All stories by Ben Brantley on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Theater Review: Mary McCann in 'Harper Regan' at Atlantic Theater Company by Ben Brantley

In "Harper Regan" Mary McCann stunningly plays a working wife and mother who runs away from her job and her family when she suddenly feels mortal shadows are closing in on her.

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Sunday, October 7, 2012

Theater Review: 'The Best of Everything,' Based on Rona Jaffe's Novel by Ben Brantley

"The Best of Everything" is based on Rona Jaffe's 1958 novel of workplace sexual politics (and sexual sex).

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Friday, October 5, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012

Theater Review: 'Grace,' With Paul Rudd and Michael Shannon, at Cort Theater by Ben Brantley

"Grace," Craig Wright's tale of a Christian entrepreneur in Florida, stars Michael Shannon and Paul Rudd.

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Theater Review: 'Paris Commune' From the Civilians at BAM New Wave Festival by Ben Brantley

At "Paris Commune" you might experience some of the dizzy exhilaration, liberation and exhaustion known by the Parisians who took over their city during this re-creation of a revolution.

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ArtsBeat: Hold the Entrance Applause, Please by Ben Brantley

Entrance applause can break the illusion, and the emotional momentum, that actors are working hard to sustain.

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Theater Review: Adam Rapp's 'Through the Yellow Hour,' at Rattlestick by Ben Brantley

A locked-down New York is the setting of Adam Rapp's new play, "Through the Yellow Hour," now at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater.

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Monday, September 24, 2012

Theater Review: 'Sweet Bird of Youth,' Revived by Goodman Theater by Ben Brantley

The Goodman Theater in Chicago has revived Tennessee Williams's "Sweet Bird of Youth," starring Diane Lane and Finn Wittrock.

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Sunday, September 23, 2012

Theater Review: 'Habit' at the Essex Street Market, Building B by Ben Brantley

"Habit," an art-theater project from David Levine, takes place in a structure within the Essex Street Market; audiences look through its windows or walk in.

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Thursday, September 20, 2012

Theater Review: Jake Gyllenhaal in 'If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet' by Ben Brantley

Jake Gyllenhaal makes his New York stage debut as the wastrel uncle to an overweight, affection-starved teenage girl in Nick Payne's "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet."

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: Lives of the Artists by Ben Brantley

Every so often - and more frequently on stage than in film - the interiority of artistic creation is translated into a visible, physical language that raises goose bumps.

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Theater Review: 'Job,' at the Flea Theater by Ben Brantley

"Job," Thomas Bradshaw's latest play, hews close to the Bible and eagerly dives into forbidden subject matter.

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Monday, September 10, 2012

Theater Review: 'Chaplin: The Musical' at the Ethel Barrymore Theater by Ben Brantley

"Chaplin: The Musical," at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, describes the life behind the Little Tramp in terms of rags to riches to heartbreak.

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Theater Review: 'Silent,' by Pat Kinevane, at Irish Arts Center by Ben Brantley

"Silent," a play written and performed by Pat Kinevane, is about a homeless Dubliner who believes he has become invisible and inaudible.

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Thursday, September 6, 2012

Theater Review: 'Forbidden Broadway: Alive & Kicking!' at 47th Street Theater by Ben Brantley

That hard-hitting satirical revue of Broadway musicals, "Forbidden Broadway," is back with new routines and targets.

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The New Season: Simon Stephens and Nick Payne Plays Opening in New York by Ben Brantley

Two London imports arrive this month: Nick Payne's "If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet," and Simon Stephens's "Harper Regan."

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Thursday, August 30, 2012

Books of The Times: 'Stella Adler on America's Master Playwrights,' Lectures by Ben Brantley

Stella Adler, the great acting teacher, is presented verbatim, discussing eminent American playwrights.

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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Theater Review: 'Tender Napalm' by Philip Ridley at 59E59 Theaters by Ben Brantley

The lovers in Philip Ridley's play never leave their own private world. And they keep reinventing it, with a savage spirit of competition.

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Monday, August 27, 2012

Theater Review: Sam Shepard's 'Heartless' Opens, With Lois Smith by Ben Brantley

In Sam Shepard's murky new play, "Heartless," a male academic with an unsettled life finds himself in a house full of unsettling women, most notably one played by Lois Smith.

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Friday, August 10, 2012

Theater Review: 'A Month in the Country,' at Williamstown Theater Festival by Ben Brantley

Richard Nelson's production of "A Month in the Country," at the Williamstown Theater Festival, features a younger leading lady than is traditionally cast in the play.

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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Theater Review: 'Into the Woods,' by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine by Ben Brantley

"Into the Woods," the 1987 musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, is staged in Central Park in a revival by the Public Theater.

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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Theater Review: 'Bullet for Adolf,' by Woody Harrelson and Frankie Hyman by Ben Brantley

"Bullet for Adolf" at New World Stages, by Woody Harrelson and Frankie Hyman, explores ethnicity as a shifting and surprising equation.

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Thursday, August 2, 2012

ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: Guts and Glory, Onstage by Ben Brantley

In praise of risk-taking in the theater: To give audiences views of things they've never seen before, great actors and actresses go out on a limb.

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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Theater Review: 'Love's Labour's Lost,' at Hudson Valley Shakespeare Fest by Ben Brantley

The Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival's production of "Love's Labour's Lost" brings to mind the fast-paced escapist fare of Depression- and wartime-era Hollywood.

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Monday, July 30, 2012

Theater Review: 'The Tempest,' Presented by Shakespeare & Company by Ben Brantley

Olympia Dukakis stars in Shakespeare & Company's jolly, quirky and unusually cozy production of "The Tempest."

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Sunday, July 22, 2012

Theater Review | 'Uncle Vanya': 'Uncle Vanya' With Cate Blanchett at City Center by Ben Brantley

Love has no dignity in the Sydney Theater Company's glorious production of "Uncle Vanya," starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.

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Monday, July 16, 2012

Theater Review: 'Dogfight' at Second Stage Theater by Ben Brantley

"Dogfight," a musical at Second Stage Theater based on the 1991 film of the same name, follows a group of young Marines as they celebrate their last evening stateside.

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Thursday, July 12, 2012

Theater Review: 'Fela!' on Broadway at Al Hirschfeld Theater by Ben Brantley

The Broadway revival of "Fela!" is about a lot of individual performances " every single dancer, singer and band member " forming a collective whole in which singular style is never sacrific…

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ArtsBeat: Theater Talkback: A Chorus of Voices by Ben Brantley

Playwrights throughout the ages, as different as Brecht and Thornton Wilder, have adapted choruses to their own latter-day purposes.

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Friday, June 29, 2012

Critic's Notebook: In London, 'Minsk, 2011' and 'Mercury Fur' by Ben Brantley

In Britain the Belarus Free Theater's "Minsk, 2011: A Reply to Kathy Acker" depicts sex as a magnet for political repression, while Philip Ridley's "Mercury Fur" prepares a party in a lawles…

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ArtsBeat: He's Having a Baby: 'Birthday' in London by Ben Brantley

Joe Penhall's new play "Birthday" offers a childbearing role reversal that targets sexual stereotypes, medical services and the nature of marriage.

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All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off