NYT > TheaterNYT > Theater

Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company


Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:19:13 GMT

Long-Delayed Opening for History of, and by, Joseph Papp

If Joseph Papp had had his way, “Free for All,” Kenneth Turan’s newly published oral history of Papp and the Public Theater he helped found, would never have seen the light of day.


Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:28:20 GMT

‘Spider-Man’ Is Given a New Lead Producer

A rock concert promoter said on Friday that he was taking over production of the coming Broadway musical “Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark,” and that the troubled show would open in 2010.


Sat, 07 Nov 2009 06:36:10 GMT

Theater Review | 'The Lily’s Revenge': The Bridegroom Wore Eye Shadow, Petals and Lime Fishnet

“The Lily’s Revenge,” a scrappy spectacle written by and starring the drag artist Taylor Mac, splashes across the stage at Here Arts Center in a tide of lime green fishnet and sequins.


Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:46:58 GMT

Theater Review | 'Quartett': A Minuet Between Sexual Predators

With a cast led by Isabelle Huppert in a magnificently mannered performance, Robert Wilson’s “Quartett” is the very opposite of an aphrodisiac.


Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:34:56 GMT

Theater Review | 'The Understudy': When a Star Takes a Turn Awaiting a Star Turn

Julie White is fabricating bountiful laughs from a display of strained nerves in Theresa Rebeck’s scattershot comedy.


Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:07:22 GMT

Theater Review | 'Creature': Faith and the Tempted Woman of a Certain Middle Age

Saints can be hell to live with. That’s part of the comedy of Heidi Schreck’s absorbing new play.


Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:39:28 GMT

Theater Review | 'Idiot Savant': Still Bouncing Off the Fun House Walls

Richard Foreman’s “Idiot Savant,” with Willem Dafoe in the title role, is some kind of wonderful.


Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:29:37 GMT

Physical Culture: Now Starring, Off Broadway and in the Peloton

It has been a decade and a half since Mark-Paul Gosselaar last roamed the halls as Zack Morris on “Saved by the Bell;” he has since developed another distinction: as perhaps the best celebrity-slash-bicyclist in America.


Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:57:31 GMT

Theater Review | 'Nightingale': Redgrave Uncorsets a Relative Long Gone

Lynn Redgrave explores the life of her maternal grandmother through the prism of her own in her reflective new solo show.


Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:46:50 GMT

Theater Listings: Nov. 6 — 12

Selective listings from theater critics of The New York Times.


Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:16:45 GMT

Theater Review | 'Love Child': Two Actors, Many Guises and a Skewed Greek Play

It’s hard to imagine that Daniel Jenkins and Robert Stanton have ever had more fun than they’re having in this delicious romp.


Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:02:04 GMT

Theater Review | 'Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter': Hitching a Star to the Stardom of Cole Porter

“Love, Linda” is billed as a one-woman play. Really, though, it’s cabaret.


Wed, 04 Nov 2009 07:45:42 GMT

On the London Stage: Bedroom Distress, and Tragedy in Art and Life

Alan Ayckbourn’s “Bedroom Farce” takes viewers on a delicious tour of upheaval; in “Prick Up Your Ears,” drama strangely mirrors real-life tragedy.


Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:13:05 GMT

Theater Review | 'Eclipsed': Prisoners of War and Sex in Liberia

Subjugation and corruption are the grim options available to the women of “Eclipsed,” a new play by Danai Gurira at the Yale Repertory Theater.


Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:49:38 GMT

Theater Review | 'Such Things Only Happen in Books': Domesticity, Strait-Laced With Dry Wit

In this tedious new collection of Thornton Wilder one-acts, the straight-faced seriousness of it all makes you dream for a surprise appearance by Borat in a yellow thong.


Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:06:30 GMT

Neil Simon Flop May Be a Case of the Missing ‘Wow’

What went wrong with “Brighton Beach Memoirs” is a case study in success and failure on Broadway today.


Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:49:00 GMT

Theater Review | 'The New Electric Ballroom': Sisterly Bonds, Tight Enough to Strangle

The bonds of family are kept pulled tight — to the point of strangulation — in this mordantly funny, weirdly transfixing play written and directed by Enda Walsh.


Thu, 29 Oct 2009 04:40:56 GMT

Theater: One Writes, the Other Acts. Sparks Fly.

A playwright has found a muse in the actress Julie White.


Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:16:53 GMT

To Lynn Redgrave, the Examined Life Is Worth Staging

Facing cancer and the death of her niece, the actress explores love and loss in her one-woman show.


Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:49:15 GMT

Comedy: It’s Not a Bad Time to Be Funny in the City

For Kumail Nanjiani, breaks seem to be coming quickly. Next, his own show?


Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:53:42 GMT

Arts New Jersey: So Much Hardship to Convey

The production, based on a novel that speaks to the current moment in America, starts with Frank Galati’s Tony Award-winning adaptation.


Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:54:29 GMT

Theater Review | New Jersey: A Contemporary Makeover for a Convoluted Reverie

The Two River Theater Company in Red Bank, N.J., is staging a broad production of Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream.”.


Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:49:31 GMT

‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ to Close

The Broadway revival of Neil Simon’s “Brighton Beach Memoirs” will close on Sunday, and the companion production of Mr. Simon’s “Broadway Bound” will not open as planned.


Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:09:16 GMT

Theater Review | 'Finian’s Rainbow': A Pot of Sunny Gold in Those Green Hills

All the comforting pleasures of musical comedy are on abundant display in this thoroughly winning production.


Fri, 06 Nov 2009 21:47:33 GMT

Whispers Offstage? Could Be Actor’s Next Line

Although line prompters once played a part in theater, audiences now expect that actors will know their parts.


Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:59:31 GMT

Theater Review |'Antigone': Sophoclean Tragedy, Served Neat

This production of “Antigone,” staged by Anne Bogart, seems more interested in universal themes than contemporary relevance.