From Maine: Mr. Holland's Opus Hits Some Clinkers by Bob Verini

★★☆☆☆ A cinematic salute to an inspiring teacher is musicalized into something less than inspiring The post From Maine: Mr. Holland's Opus Hits Some Clinkers a…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:59am on September 4, 2022[SHARE]

From Massachusetts: Celebrate Everything Passing By, With Sondheim by Bob Verini

★★★★★ Broadway veterans demonstrate stardom's power to make a Sondheim gem glitter ever more brightly The post From Massachusetts: Celebrate Everything Passing …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 8:53pm on August 21, 2022[SHARE]

From Maine: The Nutty Professor, Transformed From Wild To Mild by Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ Jerry Lewis's classic 1963 farce, pleasantly musicalized, has its (buck) teeth pulled The post From Maine: The Nutty Professor, Transformed From Wild To M…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 7:57am on July 29, 2022[SHARE]

From Massachusetts: Most Happy In Concert, Most Dispiriting In Execution by Bob Verini

★☆☆☆☆ A glum expressionistic concert does a classic Frank Loesser score, and the audience, no favors The post From Massachusetts: Most Happy In Concert, Most Di…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:44am on July 25, 2022[SHARE]

From Massachusetts: Barrington Bounces Back with Warhol & Waller by Bob Verini

A provocative new play, and a grand musical revival, prove that the Pittsfield-based Barrington Stage is alive and well The post From Massachusetts: Barrington Bounces Back with Warhol &…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:37am on June 21, 2022[SHARE]

From Boston: The Inheritance Hands Gay History Over to Regional Theater, Triumphantly by Bob Verini

★★★★★ The first U.S. regional production reframes Matthew López's Olivier & Tony-winner as an intimate epic The post From Boston: The Inheritance Hands G…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:10am on May 3, 2022[SHARE]

From Boston: Our Daughters Like Pillars Offers Family Friction, Northeast of Osage County by Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ A long, smartly-written dysfunctional-family drama that feels somewhat longer than necessary The post From Boston: Our Daughters Like Pillars Offers Famil…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00am on April 30, 2022[SHARE]

A Strange Loop: The I's Have It in a Remarkable Musical Achievement by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ A one-of-a-kind musical creator unravels the very strands of human identity The post A Strange Loop: The I's Have It in a Remarkable Musical Achievement a…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:51pm on April 26, 2022[SHARE]

The Skin of Our Teeth: We Will Survive by Bob Verini

★★★★★ Thornton Wilder's epic, and epically funny, American classic is reborn in a brilliant new staging The post The Skin of Our Teeth: We Will Survive appeared…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:54pm on April 25, 2022[SHARE]

Funny Girl: Fanny Is Funny But 'Funny' Is Flat by Bob Verini

★★☆☆☆ Beanie Feldstein gives us a different take on the long-ago legend, but the rest is the same old fast shuffle The post Funny Girl: Fanny Is Funny But 'Funn…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:53pm on April 24, 2022[SHARE]

Take Me Out: A Solid Three-Bagger by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ An entertaining revival of Richard Greenberg's award winner about baseball and identity sacrifices some edge The post Take Me Out: A Solid Three-Bagger a…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:55pm on April 4, 2022[SHARE]

The Woman in Black: A Satisfying Victorian Creepshow by Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ Susan Hill's cozy ghost story gets a cozy mounting in a cozy pub The post The Woman in Black: A Satisfying Victorian Creepshow appeared first on New York …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 7:09pm on October 31, 2021[SHARE]

From Massachusetts: Ayodele Casel Chasing Magic (And Catching It) by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ A gifted dancer-choreographer taps into mood and meaning with a stunning troupe of artists The post From Massachusetts: Ayodele Casel Chasing Magic (And C…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 5:00pm on October 2, 2021[SHARE]

From Massachusetts: Sister Sorry, Regrets Only by Bob Verini

★★☆☆☆ Sorry to say, an intriguing true story is fictionalized into something less than intriguing The post From Massachusetts: Sister Sorry, Regrets Only appear…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 12:00pm on August 23, 2021[SHARE]

From Boston: The Tempest, A Perfect Storm and a Perfect John Douglas Thompson by Bob Verini

★★★★★ Shakespeare's all-powerful sorcerer Prospero, driven near-mad, learns the power of redemption on Boston Common The post From Boston: The Tempest, A Perfec…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 8:41pm on August 1, 2021[SHARE]

John Cullum, An Accidental Star: Stardom No Accident by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ Legendary veteran of Broadway's Golden Age shares his career highs, though not the lows The post John Cullum, An Accidental Star: Stardom No Accident appe…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 7:59pm on April 8, 2021[SHARE]

Middletown: Those Were the Days? Really? by Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ Dan Cleary's salute to post-WWII Americana is sweet, sentimental, safe"and shallow The post Middletown: Those Were the Days? Really? appeared first on New…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 7:58pm on March 22, 2021[SHARE]

Ratatouille: The Rat In The Hat Strikes Back by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ The Tik Tok generation cooks up a streaming tribute to a Pixar classic of their youth The post Ratatouille: The Rat In The Hat Strikes Back appeared first…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 8:26am on January 2, 2021[SHARE]

This Is Who I Am: A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Pain by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ A father and son prepare a real dish, while they really dish and heal The post This Is Who I Am: A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Pain appeared first on New Yor…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 1:30pm on December 14, 2020[SHARE]

Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce…Pandemic!: 'Tis The Season To Be Sassy by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ A self-described "holiday public access show on LSD" is more sentimental than subversive The post Taylor Mac's Holiday Sauce…Pandemic!: 'Tis The Season…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 6:22am on December 13, 2020[SHARE]

Who's Your Baghdaddy: Going to Iraq and Ruin by Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ Post-9/11 satire may or may not be your cuppa joe in the current moment, but streaming staging is something to see The post Who's Your Baghdaddy: Going to…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 5:23pm on October 23, 2020[SHARE]

Coastal Elites: Red Meat for Blue Staters by Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ Paul Rudnick's five Trump era monologues on HBO interrupt laughs with rage, and vice versa The post Coastal Elites: Red Meat for Blue Staters appeared fir…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 9:59am on September 13, 2020[SHARE]

From Massachusetts: A Berkshire Godspell, Sharing and Caring Behind Masks by Bob Verini

★★★★☆ A COVID-safe retelling of the musical Jesus story maintains its social, but not its emotional, distance The post From Massachusetts: A Berkshire Godspell,…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 1:40pm on August 9, 2020[SHARE]

Intermission Talk: Buyer & Cellar Online"Sold! by Bob Verini

Performing Jonathan Tolins's Streisand-centric fable live and online, Michael Urie hits it out of the park The post Intermission Talk: Buyer & Cellar Online"Sold! appeared first on New Y…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 5:34pm on April 20, 2020[SHARE]

Intermission Talk: An Actors Fund Benefit, And Everything's Coming Up Rosie by Bob Verini

The jolly tone and theater-centric focus of the old Rosie O'Donnell Show is charmingly recaptured on line for an awfully good cause. The post Intermission Talk: An Actors Fund Benefit, And E…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 11:01am on March 23, 2020[SHARE]