For theater fans, the arrival of a new Annie Baker play is cause for celebration.

Two new Broadway productions offer case studies in brand extension and fan service.

The ambitions of these two comedies could hardly be more disparate, yet the craft employed in both is rooted in similarly precise calibrations of our attention and sympathies.

Three strong new revivals offer an instructive comparative lens through which to view the form’s development over the decades. 

A lovingly crafted new revival of “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music makes a fresh case for reconsideration of Lorraine Hansberry's less well-known second play, which followed the classic “A Raisin in the Sun.”

As ever, Stephen Adly Guirgis writes hilarious, profane dialogue and puts his characters in contention over matters both petty and portentous.

‘Death of a Salesman,’ ‘The Piano Lesson’ and ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ showcase the strivings for Black economic independence and self-determination.

While Lin-Manuel Miranda’s popular Founding Fathers remix was built for performers of color, “1776” has been retrofitted onto this troupe of talented women.

“Corsicana,” named for the small Texas city in which it is set, is odd and stiff—qualities that are only exacerbated by director Sam Gold’s spare, often awkwardly formal staging.

Classic plays don’t require updates or new translations to stay fresh, but if they are indeed classics, they can withstand new interpretations.