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Brinkhoff / Mogenburg A Classic Sondheim Musical Gets a Thrilling Twist
Marianne Elliott’s gender-flipped Company mines modern ambivalence about marriage.
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Ryan Melgar Portrait of an Artist as an Old Man: Mel Brooks in His 90s
The comic has stormed though 75 years of show business; he remains prodigal in expression, memory, and imagination.
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Joan Marcus How Do Carousel and My Fair Lady Fare in 2018?
With their themes of female subjugation, the plays have always had unsatisfactory endings. Two musical revivals attempt to complicate the equation.
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Simon Annand / Young Vic The Inheritance and the Ambitions of Queer Art
A new, two-part play in London affirms the importance of connecting with the cultural past.
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David Sandison / The Young Vic The Spectacular Humanity of The Jungle
A new play about the Calais migrant camp complicates the polarized narratives about the refugee crisis.
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Marc Brenner / Almeida Theatre Reimagining The Twilight Zone for the 21st Century
With a theatrical adaptation opening in London, and a planned CBS revival helmed by Jordan Peele, what can the Rod Serling anthology series say about modern life?
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George Hammerstein / Getty / Zak Bickel / ... 'Casting Couch': The Origins of a Pernicious Hollywood Cliché
How a seemingly innocuous phrase became a metonym for the skewed sexual politics of show business
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Paramount Pictures Mother!'s Theater of Cruelty
Darren Aronofsky’s film, a sensory assault, fits into a grand tradition of art that hopes to shock its audiences out of complacency.
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Johan Persson The Ferryman: Jez Butterworth on the Legacy of Hate
The playwright and screenwriter’s new London hit is set during the Troubles in 1981 Ireland, but the issues it considers are timeless.
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Ellie Kurtz A Play That Tests Ethical Questions in Real-Time
The Majority quizzes its audience on hot-button issues to demonstrate how easily the shape of a query can alter its answer.
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Francois Guillot / AFP / Getty Remembering Sam Shepard
The legendary American playwright, novelist, screenwriter, and actor died at the age of 73.
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Joan Marcus The Vital Role of Political Theater
Diane Paulus, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, and Robert Schenkkan discuss how the Public Theater’s recent production of Julius Caesar fits into a grand artistic tradition.
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Lucas Jackson / Reuters Hamilton's Peaceful Protest
The show’s producer, Jeffrey Seller, explains how its November statement to Vice President-elect Mike Pence came about.
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Joan Marcus / The Public Theatre The Misplaced Outrage Over a Trumpian Julius Caesar
For as long as the Shakespeare play has been staged, it’s been referencing contemporary political leaders.
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CBS / YouTube Stephen Colbert and Patrick Stewart Wait for Godot (and an Obamacare Replacement)
The actor and the late-night host gave healthcare the theater-of-the-absurd treatment.
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Matthew Murphy The Magnificent Harmony of Sunday in the Park With George
The Broadway revival of the Sondheim musical, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is a glorious tribute to the process of making art.
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Brooklyn Academy of Music Escaped Alone Finds Comfort at the End of the World
Caryl Churchill’s newest work explores the solace of community amid an apocalypse.
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CBS Superior Donuts Tries to Update an Old Classic
The new CBS multi-camera sitcom, based on a Tracy Letts play, is stodgy in format but has moments of freshness.
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NBC Hairspray Live! Was Big, Bland, and Beautiful
NBC’s third televised musical event offered goofy charm, a nebulous message of inclusivity, and a handful of spectacular moments.
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NBC Hairspray’s Revealing Portrayal of Racism in America
The 1988 John Waters film, newly adapted into an NBC live musical, presents a view of racial discrimination that’s by turns naïve and enlightening.
