All stories by Charles McNulty on BroadwayStars

Saturday, October 25, 2025

A father's grief for his son killed in a school shooting makes a heart-wrenching case for gun reform by Charles McNulty

In 'Guac,' Manuel Oliver, the father of a young man killed in the 2018 Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, tells the story of his son's life and the overwhelming impac…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 21, 2025

This bizarro comic wants to solve your most personal problems by Charles McNulty

A hit in Edinburgh, comic Julia Masli's "ha ha ha ha ha ha ha" arrives at Pasadena Playhouse to find solutions to theatergoers' everyday woes

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:44PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 20, 2025

What makes us human? Plays asking that eternal question reveal how AI magnifies our best and worst traits by Charles McNulty

Lauren Gunderson's "anthropology," now at Rogue Machine Theatre, and Jordan Harrison's "Marjorie Prime," opening on Broadway this fall starring June Squibb, extend the theater's exploration …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Saturday, October 11, 2025

'littleboy/littleman' turns a story of two immigrant brothers into free jazz at the Geffen Playhouse by Charles McNulty

Rudi Goblen's 'littleboy/littleman,' a tale of two immigrant brothers, infused with live music and poetry, has its world premiere at the Geffen Playhouse.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 7, 2025

'Jaja's African Hair Braiding' at the Taper is a workplace comedy that packs a political punch by Charles McNulty

The acclaimed touring production of Jocelyn Bioh's 'Jaja's African Hair Braiding,' set in a Harlem hair salon, reveals the precarious lives of immigrant workers in an exuberant workplace com…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Boston Court's rare Tennessee Williams' revival rises to the moment, plus more notable small theater reviews by Charles McNulty

Reviews of 'The Night of the Iguana' at Boston Court Pasadena, 'Fly Me to the Sun' at the Fountain Theatre and 'Adolescent Salvation' in an intimate Rogue Machine production at the Henry Mur…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

'Eureka Day,' a comedy of woke manners, wades into the vaccine debate at Pasadena Playhouse by Charles McNulty

Jonathan Spector's 'Eureka Day,' a satire with heart about the rise of anti-vaccine sentiment in an age of polarization, has its Los Angeles premiere at Pasadena Playhouse

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, September 15, 2025

A Yiddish version of 'Fiddler on the Roof' at the Soraya shined a light in a darkened America by Charles McNulty

A concert version of National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene's acclaimed production of 'Fiddler on the Roof' in Yiddish has its West Coast premiere at the Soraya in Northridge.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:52PM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 13, 2025

What, me, care for my mother? But I'm an unmarried Latina actor with big dreams! by Charles McNulty

'Am I Roxie?,' a solo show by Roxana Ortega at the Geffen Playhouse, delves into the roller coaster of caring for her widowed mother, who's losing her memory.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 9, 2025

'One Man, Two Guvnors' makes zany ensemble magic at A Noise Within in Pasadena by Charles McNulty

Richard Bean's 'One Man, Two Guvnors' renews the hilarity by resetting Carlo Coldoni's 'The Servant of Two Masters' to Britain in the swinging '60s.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 5, 2025

Elvis kills dad, marries mom as Troubies shake up Sophocles in 'Oedipus the King, Mama!' at the Getty Villa by Charles McNulty

The Troubadour Theater Company returns to the Getty Villa for 'Oedipus the King, Mama!,' a mashup of Elvis and Sophocles that's all shook up.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 22, 2025

'Shucked' at Hollywood Pantages delivers a cornucopia of delight by Charles McNulty

With songs by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally and book by Robert Horn, 'Shucked' is a Broadway musical about corn that's too funny to be considered corny.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, August 18, 2025

'& Juliet' euphorically turns Shakespeare's tragedy into a Max Martin dance party by Charles McNulty

A sensation on Broadway and London's West End, '& Juliet' updates Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' with a dose of female empowerment and a slew of hits from juggernaut producer Max Marti…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:27PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 12, 2025

I attended a Black Out performance and, as a white critic, it opened my eyes in an unexpected way by Charles McNulty

Echo Theater Company's West Coast premiere of 'Berta, Berta,' a romantic drama by Angelica Chéri that was inspired by a chain gang song from the notorious Mississippi prison Parchman Farm, …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:10PM[SHARE]
Monday, August 4, 2025

'Jesus Christ Superstar' transcends in starry Hollywood Bowl celebration led by divine Cynthia Erivo by Charles McNulty

In 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' the conflict between Cynthia Erivo's all-seeing, all-feeling Jesus and Adam Lambert's competitive yet remorseful Judas was thrillingly brought to life in their d…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:15PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, July 16, 2025

Ambition in Topanga paradise: Anton Chekhov and John Galsworthy at Theatricum Botanicum by Charles McNulty

'The Seagull: Mailbu,' adapted from Anton Chekhov, and 'Strife' by John Galsworthy, big cast plays of weighty substance, lend heft to Theatricum Botanicum's outdoor season.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:49PM[SHARE]
Friday, July 11, 2025

'American Idol' winner Nick Fradiani channels the gruff brilliance of Neil Diamond in 'A Beautiful Noise' by Charles McNulty

'The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise' at Hollywood Pantages makes the most of a glorious catalog.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 8, 2025

Playwright Richard Greenberg, the Mozart of verbal arias, brought an exquisite fluency to the American stage by Charles McNulty

An appreciation of playwright Richard Greenberg, author of 'Three Days of Rain' and 'Take Me Out,' among other plays, who premiered many of his works at South Coast Repertory before taking t…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:58PM[SHARE]
Saturday, June 28, 2025

Jake Brasch's 'The Reservoir' suffers from arrested character development at the Geffen Playhouse by Charles McNulty

Jake Brasch's 'The Reservoir,' directed by Shelley Butler, features a cast that includes Marin Hinkle at the Geffen Playhouse.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Friday, June 20, 2025

The Tony-winning revival of 'Parade' turns a miscarriage of justice into gripping musical drama by Charles McNulty

Michael Arden's Tony-winning revival of "Parade," Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's musical about the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish factory manager accused and convicted of a heinous …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, June 9, 2025

Tony Awards: Hollywood A-listers brought the spotlight to Broadway, but stage thespians carried the day by Charles McNulty

Cole Escola, Nicole Scherzinger, Sarah Snook and Darren Criss are among the performers who took home Tony Awards in a season in which A-list Hollywood actors and veteran stage performers hel…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:58PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 6, 2025

Another act of vandalism in downtown L.A. as Robert O'Hara defaces 'Hamlet' at the Taper by Charles McNulty

Director Robert O'Hara's noir version of 'Hamlet,' starring Patrick Ball and premiering at Mark Taper Forum, audaciously but incoherently toys with Shakespeare's tragedy.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]

CNN will broadcast a Broadway performance of George Clooney in 'Good Night, and Good Luck.' Don't miss it by Charles McNulty

In a historic first, CNN will broadcast a live performance of a Broadway show on Saturday. 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' a stage adaptation of George Clooney's 2005 film, stars the actor as C…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Cole Escola's 'Oh Mary!' is a hoot, but the Tony should go to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 'Purpose' by Charles McNulty

Cole Escola's 'Oh, Mary!' is the front-runner in the Tony Award race for best play. But in one of the strongest playwriting categories in years, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' 'Purpose' deserves to…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:00AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 29, 2025

L.A. Theatre Works, citadel of audio drama, keeps adapting to changing times by Charles McNulty

For L.A. Theatre Works producing director Susan Albert Loewenberg and managing director Vicki Pearlson, the company's legacy of audio drama holds new potential in the age of podcasting and a…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:28PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 27, 2025

Director Michael Arden is no longer Broadway's best kept secret by Charles McNulty

Michael Arden could follow his Tony win for directing 'Parade' with another Tony this year for 'Maybe Happy Ending.' Coming next: 'The Queen of Versailles' with Kristin Chenoweth and 'The Lo…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:42PM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 25, 2025

The playwright who cracked open 'The Crucible' with 'John Proctor Is the Villain' by Charles McNulty

Playwright Kimberly Belflower and director Danya Taymor reveal how the Tony-nominated play 'John Proctor Is the Villain' made it to Broadway, with help from 'Stranger Things' star Sadie Sink…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:25PM[SHARE]

Simply impeccable: This musical at A Noise Within in Pasadena shines with understated excellence by Charles McNulty

The tale of a Dublin bus conductor with a yen for Oscar Wilde drives this fantastic revival of 'A Man of No Importance,' from the 'Ragtime' team of Terrence McNally, Stephen Flaherty and Lyn…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:25PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Ibsen's 1879 play left audiences shocked. Now in Pasadena, the door opens to 'A Doll's House, Part 2' by Charles McNulty

Elizabeth Reaser and Jason Butler Harner star in the Pasadena Playhouse production of 'A Doll's House, Part 2,' the clever Lucas Hnath comedy that earned Laurie Metcalf a Tony on Broadway.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:42PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 16, 2025

In 'Lessons From My Teachers,' playwright Sarah Ruhl finds wisdom in art, motherhood, even grief by Charles McNulty

Sarah Ruhl treats the world as her classroom, deriving spiritual lessons along with practical wisdom about life and art in a compelling new book.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:01PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 12, 2025

'White Rabbit Red Rabbit,' with a new star every night, opens at the Fountain by Charles McNulty

Playwright Nassim Soleimanpour's global hit 'White Rabbit Red Rabbit,' a theatrical experiment swathed in mystery, opens at the Fountain Theatre with a different actor handed the script righ…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:11PM[SHARE]

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