Despite its charms, and there are many, the new musical “BetweenThe Lines” at the Tony Kiser Theater is a show in search of a target audience. Based upon a young adult novel by best-selling author Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha van Leer, the …Read more
photo by Joan Marcus Adapting a beloved bestselling book into a Broadway show is not without its challenges. While the show has name recognition and is sure to attract loyal readers, it also creates expectations-sometimes unreasonable. The novel, The …Read more
photo by Matt Murphy Sometimes those of us not easily impressed can be impressed. So it is with Into The Woods, now at the St. James Theater. The revival marks a return to the original, following a previous sanitized revival and a fluffy film. This i …Read more
Photo by Joan Marcus Free Shakespeare in the Park is quintessential New York. If you are lucky enough to score the free tickets and it’s a gorgeous evening, theater doesn’t get any better. This summer the Public Theater is offering two productions, o …Read more
What? Another show about a moody, overweight, young Black man with family issues? Like “A Strange Loop,” “Fat Ham” hasan endearing young main character. But “Fat Ham” delivers much more. Preparing for a family barbecue celebrating the marriage of his …Read more
Classics remain classics because they speak to us-no matter when they were written or where they are set. In a newly-imagined version of Chekhov’s “The Cherry Orchard,” a family remains stuck in the past. Soon their beloved home and cherry orchard wi …Read more
by Joan Marcus There’s something to be said for star power filling theater seats. Despite some tepid reviews for the latest version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the Longacre Theatre was filled. And why not? It stars Daniel Craig (the most recent James B …Read more
Mr. Saturday Night I’m a staunch Billy Crystal fan, and judging from the audience’s reaction at the Nederlander Theatre the other night, I’m not alone. I love Crystal’s quick wit, easy laugh and perpetual grin, even as he delivers a barb. Yet, sadly, …Read more
Once upon a time there was a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan called The Five Points. For over 70 years, it was a crowded slum, populated mostly by newly -freed slaves and ethnic Irish. Although there was much tension, historically the area is conside …Read more
A female press secretary, a female chief of staff, a first lady and several female assistants but even all of them together can’t keep the hapless president from occasionally opening his mouth and putting his foot in it or insulting foreign dignitari …Read more
