All stories by Charles Isherwood on BroadwayStars

Thursday, September 21, 2023

How New York City Ballet Is Celebrating Its 75th Anniversary by Charles Isherwood

NYBC's leaders Jonathan Stafford and Wendy Whelan have crafted a season that sums up the ballet's history.

SOURCE: Playbill at 04:49PM
Monday, October 10, 2022

New York City Ballet's Sterling Hyltin Is Moving On by Charles Isherwood

The principal dancer says “it’s time for others to dance” as she looks to her farewell performance this season in George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:49AM
Thursday, February 10, 2022

Review: A mechanical ‘Music Man’ misses its heart by Charles Isherwood

It’s obvious to everyone in the theater world that, as Broadway has battered its way through the latest coronavirus surge, the business could use a shot in the proverbial arm. The highly, …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:21PM
Tuesday, February 1, 2022

Review: A flashy ‘MJ’ dazzles and distracts with dance by Charles Isherwood

“Is it really possible to separate your life from your music?” asks the pesky documentary filmmaker in “MJ,” the Michael Jackson musical at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre.  The que…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Review: ‘Skeleton Crew’ simmers beneath the surface by Charles Isherwood

The doors haven’t shut — yet — but the walls seem to be closing in irrevocably on the characters in “Skeleton Crew,” Dominique Morisseau’s closely observed, eloquent and deeply c…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Monday, December 13, 2021

Review: ‘Flying Over Sunset’ pushes back on convention by Charles Isherwood

It is axiomatic that other people’s dreams are boring to hear about, so you would assume that other people’s acid trips are equally if not more eye-glazing.  And yet the ambitious and f…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Thursday, December 9, 2021

Review: ‘Company’ delivers a near-perfect revival by Charles Isherwood

“Being alive,” indeed.  The recent death of Stephen Sondheim undoubtedly marked a watershed moment in the history of the American theater, as the innumerable tributes and memorials to t…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:04PM
Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ retains its magic and its heart by Charles Isherwood

When it was announced that “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” would open at the Lyric Theatre in 2018, I confidently expected that the, um, curse that seemed to doom all shows in the ca…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Sunday, December 5, 2021

Review: ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ does not leap from screen to stage by Charles Isherwood

As the title character in the musical “Mrs. Doubtfire,” the superlative performer Rob McClure tears around the stage like a human tornado. In the role made famous by the inimitable Robin…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Monday, November 29, 2021

The growing legacy of Stephen Sondheim by Charles Isherwood

There is heartbreak in the timing of the death of Stephen Sondheim, the composer and lyricist who came to tower above all others in the last 50 years of Broadway theater.  His death precede…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 06:30AM
Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Review: ‘Clyde’s’ treats the sandwich as art by Charles Isherwood

When is a sandwich more than a sandwich?  When it becomes a symbol of redemption, aspiration and hope, as in Lynn Nottage’s latest play, “Clyde’s,” a lively and funny if sometimes h…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:03PM
Thursday, November 18, 2021

Review: ‘Trouble in Mind’ issues a sharp critique of the theater industry by Charles Isherwood

Better late than never.  Or rather: much, much better late than never.  As a pre-show announcement at the American Airlines Theatre makes clear, it took about 66 years for the pioneering B…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Review: ‘Diana,’ a musical so bad that it must be seen by Charles Isherwood

To answer the question that absolutely no one with a Netflix account and an interest in Broadway musicals is asking: Why, yes, “Diana, The Musical” is every bit as abysmal as rumored. So…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 07:30PM
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Review: Sharon D Clarke is electrifying in ‘Caroline, or Change’ by Charles Isherwood

Should you happen to pass Sharon D Clarke on the street, you might not find her to be a particularly imposing figure. But as the title character in the superlative Broadway revival of the mu…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:03PM
Sunday, October 17, 2021

Review: ‘Dana H.’ leads us into the underworld by Charles Isherwood

A play as uncommon, and uncanny, as Lucas Hnath’s “Dana H.” requires an actor of, well, uncommon and uncanny talents. Deirdre O’Connell is just such an actor. Something of a grande d…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:00PM
Thursday, October 14, 2021

Review: ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ chips away at a monolith by Charles Isherwood

“The Lehman Trilogy” represents the kind of prestige Broadway production that invariably causes a certain class of well-heeled, culturally savvy New Yorkers to salivate over tickets. It …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:30PM
Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Review: ‘Thoughts of a Colored Man’ asks the audience to listen by Charles Isherwood

The busy streets of Brooklyn provide the background to Keenan Scott II’s “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” but firmly seizing the foreground are the seven captivating actors who bring to li…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:30PM
Monday, October 11, 2021

Review: ‘Is This A Room’ narrows in on an unsettling truth by Charles Isherwood

People generally don’t attend a Broadway show expecting to become flushed with anxiety. But it’s hard to watch the documentary drama “Is This A Room” without beginning to feel a litt…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Sunday, October 10, 2021

Review: ‘Chicken & Biscuits’ serves up roaring comedy by Charles Isherwood

Douglas Lyons’s “Chicken & Biscuits,” at Broadway’s Circle in the Square theater, is a savory comedy served with a hefty side order of sentiment. It’s a mostly successful combo…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Thursday, October 7, 2021

Review: In ‘Lackawanna Blues,’ Ruben Santiago-Hudson revives his community by Charles Isherwood

All great blues songs have a timeless quality, so it’s entirely fitting that Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s solo show “Lackawanna Blues” still gleams like a newly minted coin some 20 years …

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Sunday, October 3, 2021

Review: ‘Six’ pops back on Broadway by Charles Isherwood

Theatergoers thirsty for something festive, fresh and funny — which is to say, just about all lovers of theater who have endured the drought of the past 18 months — will find much to del…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:59PM
Sunday, August 22, 2021

Review: Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s ‘Pass Over’ is a Broadway landmark by Charles Isherwood

For a play with just four characters and a single, sparsely furnished set, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s “Pass Over” feels almost momentous — even historic. This is in part due to the…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 06:00PM
Friday, March 12, 2021

A year without Broadway by Charles Isherwood

March 12, 2020 will be a date that most Broadway workers and Broadway-goers will never forget. I certainly won’t. On that day, as has been widely noted by now, the musical “Six” was sc…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 06:30AM
Thursday, March 5, 2020

Review: ‘Girl From the North Country’ illuminates lives adrift by Charles Isherwood

You can practically see the tumbleweeds blowing through the hearts of the characters in “Girl From the North Country.” This achingly beautiful musical weds the songs of Bob Dylan to a bo…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Thursday, February 20, 2020

Review: Ivo van Hove’s ‘West Side Story’ feels more cinematic than theatrical by Charles Isherwood

With his new production of “West Side Story,” the estimable Belgian director Ivo van Hove has essentially stolen a march on no less a showbiz luminary than Steven Spielberg. How’s that…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:00PM
Thursday, January 23, 2020

Review: A fresh take on a familial tale in ‘Grand Horizons’ by Charles Isherwood

In just the first minutes of Bess Wohl’s “Grand Horizons,” a supremely funny comedy of marital malaise presented by Second Stage Theater, Jane Alexander and James Cromwell deliver a mi…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Review: ‘A Soldier’s Play’ is a captivating whodunit by Charles Isherwood

Shots ring out. A man falls dead at the hands of an unknown killer. Enter an investigator to sort through a hefty pile of suspects and bring the culprit to justice. Charles Fuller’s Pulitz…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Review: Laura Linney shimmers in ‘My Name Is Lucy Barton’ by Charles Isherwood

When the theater goes to the library for inspiration, the results can often be disappointing. Even great books can wither and wilt when they are adapted for the stage. A happy if not entirel…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM
Thursday, December 12, 2019

Review: Harry Connick Jr. showcases his love for Cole Porter by Charles Isherwood

Love is most certainly for sale at “Harry Connick Jr.: A Celebration of Cole Porter.” Although the composer-lyricist is justifiably renowned for his coruscating wit and insouciant wordpl…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 07:30PM
Thursday, December 5, 2019

Review: ‘Jagged Little Pill’ overflows with real-world storylines by Charles Isherwood

In “You Learn,” the song that concludes the new musical “Jagged Little Pill” on a note of hard-won, almost downbeat uplift, a lyric from Alanis Morissette recommends the advantages o…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 09:00PM
Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Review: An inventive ‘Christmas Carol’ tugs at the heartstrings by Charles Isherwood

If you don’t respond with a moist eye and a swelling heart to “A Christmas Carol,” Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a miser’s spiritual redemption, I wouldn’t go so far as to cal…

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:00PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards