All stories by Laura Cappelle on BroadwayStars

Thursday, December 15, 2022

The Best (and Worst) Theater in Europe in 2022 by Matt Wolf, Laura Cappelle and A.j. Goldmann

The Times’s three European theater critics pick their favorite productions of the year — plus a turkey apiece for the festive season.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM
Thursday, December 1, 2022

In Paris, First-Person Trauma Jumps from Page to Stage by Laura Cappelle

Several intimate literary accounts of pain and suffering have been adapted for the theater recently — with varying success.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06AM
Tuesday, November 22, 2022

In ‘House of Us,’ Irina Brook Steps Out of Her Family’s Shadow by Laura Cappelle

At 60, and already a renowned theater maker, Irina Brook is rethinking her work and tackling the legacy of her famous parents: “I’m only just emerging from my cocoon.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:03AM
Thursday, November 10, 2022

France Cheers For ‘Starmania,’ Its Favorite Musical by Laura Cappelle

Songs from “Starmania” are frequently heard and covered in France, but until a new production opened in Paris, few had a chance to see the 1979 rock opera onstage.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:03AM
Friday, October 28, 2022

José Martinez Named New Director of Paris Opera Ballet by Roslyn Sulcas and Laura Cappelle

Martinez, once a member of the company’s troupe and a former leader of the National Dance Company of Spain, will take up the position in December.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AM
Thursday, October 20, 2022

Tiago Rodrigues’s Theater of Compassion by Laura Cappelle

Three stage works in Paris by the incoming director of the Avignon Festival continue his preoccupation with empathy and human complexity.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:55AM
Thursday, September 29, 2022

In Paris Plays, What It Would Be Like if Shakespeare Was Female by Laura Cappelle

Several Paris theaters geared up to open their seasons with the most famous English playwright. How would the plays be tackled if a woman’s name were attached to them?

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:25AM
Sunday, September 11, 2022

Why Did Instagram Pause This Play? Its Creators Still Don’t Know. by Laura Cappelle

Marion Siéfert’s “_jeanne_dark_,” about a shy teenager beginning to express her sexuality, contains no nudity yet still ran afoul of Instagram’s opaque policies.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:19PM
Thursday, September 8, 2022

A Last Taste of Summer Theater, as Paris Heads Back to Work by Laura Cappelle

As offices and schools reopen, ParisOffFestival brings a carnival atmosphere to an area of low-income housing in the city.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:07AM
Thursday, August 18, 2022

In Paris, Comedy Clubs Draw Energy From Young, Diverse Crowds by Laura Cappelle

American-style stand-up, a relatively young art form in France, is attracting a young, racially diverse crowd to a blossoming club scene.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:54AM
Thursday, July 28, 2022

A Quirky Parisian Festival Refinds Its Footing by Laura Cappelle

The annual Paris l’Été hosts some especially strong multidisciplinary shows this summer, one of which includes a seven-hour hike.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:37AM
Thursday, July 14, 2022

Avignon Festival Gets Its Buzz Back by Laura Cappelle

With striking premieres in the main program and enchanting discoveries on the supplementary Fringe, the eminent event in European theater is flourishing after some difficult years.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:07AM
Thursday, June 23, 2022

Molière, Turning 400, Can Still Surprise by Laura Cappelle

In an anniversary year for the playwright, new productions in the Paris region show why his work still appeals to myriad audiences.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:54AM
Thursday, June 2, 2022

Édouard Louis, Miserable in the Spotlight by Laura Cappelle

The French writer played himself onstage and hated the experience, according to a new work he developed with the Swiss director Milo Rau. This time around, there’s an actor in the role.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:06AM
Thursday, May 12, 2022

An Arts Festival With Hardly a Stage in Sight by Laura Cappelle

Performance venues at this year’s Kunstenfestivaldesarts, in Brussels, include a disused museum and the upper house of Belgium’s Parliament.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:37AM
Thursday, April 21, 2022

Younger Than It Looks, but No More Diverse: France’s Top Theater Prize by Laura Cappelle

At the Molières, France’s equivalent of the Tony Awards, commercial and publicly funded productions seem to inhabit different worlds.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:06AM
Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Bringing Consent to Ballet, One Intimacy Workshop at a Time by Laura Cappelle

Touch is a requirement of a dancer’s job. Now when choreography involves simulated sex or violence, some companies are bringing in intimacy directors.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:00AM
Thursday, March 31, 2022

A Director Returns (Uncomfortably) to His Working-Class Roots by Laura Cappelle

Christophe Honoré’s latest work, for the Paris stage, is part of a recent wave of stories in France about the complex aftereffects of social mobility.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:33AM
Thursday, March 10, 2022

Onstage, the French Election Is a Landslide Win for Cynicism by Laura Cappelle

As the presidential vote approaches, theaters and comedy venues are addressing the campaign. Many shows reach a similar conclusion: Don’t trust politicians.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:42AM
Thursday, March 3, 2022

This Play Is Touring Europe. But No One’s Going Anywhere. by Laura Cappelle

How can theaters adapt to prevent climate change? The British director Katie Mitchell and a Swiss playhouse have developed a new model for taking a production on the road.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:24AM
Wednesday, March 2, 2022

Monica Bellucci: ‘If your work is just about beauty, you won’t last five minutes’ by Laura Cappelle

She studied law, became a model, and then starred in everything from arthouse films to blockbusters. Now the multilingual Italian actor is overcoming a lifetime of stage fright to play opera…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:18AM
Thursday, February 17, 2022

Looking Straight at the Struggles of Old Age by Laura Cappelle

In two Paris theater productions, there’s no sugarcoating the physical decline that comes at the end of a long life.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:42AM
Friday, February 4, 2022

Alexander Zeldin: ‘We need to find a way to talk about things we don’t want to see’ by Laura Cappelle

The playwright found acclaim with works about the devastation caused by austerity. He returns with a drama exploring the realities of ageing There is one no-no in an Alexander Zeldin rehears…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 02:48PM
Monday, January 31, 2022

‘I know what anxiety is. And guilt’: Florian Zeller on his nightmarish new play by Laura Cappelle

The French prodigy, who won an Oscar for The Father, talks about The Forest, his labyrinthine new drama following a man whose life unravels after an affair Florian Zeller has made a speciali…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:03AM
Thursday, January 27, 2022

Martyrs, Converts and Pious Frauds: Religion Takes Center Stage by Laura Cappelle

Three Paris productions — including Ivo van Hove’s take on “Tartuffe” at the Comédie-Française — explore questions of the divine.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:48AM
Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Review: A Skilled Ballet Leader Creates a Messy ‘Raymonda’ by Laura Cappelle

Tamara Rojo, San Francisco Ballet’s incoming artistic director, has half updated the 19th-century work for English National Ballet.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:41AM
Monday, January 10, 2022

Paris’s ‘House of Molière’ wishes happy 400th birthday to French theatre legend by Laura Cappelle

The Comédie-Française is celebrating the 17th-century dramatist by recreating Tartuffe, the play that outraged the Catholic church and almost ended his career French theatre is gearing up …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 10:54AM
Thursday, January 6, 2022

‘Emily in Paris’ Isn’t the Only Clichéd Show in This Town by Laura Cappelle

Netflix doesn’t qualify as a solo offender when it comes to Gallic stereotypes, as three musical theater works on the city’s stages show.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:42AM
Thursday, December 16, 2021

The Best (and Worst) Theater in Europe in 2021 by Matt Wolf, Laura Cappelle and A.j. Goldmann

The Times’s three European theater critics pick their favorite productions of the year — plus a turkey apiece for the festive season.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:18AM
Friday, December 3, 2021

Wajdi Mouawad's 'Mother': Was It Worth It? by Laura Cappelle

By asking the singer Bertrand Cantat to contribute to his latest show, the director Wajdi Mouawad has overshadowed his own production.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:42AM
Tuesday, November 30, 2021

At 80, Robert Wilson Holds On to a Singular Vision for the Stage by Laura Cappelle

Slowed but not stopped by the pandemic, Wilson has had a busy fall that continues with his production of “Turandot” at the Paris Opera.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:42AM

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