As they do every so often, stories of audience members behaving insufferably at the theater become newsworthy—usually making the papers because some actor or fellow playgoer finally pushes back. For example, in 2013, theater critic Kevin Williamson w …Read more

In between his masterpiece, “Falsettoland,” and his hugely popular “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” composer-lyricist William Finn penned a very personal off-Broadway musical. Co-written and directed by James Lapine, A New Brain, premiered a …Read more

With scathing dialogue and nasty characters, Joshua Harmon wowed critics three years ago when his Bad Jews opened at the Roundabout Underground space. Months later, the show, which New York Post critic Elizabeth Vincentelli called, “delicious, nasty …Read more

Theater has been pretty good to such biblical personae as Jesus (the superstar), Mary (who had her 2013 Testament), Joseph (of dreamcoat finery), Noah (who musicalized Two By Two), Adam and Eve (under The Apple Tree), and even Queen Esther (of The Ha …Read more

As a theater critic for more than 25 years, I’m used to getting free tickets to the plays I see, be they off-off-Broadway showcases or the latest multi-million dollar blockbusters in Times Square. It’s part of a long-standing tradeoff between produce …Read more

SEE or SKIP: Mamma Mia! Venue: Broadway’s Broadhurst Theater, to Sept. 3, 2015 INFO: They said Cats would be now and forever—it wasn’t. They thought The Fantasticks would never end, then it did, then it didn’t, then it almost did again. Who’da thunk …Read more

SEE or SKIP: The Audience VENUE: Broadway’s Gerald Schoenfeld Theater, to June 28, 2015. INFO: Broadway continues its slavish Anglophilia with this look at the long reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Still in power at age 89, HRH came to power in 1952, whe …Read more

SEE or SKIP: The Heidi Chronicles VENUE: Broadway’s Music Box Theater, to May 3, 2015. INFO: Theatergoers have just a few more performances to catch Pam MacKinnon’s staging of The Heidi Chronicles, Pam MacKinnon’s revival of Wendy Wasserstein’s 1989 …Read more

With so many shows opening on Broadway this spring, it’s easy to overlook a light, frothy comedy. But never count Joe DiPietro out. His musical with Jimmy Roberts, “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change”, became an off-Broadway phenomenon and still …Read more

Well, “The Wedding Singer” flopped but became a popular touring show, and “First Date” flopped but is bound to get lots of community-theater action, will another comic musical about romance have a similar fate on the Great White Way? Last night (Apri …Read more