Daily coverage of Theater by Vulture

Theater

theater review

Out to Sea and Back With Swept Away

 The story of a whaling expedition that turned horrifying, musicalized by the Avett Brothers. By Sara Holdren
theater review

Shit. Meet. Fan. Tells Us Lots That We Already Know

 Neil Patrick Harris and Jane Krakowski star in Robert O’Hara’s self-described “blistering vulgar satire.†It delivers one of those three things. By Sara Holdren
theater

What to See on (and Off)(and Off–Off) Broadway

 Let Vulture’s theater desk be your guide. By Vulture Editors
  1. theater review
    Out to Sea and Back With Swept AwayThe story of a whaling expedition that turned horrifying, musicalized by the Avett Brothers.
    By Sara Holdren
  2. theater review
    Shit. Meet. Fan. Tells Us Lots That We Already KnowNeil Patrick Harris and Jane Krakowski star in Robert O’Hara’s self-described “blistering vulgar satire.†It delivers one of those three things.
    By Sara Holdren
  3. theater review
    Elf: The Musical, Where They Sing Really Loud for All to HearEveryone’s trying, but the show itself is a cotton-headed ninny-muggins.
    By Jackson McHenry
  4. theater review
    The Lighter Side of Christian Nationalism: Tammy FayeSpinning an evangelist grifter into a camp icon and sorta-feminist heroine is a little hard to take right now.
    By Sara Holdren
  5. theater review
    King Lear at the Fountain of YouthKenneth Branagh’s production is fleet and facile.
    By Sara Holdren
  7. theater review
    When Robots Meet Cute: Maybe Happy Ending“It might feel like 2064 on the surface, but in its nostalgic, rechargeable heart, the show parties like it’s 1999.â€
    By Sara Holdren
  8. theater review
    A Wonderful World Is Also a Familiar OneJames Monroe Iglehart does a fine job embodying Louis Armstrong in a show that’s anything but improvisational.
    By Jackson McHenry
  9. stella!!!!!
    Yes, Paul Mescal Will Star in A Streetcar Named Desire in New YorkBut, no, despite previous reports, it will not be on Broadway.
    By Jason P. Frank
  10. theater review
    Soho Rep Closes Out the House With Give Me Carmelita Tropicana!It’s the final show at Walkerspace, and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Alina Troyano’s play is a wild goodbye whoop.
    By Sara Holdren
  11. movie review
    The Piano Lesson Can’t Quite Live Up to August Wilson’s PlayMalcolm Washington’s The Piano Lesson is a worthwhile and occasionally quite moving adaptation. But it lives uncomfortably between two forms.
    By Bilge Ebiri
  12. theater review
    Worlds on the Brink: Walden and A Woman Among WomenAmy Berryman and Julia May Jonas invoke and gut renovate Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller (not to mention Thoreau).
    By Sara Holdren
  13. bts
    A Star-Crossed Romeo + Juliet Photo DumpTommy Dorfman shares an exclusive backstage photo diary from her Broadway debut.
    By Jacob Moscovitch and Bailey Kircher
  14. theater review
    Teeth Is Back and Biting HarderAnna K. Jacobs and Michael R. Jackson’s horror musical now has a gory splash zone, and it benefits from the extra layer of kitsch (and plastic).
    By Jackson McHenry
  15. theater review
    A Big, Agnostic RagtimeCity Center’s revival blows the speakers out but says comparatively little.
    By Jackson McHenry
  16. theater review
    Theater of the ApocalypseIn the Amazon Warehouse Parking Lot and HOTHOUSE put their characters in surreal settings as the world burns.
    By Sara Holdren
  17. theater review
    International Arrivals: We Live in Cairo and Bad KreyòlTwo shows take audiences into the Arab Spring and the Haitian American experience.
    By Jackson McHenry
  18. theater review
    Kissing by the Book: Connor and Zegler in Romeo & JulietA production that’s all shimmer with little grasp of Shakespeare’s words. (Plus: The silly joys of Drag: The Musical.)
    By Sara Holdren
  19. respect the classics
    Stevie Nicks Has No Idea What Stereophonic Is“What is that?â€
    By Devon Ivie
  20. theater review
    Left on Tenth Goes Right Down the MiddleJulianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher reenact Delia Ephron’s memoir, long on charm and short on dramatic tension.
    By Jackson McHenry
  21. defenders
    Rachel Zegler Says West End Romeo & Juliet ‘Failed’ Francesca Amewudah-RiversAfter the actress faced racial abuse while starring opposite Tom Holland.
    By Jason P. Frank
  22. bombshell
    Wait, What Is the Broadway Smash Adaptation Even About?The character names in the new cast list are not the names from the show.
    By Jason P. Frank
  23. profile
    Nicole Scherzinger Never Stopped DreamingThe former Pussycat Doll stages a comeback with Sunset Blvd. on Broadway.
    By Jackson McHenry
  24. theater review
    A Madly Showy Sunset Blvd.As Norma Desmond, Nicole Scherzinger is gargantuan and almost feral.
    By Sara Holdren
  25. theater review
    Adam Driver Going Huge: Hold on to Me DarlingHe takes a role in hand as if it were an old carpet, shamelessly beating the dust out of it.
    By Sara Holdren
  26. theater review
    Truth, Meet Power: Erika Sheffer’s VladimirOn 20 years of Putinism.
    By Sara Holdren
  27. theater review
    Drama Afloat in Red Hook: The Wind and the RainA play about Sunny’s Bar and the world it embodies.
    By Sara Holdren
  28. theater review
    Stage, Managed: A TV-Star-Driven Our TownKenny Leon’s production is gentle where it could bite.
    By Sara Holdren
  29. theater review
    Climate Hopefulness Faces the Fire in Deep HistoryDavid Finnigan’s play starts as lecture, then takes a turn.
    By Jackson McHenry
  30. culture
    Rachel Bloom Is Reliving the Pandemic Onstage Every NightShe swears it’s good for you.
    By Emily Gould
  31. theater review
    What’s In a Name? Surface and Substance In The Counter and Dirty LaundryMeghan Kennedy goes deep in a diner, and Mathilde Dratwa gets personal with grief.
    By Sara Holdren
  32. musical the-a-ter
    Broadway Continues Evolution Into a Series of Immersive NightclubsNext up: a Jonathan Groff–starring Bobby Darin bio-musical, Just in Time, with a big band.
    By Jason P. Frank
  33. theater review
    Marla Mindelle Is Back, Ridiculously, in The Big Gay JamboreeQueen of the world!
    By Jackson McHenry
  34. theater review
    In a Pair of Musicals, Gabriel Kahane Seeks America and HimselfHe performs ‘Magnificent Bird’ and ‘Book of Travelers’ on alternating nights.
    By Jackson McHenry
  35. theater review
    Hannah Gadsby Won’t Give You ClosureThe comedian’s new show, Woof!, offers a kaleidoscopic tour of their current state of mind but no pat takeaways.
    By Kathryn VanArendonk
  36. theater review
    Is the Safety Not Guaranteed Musical What You Wish For?Guster’s singer-songwriter Ryan Miller tries his hand at musical theater.
    By Sara Holdren
  37. single use plays
    British Theatre Trend Becomes American Theater TrendSarah Snook will make her Broadway debut in solo Dorian Gray the same month that Andrew Scott takes on solo Vanya.
    By Jason P. Frank
  38. theater review
    The Best of All Possible Intentions: Yellow Face and Good BonesDavid Henry Hwang and James Ijames on places where idealism runs up against success.
    By Sara Holdren
  39. theater review
    McNeal and Robert Downey Jr. Dance With ChatGPTThe playwright Ayad Akhtar considers the prospects (ominous and otherwise) of AI art-making.
    By Jackson McHenry
  40. rip
    Gavin Creel, Tony Winner, Dead at 48He was diagnosed with cancer in July.
    By Jason P. Frank
  41. the rehearsal
    Comic Francesca D’Uva on How Her Dad’s Death Inspired Her New Show“That was kind of the first very bad thing that had ever happened to me in my life.â€
    As told to Rebecca Alter
  42. theater review
    Doing Less With More: The Hills of CaliforniaJez Butterworth’s latest play, directed by Sam Mendes, is an array of overfamiliar archetypes and under-thought choices.
    By Sara Holdren
  43. vulture hacks
    10 Tips for Making Broadway (Kind of) AffordableFrom offers and apps to services and subscriptions, here’s how you can see theater on the (relatively) cheap.
    By Esther Zuckerman
  44. opera review
    Moral Complexity at the Met: Jeanine Tesori’s GroundedOur theater and music critics discuss the new opera about drone warfare and the people who wage it.
    By Justin Davidson and Sara Holdren
  45. theater review
    The Ghost of John McCain Is Inside Out for MSNBC AddictsStuck in Donald Trump’s head, literally but also artistically.
    By Jackson McHenry
  46. audra’s turn
    The Gypsy Casting Team Loved Broadway’s The NotebookTwo Allies will both star in the Gypsy revival opposite Audra McDonald.
    By Jason P. Frank
  47. theater review
    In Praise of Difficult Women: Medea Re-Versed and Blood of the LambAn ancient play reimagined in rap rhymes and a cautionary tale about post-Dobbs America.
    By Sara Holdren
  48. oh hello again
    Lin-Manuel Miranda Will Return to Broadway (as an Actor)Alongside David Cross, Jimmy Fallon, and Aidy Bryant for a ‘Comedy About Love.’
    By Hershal Pandya and Jason P. Frank
  49. the rehearsal
    Megan Hilty Treats Vocal Warm-ups Like Marathon Prep“I took up running so that I could literally breathe throughout the course of the show.â€
    As told to Jackson McHenry
  50. theater review
    The Beacon Needs Its Heat Turned Slightly Lower“One can’t be moved, or even really engaged, when a writer keeps saying, ‘See what I did there?’â€
    By Sara Holdren
  51. theater review
    Mama Grizzlies Tear Into Lunch in oh, HoneyIn Jeana Scotti’s play, everyone’s got a son facing sexual-misconduct accusations, and the waitperson is taking notes.
    By Sara Holdren
More Articles