All stories by Charles McNulty on BroadwayStars

Saturday, April 27, 2013

A rich season for playwright Richard Greenberg by Charles McNulty

The writer reflects on a hectic, heady time with recent work that includes 'Breakfast at Tiffany's,' 'The Assembled Parties' and 'Far From Heaven.'NEW YORK — "I'm too tired to be anxio…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Review: Bette Midler makes 'I'll Eat You Last' fun by Charles McNulty

The actress' talent buoys the monologue, but the script doesn't delve into what made Sue Mengers capable of becoming the successful Hollywood agent she was.NEW YORK — Enthroned on her …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Review: Cicely Tyson's acting in 'Trip to Bountiful' is plentiful by Charles McNulty

The actress' turn in the Broadway revival of the Horton Foote work is graceful and memorable. But Cuba Gooding Jr. and Vanessa Williams don't measure up. — Broadway for Cicely Tyson is…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:34PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 22, 2013

Review: Fiona Shaw fleshes out 'The Testament of Mary' by Charles McNulty

The actress humanizes the iconic mother of Jesus in the Broadway staging of the one-woman play by Colm Toibin, directed by Deborah Warner. NEW YORK — Sucking on a cigarette and swiggin…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:55PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Review: 'Slipping' a powerful study of bigotry at Lillian Theatre by Charles McNulty

Seth Numrich is a marvel of adolescent illumination as a struggling gay teen in a play by Daniel Talbott that is at once rich and unwieldy.Eli (played by rising theater star Seth Numrich) is…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 11, 2013

Review: 'American Buffalo' at Geffen a refreshing dose of Mamet by Charles McNulty

No-nonsense direction by Randall Arney and compelling acting by Bill Smitrovich, Freddy Rodriguez and Ron Eldard make this work a pleasure to revisit.David Mamet's "American Buffalo" is set …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Theater Review: 'Heart of Darkness' illuminates Joseph Conrad's words by Charles McNulty

The language, though a lot to process, drives this stage adaptation of the author's novel set in the African Congo.Actors' Gang stalwart Brian T. Finney invites us to once again venture deep…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:30PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 4, 2013

Review: 'Kinky Boots' is unsteady in its Broadway walk by Charles McNulty

The musical about a drag queen and a shoe factory owner has songs by theater newcomer Cyndi Lauper and a book by Harvey Fierstein, who makes rookie mistakes.NEW YORK — Let the record s…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Vanessa Redgrave shows Jesse Eisenberg the way in 'The Revisionist' by Charles McNulty

Critic's Notebook: The theatrical legend majestically illuminates the gaps in budding playwright Jesse Eisenberg's 'The Revisionist,' a precious gift to an emerging talent.NEW YORK — O…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00PM[SHARE]

"Lucky Guy" Brings Good News by Charles McNulty

LA Times review of "Lucky Guy"

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:44AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 1, 2013

Review: Nora Ephron's 'Lucky Guy' is great news by Charles McNulty

The late author magnificently conjures the era of tabloid news wars, with a winning ensemble led by Tom Hanks in his Broadway debut.NEW YORK — In the program for "Lucky Guy," the play …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:40PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 30, 2013

An Appreciation: Richard Griffiths' outstretched hand by Charles McNulty

In his Tony-winning 'History Boys' turn, the late actor spoke an eternal truth about the meeting of minds. His companionable spirit will be missed.Richard Griffiths was an actor of enormous …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 29, 2013

The problem with David Mamet by Charles McNulty

Critic's Notebook: The dramatist who used to regularly scorch the stage with complex stories has let his anti-P.C. rage blunt his work.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:10PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Theater Review: Ethical quandaries buzz in 'The Nether' by Charles McNulty

Jennifer Haley's new drama, at the Douglas, surfs a part of the Web where fantasy threatens to bleed into reality. It's a gripping piece, terrifically performed. In the musical "Avenue Q," t…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Theater review: 'On the Spectrum' a love story with a difference by Charles McNulty

Ken LaZebnik's drama at the Fountain Theatre presents a couple with autism, and the value of the play's advocacy shouldn't be underestimated. Cormac is a law-school-bound young man living in…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:15PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 18, 2013

Review: 'The Whale' explores deep waters at South Coast Repertory by Charles McNulty

Matthew Arkin makes the audience feel for the morbidly obese, grieving and suicidal Charlie in Samuel D. Hunter's funny, angry and moving play.The spectacle of Charlie digging into a family-…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:10PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 16, 2013

Tracie Bennett becomes Judy Garland as a dynamo at rainbow's end by Charles McNulty

The English actress visits L.A. in her Tony-nominated role in 'End of the Rainbow.' Playing the star is draining, but, the actress says, 'I've always had stamina.'For movie musical lovers in…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 15, 2013

Review: Dying enlivens 'A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder' by Charles McNulty

This faux-Edwardian musical has its charms, but its animating force is Jefferson Mays as a series of doomed, oblivious aristocrats.SAN DIEGO— All the buzz about "A Gentleman's Guide to…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:55PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 11, 2013

Review: 'Tribes' will be heard — and felt by Charles McNulty

Nina Raine's play, in a David Cromer-directed production at Mark Taper Forum, is noisy but has quiet emotion from Susan Pourfar and Russell Harvard.In the intellectually raucous British hous…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:30PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 10, 2013

Review: 'Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth' is a knockout by Charles McNulty

The former heavyweight champion proves to be a riveting stage presence with compelling stories to tell, some of which may be more true than others, however.If there was one ring in the world…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:05PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Review: Dysfunctional is just 'A Family Thing' by Charles McNulty

Gary Lennon's twisted comedy, produced by the Echo Theater Company at Stage 52, follows the turmoil of three brothers heading toward a sibling standoff in New York's Hell's Kitchen.So you th…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 15, 2013

Depictions of violence in theater: Revelation, not nihilism by Charles McNulty

Critic's Notebook: Disturbing actions can awake an audience's empathy, but lines blur if events tip into a mere celebration of destruction.In one of the most infamous scenes in modern drama,…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Review: 'Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical' runs amok by Charles McNulty

The 'louder, larger, longer' edict of so many musicals is vividly at work in 'Jekyll & Hyde' at the Pantages, though Deborah Cox and Constantine Maroulis stand out.Hollywood Boulevard is hom…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:30PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 11, 2013

Review: Tug-of-war for a soul in 'The Brothers Size' by Charles McNulty

In another of Tarell Alvin McCraney's 'Brother/Sister Plays,' a free-spirited young man is pulled between two very different paths.— "The Brothers Size," now at the Old Globe, is part …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:05PM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 9, 2013

Gordon Davidson is still giving to theater by Charles McNulty

Critic's Notebook: The Los Angeles stage legend is sharing his wisdom at USC. Not happy with the commercial aspects of today's scene, he wants to groom a new, passionate generation.Founder o…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 7, 2013

Review: 'The Gift' wraps itself up in banalities by Charles McNulty

The talented cast is far too good for the contrived, superficial moments in Joanna Murray-Smith's new work at the Geffen Playhouse.An appealing and capable cast keeps the flicker of hope ali…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:29PM[SHARE]
Monday, February 4, 2013

East and West are subject to misinterpretation in 'Chinglish' by Charles McNulty

David Henry Hwang's cross-cultural comedy of ideas, now playing at South Coast Repertory, shows how words, manners and mores can get lost in translation.Words aren't the only thing that gets…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:45PM[SHARE]
Friday, February 1, 2013

Review: In 'Backbeat,' it's the Beatles' early, non-fab years by Charles McNulty

The group is shown as a hard-driving cover band working to hit it big in the promising but ultimately disappointing musical at the Ahmanson.To all those graying rockers turned middle-class p…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:47AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 29, 2013

'4000 Miles' leads audience on a complex journey through life by Charles McNulty

Amy Herzog's '4000 Miles,' directed by Mark Rucker, is a coming-of-age drama that finds laughter in cockeyed yet utterly believable detail.SAN FRANCISCO — Amy Herzog, a breath of fresh…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:30PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 25, 2013

Review: 'Ganesh Versus the Third Reich' is wowing by Charles McNulty

'Ganesh Versus the Third Reich,' now at Freud Playhouse, tells a captivating tale of the Indian deity descending to reclaim the swastika from the Nazis.Many of the elements that make up "Gan…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:23PM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 20, 2013

Review: 'Pygmalion' a thorough delight by Charles McNulty

Director Nicholas Martin's sure hand, handsome production and stellar cast make the revival of George Bernard Shaw's classic play a triumph from start to finish.SAN DIEGO — For some th…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:05PM[SHARE]

All that Chat