Saturday, December 9, 2023

24 Things That Stuck With Us in 2023

Films, TV shows, albums, books, art and A.I.-generated SpongeBob performances that reporters, editors and visual journalists in Culture couldn’t stop thinking about this year.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:12AM
Friday, December 8, 2023

Mentalist Mayhem in ‘Mind Mangler’ and Other New Magic Shows by Alexis Soloski

There is something for everyone, even the kids, in “Mind Mangler,” “The Magician” and “Mario the Maker Magician.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:32PM

Janet Panetta, 74, Dies; Admired Dancer, Choreographer and Teacher by Claudia Bauer

She overcame childhood polio to become a dancer with American Ballet Theater, then taught contemporary dancers and members of Pina Bausch’s acclaimed company.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:12PM

’Linie 1’ Captures the Soul of Berlin by A.J. Goldmann

“Linie 1” has been running since 1986 and just celebrated its 2,000th performance. Its cast of kooky dreamers and misfits still capture something special about Berlin.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:42PM
Thursday, December 7, 2023

Jon Fosse Wants to Say the Unsayable by Alex Marshall

The prolific Norwegian is the rarest of recent literary prize winners: an author and playwright in thrall to the divine.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:48PM

‘Our Life in Art’ Review: Stanislavski’s Work and Times by Laura Cappelle

In Paris, a new production from Richard Nelson imagines a day on tour with Konstantin Stanislavski’s theater company in 1923, but misses the historical context.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:48PM

Review: In ‘The Salvagers,’ a Battered Family Finds Strength by Laura Collins-Hughes

Harrison David Rivers’s new drama, featuring a strong cast, is having its world premiere at Yale Repertory Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:48PM

‘Waitress: The Musical’ Review: A Big-Screen Helping of a Broadway Hit by Elisabeth Vincentelli

Sara Bareilles is the heart and soul of this live capture of her musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:02AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2023

‘Manahatta’ Review: Tracing the Blood-Soaked Roots of American Capitalism by Naveen Kumar

Straddling the 17th and early 21st centuries, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s play at the Public Theater examines the exploitation of the Lenape by Dutch settlers.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:02PM

His ‘Dracula’ Project: Creating a Funny Vampire by James Barron

The great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker has written a comic version of “Dracula” that is appearing Off Broadway.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36AM

Best Dance Performances of 2023 by Gia Kourlas and Brian Seibert

New York City Ballet’s 75th anniversary celebration and Dance Reflections from France delivered some of this year’s brightest moments.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Tuesday, December 5, 2023

‘Life & Times of Michael K’ Review: An Arduous Trek That’s a Marvel to Watch by Naveen Kumar

This captivating adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s novel, a collaboration with Handspring Puppet Company, follows a man and his ailing mother during a civil war in South Africa.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:36PM

She Has the Attention of Dance Companies, and She Is Prepared by Brian Seibert

Amy Hall Garner is readying the new work “Century” for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, on the heels of other premieres and with more to come.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:05PM

Off Broadway, a Vital Part of New York Theater, Feels the Squeeze by Michael Paulson

The small theaters that help make the city a theater capital are cutting back as they struggle to recover from the pandemic.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM

Best Classical Music Performances of 2023 by Zachary Woolfe and Joshua Barone

Feats, farewells and musical treasures in a year of post-pandemic financial pressures.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Monday, December 4, 2023

Alicia Keys’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ to Open on Broadway This Spring by Michael Paulson

The musical, now midway through a sold-out Off Broadway run at the Public Theater, will transfer to the Shubert Theater in March.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:42PM

‘Walk on Through’ Review: Dispatches, in Song, From a Museum Novice by Laura Collins-Hughes

In his new show, Gavin Creel sings about the wonders of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but sticks too close to the surface.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:18PM

Best Theater of 2023 by The New York Times

Many of the plays and musicals that resonated this year deftly married elements of drama and comedy.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:32AM
Sunday, December 3, 2023

Broadway Babies, Singing Show Tunes for Seniors by Sarah Bahr

What happened when four young theater actors performed for an older generation? “I was expecting to have the best show ever and that happened.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:18PM

10 Performances That Pushed Emotional Limits by Maya Phillips

For our critic-at-large, the year was marked by the Black excellence of “Purlie Victorious,” the brutality of “Bottoms” and rage of “Beef.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:32AM
Saturday, December 2, 2023

10 Works and Performances That Helped Me Make Sense of 2023 by Salamishah Tillet

Global conflict and personal loss encouraged our critic to seek out art that gave her a better understanding of grief and healing.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:24AM

In a Gender-Flipped Production of Cinderella, a Princess Rescues by Laura Cappelle

For the Scottish Ballet production of Cinderella, titled “Cinders!,” some performances flip the traditional gender roles. The dancers “were all kind of like: ‘OK. How does that work?…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:01AM
Friday, December 1, 2023

No Snoozing Here: This ‘Sleeping Beauty’ Is Gearing Up for a Wild Ride by Elisabeth Vincentelli

At Abrons Arts Center, a hilarious family show in the British holiday tradition that runs “like a steam train when it goes well.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:48PM

Review: At ‘Dancing With Glass,’ the Spotlight Rests on the Composer by Brian Seibert

The five dance selections that are part of the Dance Reflections festival take varied approaches to piano exercises written by Philip Glass.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 03:37PM

A Play About Black Women’s Experiences, Met With Violence by Laura Cappelle

Rébecca Chaillon’s “Carte Noire Named Desire” provoked harassment in France this summer, leading one actor to pull out of a new run in Paris.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:48AM
Thursday, November 30, 2023

Review: A Shady Documentary Becomes a Weapon of War in ‘Spain’ by Jesse Green

Jen Silverman’s noir play considers the role of artists in the making of propaganda.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:32PM

The Culture Desk: The Dangers of Making Art With Your Friends by Alex Barron, Lynn Levy and Diane Wong

Times theater critics sing the praises of two shows about fraught collaborations

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:02PM

A Wood-Carved Protagonist, Enduring the Brutality of War by Laura Collins-Hughes

A stage adaptation of J.M. Coetzee’s novel “Life & Times of Michael K,” about a man’s struggles during a fictional South African conflict, includes actors alongside a puppet vers…

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:24PM

Review: At the Armory, Calm Awaits the Fury of ‘The Rite of Spring’ by Gia Kourlas

In a Dance Reflections program, Malou Airaudo and Germaine Acogny’s duet “common ground[s]” precedes Pina Bausch’s “Rite.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:39PM

Review: This ‘House of Bernarda Alba’ Is on Fire by Matt Wolf

Rebecca Frecknall, whose “Cabaret” is heading to Broadway, steers Federico García Lorca’s play to its tragic finish with genuinely shocking force.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:08AM
Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Frances Sternhagen, Actress Who Thrived in Mature Roles, Dies at 93 by Anita Gates

Her Tony-winning Broadway career included “Driving Miss Daisy,” “On Golden Pond” and “The Heiress.” On TV she had maternal roles in “Cheers” and “Sex and the City.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:02PM

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
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