All stories by Brittani Samuel on BroadwayStars

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

‘The Whoopi Monologues’ Review: Expanding a One-Woman Show by Brittani Samuel

Instead of one Whoopi Goldberg, audiences now experience five actresses: Kerry Washington, Kara Young, Dominique Fishback, Danielle Pinnock and Kecia Lewis.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:55PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 19, 2026

This Juneteenth, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and the NAACP Are Combining Art With Activism by Brittani Samuel

To these entities, every curtain rise fuels cultural change that reaches far beyond the stage.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 21, 2026

‘Indian Princesses’ Review: A Search for a True Identity by Brittani Samuel

The five girls in Eliana Theologides Rodriguez’s new play, about a “Native-inspired” program that trafficked in stereotypes, find ways to create their own experiences.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:30PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

‘Ragtime’ Star Joshua Henry Is Bringing Broadway to Its Feet by Brittani Samuel and Vincent Tullo

Joshua Henry, a Tony nominee for his thrilling performance in “Ragtime,” credits the demanding role with helping him “feel like I have mastered the voice.”

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:20AM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 10, 2026

Review: ‘The Receptionist’ Can’t Help You Today by Brittani Samuel

A stale revival of Adam Bock’s cog-in-the-office-machine dark comedy lacks specificity and bite.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:45PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 18, 2026

'My Joy Is Heavy' Review: Hope and Horror Live in the Same House by Brittani Samuel

A full-scale production of the Bengsons' deeply personal memoir musical is delivered via anthemic songs and remnants of home.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:42AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 12, 2026

'The Monsters' Review: A Redemptive Sibling Rivalry by Brittani Samuel

Ngozi Anyanwu's searing two-hander follows a brother and sister who train in boxing, side by side.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 21, 2025

Review: A 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' Musical Is a Psychedelic Parable by Brittani Samuel

At Greenwich House Theater, Greta Gertler Gold and Hilary Bell's stage adaptation of Joan Lindsay's novel hovers between reverie and reality.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:18PM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 20, 2025

'Saturday Church' Review: Saving Fabulous Souls to Sia's Music by Brittani Samuel and Sara Krulwich

A new musical pulled from the pop star's catalog among others, with a book from Damon Cardasis and James Ijames, tells the story of a Christian teen discovering ballroom and queer expression.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:18AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 19, 2025

'Mexodus' Review: A History Musical With Thrilling Loop-the-Loops by Brittani Samuel

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson take viewers south on the Underground Railroad in this electric production that feels like a jam session.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:06PM[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]

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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]
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[SHARE]

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