All stories by Brittani Samuel on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

An Off Broadway Homecoming for Tarell Alvin McCraney and André Holland by Brittani Samuel and Roger Kisby

“The Brothers Size” at the Shed is speaking to a new generation of audiences. “Unfortunately, parts of the plays are still relevant,” McCraney said.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:06PM
Wednesday, June 4, 2025

‘A Freeky Introduction’ Review: Pleasure Principles by Brittani Samuel

NSangou Njikam’s latest offering is an ode to the erotic and the divine, set to winking R&B and hip-hop songs, in a new production by Atlantic Theater Company.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:02AM
Monday, April 28, 2025

The Broadway Review: Broadway’s ‘Real Women Have Curves’ is more jubilant, less jagged than its source by Brittani Samuel

Sergio Trujillo architects a vivacious staging of the beacon Mexican mother-daughter story.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:51AM

The Broadway Review: ‘Dead Outlaw’ makes beautiful music in the dark by Brittani Samuel

A powerhouse creative team orchestrates a stunning, one-of-a-kind musical about an extraordinarily strange human story.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:36AM
Friday, April 25, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical’ needs to trust in stupid by Brittani Samuel

Rupert Holmes’ carnivalist revision of Gilbert and Sullivan’s patter-filled comic opera undercuts its own funny.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:42AM
Wednesday, April 23, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Stranger Things: The First Shadow’ is jaw-dropping science fiction with soul by Brittani Samuel

Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin orchestrate an unforgettable, high-octane stage prequel to the knockout Netflix series.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 02:22AM
Tuesday, April 22, 2025

The Broadway Review: In ‘Floyd Collins,’ a truth stranger and scarier than fiction by Brittani Samuel

Tina Landau leads a stately, musically ambitious production of her and co-creator Adam Guettel’s doozy of a cave-digging musical.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:01AM
Tuesday, April 15, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘John Proctor is the Villain’ humbles a canonical hero by Brittani Samuel

Kimberly Belflower’s richly textured dark comedy is a funny yet sobering wrestle with Arthur Miller’s classic.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:22AM
Friday, April 11, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Smash’ is a painfully unfunny farce by Brittani Samuel

The inevitable Broadway adaptation of the backstage television drama suffers from a poor script, flat characters and performative progressivism.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:40AM
Tuesday, April 8, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Boop! The Musical’ is a big Broadway joy bomb by Brittani Samuel

The new musical isn’t original, but excites nonetheless with glittering stagecraft and a knockout star.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:18AM
Monday, April 7, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘The Last Five Years’ is a romance that lacks connection by Brittani Samuel

The first Broadway production of Jason Robert Brown’s slender, sublime musical falters from uneven casting.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:23AM
Friday, April 4, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Good Night, and Good Luck’ is a straightforward retelling of its source material by Brittani Samuel

A controlled George Clooney steadily leads the ensemble of this digital-heavy dramatization of the Murrow-McCarthy debate.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:58AM
Tuesday, April 1, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ won’t sell first-timers on Mamet by Brittani Samuel

The third Broadway revival of the dismal real estate drama serves up functional stagecraft and well-executed performances, but can’t locate its purpose.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:06AM
Friday, March 28, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ is a queer requiem for Oscar Wilde by Brittani Samuel

Sarah Snook is a masterful shapeshifter in this triumphant one-woman adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s once-salacious morality tale. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:54AM
Monday, March 24, 2025

The Broadway Review: A well-acted ‘Othello’ flounders in a murky pool of direction by Brittani Samuel

Starry performances can’t fully salvage director Kenny Leon’s indeterminate production of the Shakespearean tragedy.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:40AM
Friday, March 21, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Operation Mincemeat’ is a gleeful, MI5-inspired romp by Brittani Samuel

British comedy troupe SpitLip brings a creative spoof of an implausible military operation to Broadway.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:50AM
Thursday, March 20, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Buena Vista Social Club’ brings ebullient trova music to Broadway but leaves history behind by Brittani Samuel

Marco Ramirez’s musical — a transfer from Off-Broadway — skims over pre- and post-Revolution Cuban life, but vividly displays what came of it: incredible music.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:41AM
Tuesday, March 18, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Purpose’ investigates the messy men and women who become monuments by Brittani Samuel

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ terrific new contemporary drama is an intimate look into an influential political family’s behind-closed-doors behavior.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:46AM
Friday, February 14, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘Redwood’ is a good-natured but mundane musical by Brittani Samuel

The Idina Menzel-fueled contemporary musical is a bluff take on grief, bolstered by technology.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:01AM
Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Broadway Review: ‘English’ beautifully reflects on the frustration of being misunderstood by Brittani Samuel

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Sanaz Toossi makes her Broadway debut with this smart and sensitive cross-lingual dramatic comedy. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:35PM
Monday, December 30, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘All In: Comedy About Love’ is the safest comedy special around by Brittani Samuel

A John Mulaney-led crew of swanky comedic talent brings several of Simon Rich’s tidy, funny stories to Broadway. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 04:50PM
Friday, December 20, 2024

The Broadway Review: A ‘Gypsy’ completely beholden to its beaming star by Brittani Samuel

Audra McDonald’s historic turn as the thorny Mama Rose unveils a deeper tragedy of the esteemed character.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 08:30AM
Thursday, December 12, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Cult of Love’ could use a leader by Brittani Samuel

Leslye Headland’s go at living-room drama is Broadway’s latest conventional bowl of familial mush.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:59PM
Thursday, November 21, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Death Becomes Her’ slays by Brittani Samuel

Director Christopher Gattelli’s production of the musical black comedy is an instant hit, dazzling audiences with lush creative design and enchanting leads.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 11:57PM
Wednesday, November 20, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Swept Away’ — A boating disaster set to bluegrass by Brittani Samuel

A new musical weds intimate direction with records from the Avett Brothers’ oeuvre to tell a sweeping, but sleepy, tale about men lost at sea.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:25AM
Monday, November 18, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Elf’ — The beloved film wrapped up in a serviceable Broadway bow by Brittani Samuel

Grey Henson leads a cheerful cast in this sugary revival of the Christmas classic.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 01:10AM
Friday, November 15, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Tammy Faye’ underplays Tammy Faye by Brittani Samuel

A retro-style musical uses original songs from Elton John to tell an unfocused story about one of America’s most infamous television couples. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 04:25AM
Tuesday, November 12, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Maybe Happy Ending’ is assuredly enchanting by Brittani Samuel

Will Aronson and Hue Park’s adorable show, imported from South Korea, is a golden example of impactful, engaging, original musical theater.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 10:36PM

The Broadway Review: ‘A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical’ keeps the rhythm, cuts the rigor by Brittani Samuel

The jazz-fueled new musical breaks the legendary artist’s life down into four, overly neat beats, anchored by four wives. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:09AM
Friday, October 25, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Romeo + Juliet’: a trendy take on a timeless story by Brittani Samuel

Sam Gold directs a revival of Shakespeare’s tragedy that leverages the popular fashions and ethics of today.

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:41AM
Thursday, October 24, 2024

The Broadway Review: ‘Left on Tenth’ never leaves the page by Brittani Samuel

The thrill-free theatrical mounting of Delia Ephron’s memoir is a disappointing regurgitation of its source material. 

SOURCE: Broadway News Subscription at 12:17AM

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