All stories by Claire Martin on BroadwayStars

Thursday, December 6, 2018

Theater review: Four stars for Denver playwright Jeffrey Neuman’s “What You Will” at Benchmark Theatre by Claire Martin

Denver playwright Jeffrey Neuman’s "What You Will" at Benchmark Theatre is a witty, incisive and sometimes prurient reflection on loyalty, truth, marriage and relationships.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:04PM
Sunday, July 26, 2015

Theater review: Central City Opera's "Man of La Mancha" is darkly brilliant by Claire Martin

Central City Opera's "Man of La Mancha" is as dark as it is sentimental, an argument for sustaining hope in a pitiless universe.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 03:37PM
Friday, July 24, 2015

Vintage Theatre's "Always A Bridesmaid" review: Humor as bland and unoriginal as a typical bridesmaid gown by Claire Martin

Aurora's Vintage Theatre typically chooses lively, engaging plays, which makes clunkers like "Always A Bridesmaid" stand out in painfully sharp relief.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:02AM
Friday, July 10, 2015

Theater review: Spotlight Theatre's "The Foreigner" is light, frothy fun by Claire Martin

Spotlight Theatre Company's engaging "The Foreigner" is just about perfect summer fare, an improbable story about a painfully shy man whose impersonation of a foreigner enlivens a moribund f…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 09:24AM
Thursday, July 2, 2015

Excellent acting characterizes "The Spitfire Grill" at Vintage Theatre by Claire Martin

Vintage Theatre's spirited production of "The Spitfire Grill" showcases the considerable vocal talents of its female cast, especially Megan Van De Hey and Kelly Watt.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:52AM
Thursday, June 11, 2015

Theater review: Colorado Shakespeare Festival's "Much Ado About Nothing" by Claire Martin

The Colorado Shakespeare Festival's production of "Much Ado About Nothing" is arch and lively, a battle of wits and words.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 05:10PM
Saturday, June 6, 2015

Theater review: Touring "Wicked" weaves its shamelessly powerful spell by Claire Martin

Everything about the touring production of "Wicked" is larger than life: The giant dragon overlord supervising the show, the steampunk gears framing the story and the outsized personas of…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:09AM
Friday, June 5, 2015

Theater review: BDT Stage's polished "Mary Poppins" will please fans of the movie by Claire Martin

With a pert Mary Poppins (Tracy Warren) whose no-nonsense attitude cleaves close to P.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 10:38PM
Friday, May 29, 2015

Theater review: Vintage Theatre's "'Night, Mother" is powerful and heartbreaking by Claire Martin

Vintage Theatre's production of Marsha Norman's "'Night, Mother" is compelling, intelligent and, for a story about impending suicide, surprisingly witty.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:38AM
Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Review: "Young Frankenstein" at the Town Hall Arts Center won't disappoint Mel Brooks fans by Claire Martin

Director Nick Sugar, a superlative cast and inspired stage, sound and costume design have created a "Young Frankenstein" that's vibrant, exhilaratingly creative and charmingly naughty at Lit…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 02:09PM
Thursday, May 14, 2015

Review: Vintage Theatre's "UNMarried in America" by Claire Martin

With a modest but versatile set and a remarkably cohesive, powerful cast, Vintage Theatre's production of "UNMarried in America" examines the emotional shrapnel and confusion in the wake …

SOURCE: Denver Post at 03:00AM
Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Review: The Betsy Stage's "Othello," with Marxian (as in Brothers) notes by Claire Martin

The Betsy Stage's adaptation of "Othello" is a brash, waggish production that brilliantly riffs on the Marx Brothers, American musicals, Martha Graham and pop culture.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 01:09PM
Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Review: A strong "Annie" at the Buell Theater through May 10 by Claire Martin

Lynn Andrews' robust, saucy Miss Hannigan and Adia Dant's insouciant performance as the tiny orphan named Molly don't exactly upstage the rest of the excellent cast in the solid and energiz…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 03:16AM
Friday, May 1, 2015

"A Man of No Importance" examines a conflicted 1964 theater troupe. by Claire Martin

"A Man of No Importance," at The Arvada Center, treads a delicate balance between insight and implacability as an earnest amateur theater director attempts to stage a play in 1964 at his

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:37PM
Thursday, April 30, 2015

Review: A strong "Annie" at the Buell Theater through May 10 by Claire Martin

Lynn Andrews' robust, saucy Miss Hannigan and Adia Dant's insouciant performance as the tiny orphan named Molly don't exactly upstage the rest of the excellent cast in the solid and

SOURCE: Denver Post at 08:11PM

Theater review: "She Kills Monsters" a brilliant collaborative effort by Claire Martin

It's droll, witty and geeky in the best sense of the word, full of magical realism in the form of villains and scenarios familiar to "Dungeons & Dragons" fans.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 11:18AM
Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Germinal Stage finds comedy to harvest in "The Cherry Orchard" by Claire Martin

"Funnier than I remember," said a man at one of last weekend's performances of Germinal Stage's "The Cherry Orchard," and he wasn't kidding.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 11:47AM
Thursday, September 11, 2014

Review: Arvada Center's "Memphis: The Musical" is exuberant and gutsy by Claire Martin

The Arvada Center's exuberant, muscular production of "Memphis: The Musical" celebrates the black roots of rock 'n' roll through a story tackling the stuttering process of integration in 19…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 09:28PM
Thursday, September 4, 2014

Theater review: Equinox Theatre's "Bug" is itchy, witty, neurotic by Claire Martin

Equinox Theatre's production of "Bug" is as disconcerting as it is engaging, bouncing so rapidly between reality and neurosis that it's never entirely clear where that line is drawn.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 06:52PM
Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Vintage Theatre's "Mack & Mabel" is taut and timely by Claire Martin

Vintage Theatre's effervescent production of the rarely mounted show "Mack & Mabel" is faster than a chorus girl's wink, a romance that parallels the budding Hollywood movie

SOURCE: Denver Post at 08:03PM
Thursday, August 14, 2014

Theatreworks' "As You Like It" is witty and fast-paced by Claire Martin

Theatreworks' production of "As You Like It," the popular Shakespeare play that wryly analyzes love, affection and loyalty, hits just about every mark.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:20PM
Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Review: "On Golden Pond" brings audiences into the (imperfect) family by Claire Martin

"On Golden Pond," a story about an aging family, is a play whose message has special meaning to the residents of the Barth Hotel, where the Senior Housing Options production is staged.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 07:44PM
Thursday, July 31, 2014

Review: "Shakespeare to the Death" dark, with moments of black comedy by Claire Martin

Spark Theater's muscular "Shakespeare to the Death," unlike its predecessor, "Shakespeare to the Letter," is dark, if not dead serious.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 12:46PM
Saturday, July 26, 2014

Theater review: Colorado fest's very "Merry Wives," set in nifty '50s by Claire Martin

BOULDER — Poor, hapless buffoon John Falstaff, played to a frustrated fare-thee-well by Michael Winters in the Colorado Shakespeare Festival production of Shakespeare's "The Merry W…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 01:17AM
Thursday, July 24, 2014

Theater review: Colorado fest's very "Merry Wives," set in nifty '50s by Claire Martin

Colorado Shakespeare Festival's poor, hapless buffoon Falstaff is played to a frustrated fare-the-well by Michael Winters.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 02:05PM
Thursday, June 26, 2014

Wit Theatre's "The Aliens" takes leisurely measure of life and death by Claire Martin

The Wit Theatre Company's "The Aliens," staged at the Crossroads Theater in Five points, is a meditative play, a series of languorous vignettes that measure love, death and the powerful …

SOURCE: Denver Post at 02:20PM
Thursday, June 19, 2014

Vintage Theatre's "Lobby Hero" poses ethical conundrums by Claire Martin

Vintage Theatre's excellent production of "Lobby Hero" starts as slowly as time passing on a graveyard shift, but launches into hyperspace once the first salvo launches.

SOURCE: Denver Post at 03:47PM
Monday, June 16, 2014

Taking flight: "Balloon Boy: The Musical," based on 2009 Colorado hoax by Claire Martin

Billy Recce was 11 years old on Oct. 15, 2009, when he, along just about everyone with access to a TV, raptly followed the perilous flight of a runaway weather balloon believed to contain

SOURCE: Denver Post at 08:00PM
Friday, May 16, 2014

Germinal Stage capably mounts Luigi Pirandello's absurdist play about by Claire Martin

WESTMINSTER — Germinal Stage's "Six Characters in Search of an Author" was written in 1921, long before Richard Dawkins coined the word "meme" as shorthand for an interwoven

SOURCE: Denver Post at 05:41PM
Thursday, May 8, 2014

Review: "A Round-Heeled Woman": Retired English teacher searches for sex, affection by Claire Martin

The premise of " A Round-Heeled Woman" — 66-year-old retired English teacher Jane's deliberate forays into sex with strangers — sounds awkward and uncomfortable, and it is, but i…

SOURCE: Denver Post at 08:03PM

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