Broadway Journal

HEEDLESS BARON AT TOPLESS TABLOID: ‘INK’ REVIEW

April 24, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Jonny Lee Miller & Bertie Carvel/Joan Marcus

Students of Rupert Murdoch may wonder why an 88-year-old multi-billionaire would devote his last years to destabilizing democracy, promoting division and thwarting efforts to slow climate change.

“There is no why,” newspaper editor Larry Lamb (Jonny Lee Miller) says early in James Graham’s absorbing Ink, as part of a discussion with the young Murdoch about journalism’s five “W’s.”  (Who, What, Where and When are the others.)    “Sometimes shit just happens.”

Ever-so-timely, although ripped from headlines a half-century old, Ink  chronicles The Sun‘s first year under Murdoch control, 1969-70.Continue Reading

WHAT THE CONSTITUTION MEANS TO BROADWAY: REVIEW

April 1, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Heidi Schreck/Joan Marcus

Disturbing, timely and leavened by dry wit, What the Constitution Means to Me  is an impassioned play about American governance that may renew your faith in Broadway.

Heidi Schreck, who wrote the autobiographical appraisal of U.S. democracy and appeal to improve upon it, plays herself, both at present day and at 15 years old.Continue Reading

DAZZLING PERFORMANCES, FAMILIAR STORY: ‘AIN’T TOO PROUD’ REVIEW

March 21, 2019 by Philip Boroff

photo: Matthew Murphy

Ain’t Too Proud  isn’t too original, but it should appeal to fans of the Temptations, the most successful African-American recording group in history.

The musical’s five leads gorgeously harmonize on such hits as “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me),” “My Girl” and “I Can’t Get Next to You.” Sergio Trujillo’s kinetic homage to the group’s original choreography includes dazzling splits, slides and spins. Continue Reading

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL ON HYPERDRIVE: ‘BE MORE CHILL’ REVIEW

March 10, 2019 by Philip Boroff

Will Roland

Set in suburban Jersey and based on Ned Vizzini’s out-there 2004 novel, Be More Chill  is about a frustrated high school junior named Jeremy (Will Roland, best-known for Dear Evan Hansen), who swallows a grey pill that’s a Japanese supercomputer called a SQUIP. It implants itself in his brain and guides him through the intricacies of teenage social protocol. Continue Reading

GILLIAN ANDERSON ELEVATES FEROCIOUS ‘ALL ABOUT EVE’: REVIEW

March 8, 2019 by James Feinberg

Lily James & Gillian Anderson

LONDON — Following Network,  Ivo van Hove’s disappointing star vehicle now packing them in on Broadway, the writer/director is back in peak form with his adaptation of All About Eve  in the West End.

A theater story set in the realm of backstage gossipmongers, Joseph L. Mankiewicz’s 1950 film is an ideal fit for van Hove’s cold Kubrickian style.Continue Reading

GENDER-BENDING ‘COMPANY’ IMPROVES ON PERFECTION: REVIEW

February 7, 2019 by James Feinberg

Editor’s note: There are talks to bring London’s ‘Company’ to Broadway, and last we heard nothing was set. For now, tickets appear to be plentiful for the run at the Gielgud Theatre through March 30.

LONDON — The show that changed everything may never be the same.Continue Reading

‘THE JUNGLE’ IS POWERFUL, HAUNTING & UNIFYING: REVIEW

December 9, 2018 by James Feinberg

John Pfumojena, Ben Turner, Mohammad Amiri/Teddy Wolff

St. Ann’s Warehouse in Dumbo, Brooklyn, has been recast as a crowded and vibrant refugee camp called the Calais Jungle on the coast of France. The theater’s ticket booth is in a ramshackle hut, its bar relocated to a dome of canvas and metal. The audience doesn’t so much sit as huddle, as if around a campfire.Continue Reading

IN ‘THE NEW ONE,’ BIRBIGLIA TAKES HILARIOUS DEEP DIVE INTO POSTPARTUM AGGRESSION: REVIEW

November 12, 2018 by Philip Boroff

The New One/Joan Marcus

Mike Birbiglia likes lists. Early in his irresistible one-man comedy The New One, he cites seven reasons why he never wanted a child.

“Number 1: I’ve never felt like there should be more of me in the world.” That leads to a roundup of his horrific medical history, which includes a life-threatening sleep disorder, which he depicted in an earlier show, book and indie movie called Sleepwalk with Me.Continue Reading

POLITICAL IS PERSONAL IN HELLMAN’S COMPELLING DRAMA: REVIEW

August 26, 2018 by James Feinberg

Roderick Hill & Ted Deasy/Todd Cerveris

Lillian Hellman’s second play, Days To Come, was a flop when it premiered on Broadway in 1936.  Sources differ on why — but it certainly wasn’t the writing.

The well-acted production that opened Sunday, smoothly directed by J.R. Sullivan for the Mint Theater Company, at the Beckett Theatre at Theater Row, proves a fascinating family drama set in a time of economic hardship and labor unrest.  This Days To Come, the first in New York in 40 years, makes a compelling case for the play’s continued relevance.Continue Reading

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