All stories by Charles McNulty on BroadwayStars

Saturday, December 10, 2016

London theater forecast after Brexit and Trump: Overcast skies with a chance of apocalypse by Charles McNulty

"Is this the promised end?" Kent mournfully asks as King Lear carries Cordelia's corpse on stage at the close of Shakespeare's most harrowing tragedy. "Or image of that horror?" Edgar, more …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 30, 2016

A tale of two Lears: Glenda Jackson and Antony Sher scale Shakespeare's mightiest tragedy by Charles McNulty

Two major productions of "King Lear" are taking place on opposite sides of the River Thames, but for London audiences this embarrassment of Shakespearean riches is as normal as autumn's gunm…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:50PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 29, 2016

After another brave attempt, Sondheim-Furth musical 'Merrily We Roll Along' remains a rutted road by Charles McNulty

"Merrily We Roll Along," the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth musical with a checkered record in the theater, is like a safe stuffed with jewels waiting for a director who can finally crack the…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:45AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 28, 2016

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' reminds us of the power of courage in the face of evil by Charles McNulty

The sorcery behind "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" - the eighth story in the J.K. Rowling series, this one written as a stage play - is of vintage pedigree. The epic tale of two boys mak…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:55PM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 20, 2016

Let the power of 'Hamilton' speak louder than a Twitter feud by Charles McNulty

Forgive me if I don't take this moment to congratulate the theater community on its self-congratulatory outcry against our new tweeter-in-chief Donald Trump, who used his megaphone this week…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:40PM[SHARE]
Friday, November 18, 2016

Mother vs. daughter in the emotional showdown of 'Beauty Queen of Leenane' by Charles McNulty

Martin McDonagh, the British-born playwright of Irish heritage and humor, made a sensational debut in 1996 with "The Beauty Queen of Leenane," his bruising comic melodrama that announced the…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 11:15AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 17, 2016

Broadway's fall revivals: Why big stars can't make up for a lack of artistic vision by Charles McNulty

In a Broadway season heavy on revivals, shows from another era have been given starry makeovers. But everything old isn't new again. Classics aren't created by crowded marquees. Pla…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, November 14, 2016

'Miss You Like Hell,' an immigration musical for the new Trump era by Charles McNulty

California may still be counting votes, but already there's a musical responding to the new Trump era. "Miss You Like Hell," which is having its world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse, was …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:35PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, November 1, 2016

'An Invasion of Decency!': A wild pop-up performance in search of meaning by Charles McNulty

A few eccentric hors d'oeuvres are served before the main surrealist dish in John Sinner's "An Invasion of Decency!" " a wild theatrical spree that makes a direct appeal to the unconsc…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:30PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 31, 2016

Looking for the lighter side to a nasty election? Playwright Jon Robin Baitz delivers it in 'Vicuña' by Charles McNulty

A play about Donald Trump set to open a little more than a week before the presidential election seemed like perfect timing " this summer. Oh, but how these last weeks of the campaign have a…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:15PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 25, 2016

A spooky 'Midsummer Night's Dream,' just in time for Halloween by Charles McNulty

Independent Shakespeare Co., the group behind the popular Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, has taken "A Midsummer Night's Dream" indoors, which might seem strange given that…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:45PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 24, 2016

Telenovela as live theater: 'Destiny of Desire' is a zany, funny delight by Charles McNulty

Playwright Karen Zacarías was tired of the way so many dramas written by Latino authors were dismissively compared to telenovelas. Her response was to write a play that celebrates, sends …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:25PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 21, 2016

In 'Model Apartment' at the Geffen, family scars are skin deep - and to the bone by Charles McNulty

The word trauma originally referred to a physical wound or defeat. Later usage, influenced by Freud, stressed an injury of the mind " invisible but no less real for being unseen. Unseen but …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:20AM[SHARE]

With his first new play in nearly a decade, Tom Stoppard aims to 'stretch your mind just a little bit' by Charles McNulty

"I don't think I've ever spent half an hour in my life doing research," said playwright Tom Stoppard when asked about the impressive erudition behind his intellectually dazzling comedies. "I…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 17, 2016

Comedy for hypochondriacs: It's A Noise Within's 'The Imaginary Invalid' by Charles McNulty

The chief reason to see A Noise Within's production of Molière's "The Imaginary Invalid" is Apollo Dukakis' delightfully cranky portrayal of the play's tyrannical hypochondriac, a patriarch…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:10PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 10, 2016

'Merchant of Venice' set in post-Civil War America? That's Aaron Posner's 'District Merchants' by Charles McNulty

Three years ago, theater artist Aaron Posner had a postmodern field day updating Chekhov in his frisky comedy with the unprintable title that we've taken to politely calling "Stupid … Bird…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:45PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 30, 2016

Trump as theater: Mike Daisey's one-man show, 'The Trump Card,' delves into the Donald phenomenon by Charles McNulty

Monologist Mike Daisey has made his name channeling outrage on a range of contemporary issues while seated calmly behind a desk before an audience. His manner may be that of a homeroom teach…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:45PM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 17, 2016

The genius of Edward Albee and the inner voice that brought difficult truths to the stage by Charles McNulty

David Mamet once described two of New York's leading drama critics as the syphilis and gonorrhea of the American theater. Edward Albee, whose death at age 88 on Friday marked the end of his …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:40PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 16, 2016

'Barbecue' at the Geffen finds a ferociously funny way into the subject of race and identity by Charles McNulty

When playwright Robert O'Hara writes comedy, outrageousness is a given. His play "Bootycandy," a series of connected skits about growing up black and gay that was produced last year by Celeb…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:55PM[SHARE]

Review: A Smoldering "View from the Bridge" Turns Up the Heat at the Ahmanson by Charles McNulty

From London to NY and now in LA this Ivo Von Hove-drected Olivier/TONY-Winner arrives starring a dazzling cast lead by FREDERICK WELLER, CATHERINE COMBS and ANDRUS NICHOLS running through Oc…

SOURCE: touch.latimes.com at 08:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, September 15, 2016

A smoldering 'View From the Bridge' turns up the heat at the Ahmanson by Charles McNulty

In Ivo van Hove's celebrated production of Arthur Miller's "A View From the Bridge," the direction is the star. The Belgian auteur, who leads Holland's preeminent theater company, Toneelgroe…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:55PM[SHARE]
Monday, September 12, 2016

Resilience and dignity are the rich, bluesy music of 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom' by Charles McNulty

Calls for a national conversation on race are routinely made in the wake of crises, but a better idea would be a requirement for all citizens to familiarize themselves with the work of playw…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:35PM[SHARE]
Friday, September 9, 2016

The Troubies turn an ancient Roman comedy into a modern 'Haunted House Party' by Charles McNulty

Titus Maccius Plautus (c. 254-184 BC) has been described by classicist and novelist Erich Segal as "the least admired and most imitated" of the ancient Greek and Roman dramatists. His plays,…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:45PM[SHARE]

Amélie, Big Daddy, Hedwig: Familiar names hit SoCal stages this fall by Charles McNulty

The new theater season is a loaded lineup, with offerings from Deaf West, Ivo van Hove and Anna Deavere Smith. Here are 13 picks: Sept. 10-May 21 A Noise Within's 25th anniversary A quart…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, August 25, 2016

Seeking answers to L.A.'s 99-seat theater crisis in the legacies of two theatrical trailblazers by Charles McNulty

The theater world lost two giants this summer, Zelda Fichandler, co-founder of Washington, D.C.'s Arena Stage and a heroic pioneer of the regional theater movement, and James Houghton, found…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:50PM[SHARE]
Monday, August 22, 2016

Shakespeare's 'Love's Labor's Lost': Kathleen Marshall directs a winner at the Old Globe by Charles McNulty

SAN DIEGO " The Old Globe's staging of "Love's Labor's Lost" proves that it is possible to fall in love with a production at first sight. John Lee Beatty's scenic design transforms the outdo…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:11PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Summer Shakespeare: A critic's take on the secret to theatrical success by Charles McNulty

Summer Shakespeare. These words can strike fear in the heart of a reluctant theatergoer. Yes, the plays are supposed to be good for you. But semiprofessional productions in which the artisti…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:33AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Steve Martin's 'Meteor Shower' plunges into the absurd at the Old Globe by Charles McNulty

SAN DIEGO " Steve Martin, the beloved comic whose career has branched out in unforeseen directions (bluegrass composer, art collector and curator, playwright) is often described as a modern …

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:21PM[SHARE]

Seduced by Ayad Akhtar's 'Junk,' the new play that picks apart the Wall Street playbook by Charles McNulty

LA JOLLA " Forget about all the TV pundits and op-ed columnists droning on about America's problems. Playwright Ayad Akhtar is the diagnostician the nation needs to interpret its faltering h…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:21PM[SHARE]
Sunday, August 7, 2016

Tennessee Williams: What three lesser known works say about the playwright's legacy by Charles McNulty

No point in mincing words: Tennessee Williams is the greatest playwright America has ever produced. Yet more and more his reputation seems preserved in amber rather than renewed through reve…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 02:50PM[SHARE]

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