‘Death of a Salesman,’ ‘The Piano Lesson’ and ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ showcase the strivings for Black economic independence and self-determination.
Theater
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
Broadway’s ‘1776’ revival casts women and non-binary actors as founding fathers. Can it succeed in the shadow of ‘Hamilton’?
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.
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
‘The Song of Bernadette’ is headed to Broadway
Over 80 years after Bernadette’s canonization, Frank Wildhorn has composed the music for a new stage adaptation of “The Song of Bernadette.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
Goodbye ‘Dear Evan Hansen.’ You helped us understand the anxieties of young people today.
On Sunday, Sept. 18, “Dear Evan Hansen” finished its Broadway run. During its six-year run, it was a touchstone in the ongoing conversation about the mental health of young people today.
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
The strange, drama-filled trip of Broadway’s ‘Funny Girl’—and what it reveals about live theater
The revival of a 1964 musical is stumbling a bit—but then, the original had its own troubles.
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
In ‘Corsicana,’ playwright Will Arbery writes an ode to his sister with Down syndrome
“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.
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‘Macbeth’ and ‘Cyrano’ are two classic plays getting fresh interpretations — with very different results
Classic plays don’t require updates or new translations to stay fresh, but if they are indeed classics, they can withstand new interpretations.
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‘A Case for the Existence of God’ is not a theological argument. It’s a parable.
Hard truths spill out in the tentative friendship of two men in Samuel D. Hunter’s Off Broadway play, “A Case for the Existence of God.”
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
Two new Broadway musicals show the pitfalls of turning complex history into song and dance
With “Suffs” and “Paradise Square,” Broadway offers two new musicals that address the great animating subject of the American musical: America itself.
Posted inArts & Culture, Theater
Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’ has been set to ballet. It won’t meet your expectations (in a good way).
In making the poem into a ballet with original music, much has been gained, both for the significance of the new ballet and for a fresh appreciation and engagement with its source.