All stories by Alexis Soloski on BroadwayStars

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Fall theater preview: big names aren't just for Broadway this year by Alexis Soloski

French whimsy, British royals and Liberian rebels vie for attention with adaptations of Misery and a Confederacy of Dunces and a Lloyd Webber musicalThe Berkeley Repertory Theatre trades nor…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 07:31AM[SHARE]

Review: In Ken Urban's 'Sense of an Ending,' Lives Are Caught Between Truth and Tale by Alexis Soloski

This play, set five years after the Rwanda genocide, examines the slipperiness of truth, the difficulty of ever determining what happened and why.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:34AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 22, 2015

New theater season once again shows lack of diversity on Broadway and Off by Alexis Soloski

The new Broadway season includes no new plays by women or writers of color, and last season less than a quarter of plays produced in America were by women. While the internet is finally begi…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 08:35AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 21, 2015

From Nicole Kidman to 'A Delicate Ship,' a Big Season for the Playwright Anna Ziegler by Alexis Soloski

The writer has several plays preparing for production, including "Photograph 51," which will star Nicole Kidman in London.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:24AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Max Posner, a Playwright With an Absurdist Style, on the Lure of Basements by Alexis Soloski

In Mr. Posner's first New York production, the melancholy comedy "Judy," set in the year 2040, the theater no longer exists.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:24AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 17, 2015

Critic's Notebook: A Double Dose of Divine, and Other Reports From the Fringe Festival by Alexis Soloski

The New York International Fringe Festival, now in full swing, features glimmers of talent and skill amid the amateurism and malfunctioning air-conditioners.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:59PM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 13, 2015

For 'Mercury Fur' Writer Philip Ridley, a Macabre Vision Takes Many Forms by Alexis Soloski

Mr. Ridley, whose controversial play, "Mercury Fur," opens this week Off Broadway, follows his art across many forms: photography, film and children's novels among them.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:51PM[SHARE]

Philip Ridley, Writer of 'Monkey Fur,' Is All Over the Media Map by Alexis Soloski

Mr. Ridley, whose controversial play, "Mercury Fur," opens this week Off Broadway, follows his art across many forms: photography, film and children's novels among them.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:54PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Cymbeline review " a glorious theatrical hodgepodge you can't help but applaud by Alexis Soloski

Shakespeare in the Park, New YorkSex, sleaze and leather jerkins all feature in Daniel Sullivan's farcical take on ancient Britain, which despite its shortcomings manages to succeed despite …

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:22PM[SHARE]

John review " a claustrophobic drama that you can't take your eyes off by Alexis Soloski

Signature Theatre, New YorkThe latest offering from Annie Baker focuses on things both seen and unseen, and benefits hugely from the playwright's feel for character and dialogueMaybe the pla…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 04:54AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 10, 2015

Review: In 'Unknown Soldier,' a War Echoes Through Generations by Alexis Soloski

Michael Friedman and Daniel Goldstein's new chamber musical examines a family's past.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:22PM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 6, 2015

In 'Whorl Inside a Loop,' Prisoners' Fingerprints in Tales of Inmate Lives by Alexis Soloski

The play, at the Second Stage Theater, is a fictionalized version of a workshop for prison inmates.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:24AM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 2, 2015

Review: Summer Shorts at 59E59, With 'Love Letters' and a Couch Potato by Alexis Soloski

The second part of this series comprises three plays centering on an intimate encounter, a dictator and a man stuck in his comfort zone.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:28PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 31, 2015

Do New Yorkers dress like slobs to the theatre " and does it matter? by Alexis Soloski

A journalist has called for a return to the days when theatregoers would put on their best outfits " but given that most people consume culture at home, showing up with pants on probably see…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:31AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 30, 2015

Review: 'Ramona,' a Puppet Tale About Trains in Love by Alexis Soloski

This play centers on a pining Soviet locomotive who is dragooned by circus impresarios for some challenging tasks.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Review: 59E59's Summer Shorts Are Exercises in Cardio and in Ethics by Alexis Soloski

This annual festival features plays by Neil LaBute, Vickie Ramirez and Matthew Lopez.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:58PM[SHARE]

Miss Julie review " modern, sexed-up adaptation fails to sizzle by Alexis Soloski

New York City Center, New YorkThomas Ostermeier's present-day production works against the text, which is exciting in the first half but makes the tragedy unmotivated and unlikelyThomas Oste…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 12:50PM[SHARE]
Monday, July 27, 2015

Review: Helen Keller's Words and Seven Actors in 'Three Days to See' by Alexis Soloski

The Transport Group brings to the stage a play inspired by an essay and directed by Jack Cummings III.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:49PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 24, 2015

Review: 'Karaoke Bacchae' Puts a Spin on Euripides by Alexis Soloski

In Jesse Freedman's update of the Euripides tragedy, at the Ice Factory Festival, the citizens of Thebes gather and make music at a college-town sports bar.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:30AM[SHARE]
Thursday, July 23, 2015

Colin Quinn the New York Story review " comic unpeels the Big Apple by Alexis Soloski

Cherry Lane Theater, New YorkIn a show invisibly directed by Jerry Seinfeld, the comedian riffs entertainingly on New York's history, but his grouchy schtick winds up staleThe comedian Colin…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:20PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater: A Midsummer Night's Couple by Alexis Soloski

This pair of actors, increasingly cast in Shakespeare in the Park productions, have built a chemistry onstage and off.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:28AM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 19, 2015

Review: 'Ruthless!,' at St. Luke's, Takes Stage Ambition to the Playground by Alexis Soloski

Joel Paley and Marvin Laird's musical, about a little girl determined to secure a part in a school play, is revived at St. Luke's Theater.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:13PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Snapshot: Karen Pittman on What It Takes to Be 'King Liz' by Alexis Soloski

The actress, who has a recurring role on "The Americans," plays a sports agent in the Fernanda Coppel play at Second Stage Uptown.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:50PM[SHARE]

Sam Gold and Annie Baker Are an Artistic Pairing Destined to Succeed by Alexis Soloski

Mr. Gold, a director, and Ms. Baker, a playwright, whose new show, "John," opens next Wednesday, have been longtime collaborators with a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award between them.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:31PM[SHARE]
Monday, July 13, 2015

Penn & Teller on Broadway review " still magical after all these years by Alexis Soloski

Marquis Theatre, New YorkEven when they hint at how to do their tricks, the magic double act, celebrating 40 years together, still manages to daze and bemuse"We pulled a rabbit out of a hat,…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:19AM[SHARE]
Friday, July 10, 2015

Review: 'Sayonara' Reimagines a Story of Cross-Cultural Love by Alexis Soloski

Pan Asian Repertory Theater's production of this show promises a fresh approach to the material in this wartime musical.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:21AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Mary-Louise Parker on Heisenberg and 'comedy in the pitch black' by Alexis Soloski

The Weeds and The West Wing star, currently on Broadway, reflects on the stage: had this been a film, 'they wouldn't have cast me'In Simon Stephens's two-character play Heisenberg, now runni…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:34PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 3, 2015

Off the Main Road review " Inge's lost play loses the audience by Alexis Soloski

Williamstown Theatre FestivalVeering from melodrama to realism to pornography, William Inge's play flummoxes both actors and audience as it careers to an unintentionally comic conclusionWhen…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 03:09PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Druid Theater Company Makes Shakespeare's Histories Its Own by Alexis Soloski

The acclaimed Irish troupe condenses "Richard II," "Henry IV, Part 1," "Henry IV, Part 2" and "Henry V" into a seven-hour marathon performance.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:27PM[SHARE]
Monday, June 29, 2015

Shows for Days review " an arch love letter to amateur dramatics by Alexis Soloski

Lincoln Center Theater, New YorkIt stars Patti LuPone in a gold lamé gown, but this story of a young gay man discovering life in the theatre lacks nuance and heartPatti LuPone is now in her…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 11:56PM[SHARE]

Of Good Stock review " Alicia Silverstone stars in predictable family drama by Alexis Soloski

Manhattan Theater Club, New YorkThe jokes about pickles might be contemporary, but everything else is wearyingly familiar in Melissa Ross's play about three sisters gathering for a weekend a…

SOURCE: The Guardian at 01:49PM[SHARE]

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