrchardOff BroadwayAlthough the star-studded cast of "The Cherry Orchard" gives the project a strong dose of sex appeal, the virtue of this production has more to do with Belgrader's decision to present the play as the comedy of manners that Chekhov always insisted it was.Marilyn Stasio12/9/2011 4:12pm PT
Stick FlyBroadwayA comedy of the dysfunctional-family variety, "Stick Fly" offers a fair share of laughter and some enjoyable performances but not much in the way of distinction.Steven Suskin12/8/2011 6:39pm PT
PippinAbroadThere's nothing like a monster hit to send producers scuttling to a composer's back catalog: With Stephen Schwartz's "Wicked" an unstoppable success, it was inevitable that someone would raise the "Pippin" question. David Benedict12/8/2011 3:04pm PT
BurlesqueAbroadNone of the many previous stage and movie treatments of the plight of actors facing the House Un-American Activities Committee has used the setting of a run-down burlesque house.David Benedict12/7/2011 7:34pm PT
Hermetically SealedRegionalThesp Gigi Bermingham's laserlike concentration on the mechanics of fashioning lemon squares is reason enough to take in Kathryn Graf's family drama "Hermetically Sealed," enjoying a long run at the Skylight.Bob Verini12/7/2011 5:15pm PT
Maple and VineOff BroadwayJordan Harrison racks up beaucoup points for originality with "Maple and Vine," a satirical fantasy about a contempo married couple who chuck their professionally successful but stressful urban lives to take up residence in a re-enactment community in a suburb where it is forever 1955.Marilyn Stasio12/7/2011 5:00pm PT
Richard IIAbroadThe key to Michael Grandage's success is his unfashionable refusal to give audiences an easy ride. For his farewell as a.d. of London's Donmar Warehouse he has chosen Shakespeare's "Richard II," an austere history play about an old regime overthrown by a usurper.David Benedict12/7/2011 3:27pm PT
OnceOff BroadwayOnce is not enough: "Once" is that rare kind of musical which theater lovers will want to see again.Steven Suskin12/6/2011 7:07pm PT
FoxfinderAbroadIt's not just George Dennis' threatening soundscape that whips up the compelling sense of foreboding that clings to the mysterious opening scenes of "Foxfinder."David Benedict12/6/2011 7:04pm PT
God's PlotRegionalWhile it could use a little tightening, "God's Plot" is one homegrown Shotgun hit that might well take root in other venues.Dennis Harvey12/6/2011 10:29am PT
I'm ConnecticutRegionalAs wacky, fast-paced and sweet as a stretched-out episode of "The Simpsons," the skein on which the scribe has been a writer and producer for decades.Frank Rizzo12/5/2011 5:08pm PT
Ride the CyclonePicture "Forever Plaid" meets "Glee" meets "Spring Awakening" and you'll have a pretty good idea of "Ride the Cyclone."Richard Ouzounian12/5/2011 5:04pm PT