All stories by David Cote on BroadwayStars

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Review: 'Cyrano de Bergerac' Stages the Power of Love and Language at BAM by David Cote

Running at BAM with James McAvoy playing the titular role 'Cyrano de Bergerac' is a beloved tale of yearning, beauty, and desire.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 4, 2022

A Twenty-Year Old Play About Coming Out in Baseball is the Story We Need Now by David Cote

The current revival at the Hayes, produced by Second Stage Theatre and ably directed by Scott Ellis, is quite good " well-acted, smart in tone and pace, handsomely designed, with some reserv…

SOURCE: Medium at 09:08PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 28, 2022

Review: Is It Worth Checking into 'Plaza Suite' on Broadway? by David Cote

An average ticket price of $212.67 will make a person believe anything. It can turn a Best Western into the Four Seasons. 

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 10, 2022

'Coal Country' Digs Deep Into Workers Rights and Justice by David Cote

The documentary play 'Coal Country' examines the aftermath of such a cataclysm, the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster of 2010, in which 29 out of 31 miners were killed in a coal dust explosion.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:00PM[SHARE]

Theater in Spring Hopes for a Dramatic Return to Normal by David Cote

Fifteen new productions will open on Broadway in the month of April, that's one every other day.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 01:41PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 9, 2022

'The Chinese Lady' Grapples With Chinese-American History by David Cote

The 90-minute drama charts Moy's journey in America from hopeful teen to jaded adult, a progression shadowed by American attitudes toward Chinese immigrants"ranging from Orientalist condesce…

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:15AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Losing in Translation: Iranian Students Struggle with Feelings in 'English' by David Cote

Cross-cultural tension looms over Sanaz Toossi's English, an understated classroom dramedy about the things we lose in crossing linguistic borders. 

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 11, 2022

A Star Among the Stars, Cecily Strong Searches for Intelligent Life by David Cote

Wagner's message is a simple but deeply humanistic one: We're all specks in the universe, random, unknowable bio-containers, and who knows where my atoms end and yours begin?

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 9, 2021

Rise! Rise! Rise! This Gender Swapped 'Company' Wins Our Hearts by David Cote

One thing I am certain of: 'Company' is the most sophisticated fun I've had in a theater in ages.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 08:00PM[SHARE]

Sweet Sixteen Has a Bitter Edge in New Musical 'Kimberly Akimbo' by David Cote

It's a downbeat fable about escaping the toxic narcissists who created your body.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:39AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 6, 2021

Aiming for Big Tent Family Fare, 'Mrs. Doubtfire' Is Just a Drag by David Cote

It's a patriarchal pangender fantasy that simultaneously de-centers and re-centers cishetero masculinity. Fancy lingo for: kinda outdated and icky.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:49AM[SHARE]
Sunday, November 28, 2021

Stephen Sondheim (1930"2021): Master of the Modern Musical by David Cote

He will continue to shape the future of musical theater because he trained our ears, set the bar high, and new composers and lyricists will study his work. For a hundred who try, misguidedly…

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:33AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 18, 2021

'Trouble in Mind' Makes a Triumphant Broadway Debut by David Cote

You absolutely must see it if you care about Black work on Broadway, American theater, and the evolving state of our "canon."

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, November 17, 2021

'Diana: The Musical': Tacky Tribute to a Great Woman by David Cote

Who knows if musical fiascos such as 'Diana' exist solely for the bitter amusement of theater critics?

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, November 15, 2021

American Psychos: 'Assassins' Takes Wobbly Aim Off Broadway by David Cote

I can't be the only Sondheim nerd sick of respectful, minimalist approaches.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:46AM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 11, 2021

'While You Were Partying': Sick Theater for Queasy Times by David Cote

Embracing absurd and cringe humor while bringing it to theater, 'While You Were Partying' is for theater lovers who grew up online.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 03:04PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Time to Properly Value the Great Wealth of 'Caroline, or Change' by David Cote

I'm not actually 100% sure we are worthy of this show, but we need its complexity and density.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, October 18, 2021

Deirdre O'Connell Holds Us Utterly Captive in 'Dana H.' by David Cote

Here's the thing about this harrowing fugue state of a play, written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Les Waters: O'Connell never speaks.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:44AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 12, 2021

'Is This A Room' Brings Downtown Weird to Broadway by David Cote

The world is getting weirder by the day. I think the audience is ready for it now.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:28AM[SHARE]
Friday, October 8, 2021

Ruben Santiago-Hudson Makes Music of the Past in 'Lackawanna Blues' by David Cote

On at the Manhattan Theatre Club, 'Lackawanna Blues' explores survival and finding heart in your own life, backed by harmonica.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:21AM[SHARE]
Monday, October 4, 2021

These Queens Will Rock You in Broadway's 'Six' by David Cote

There's no plot to Six, just an agreement among the ex-wives to compete (in song) for who had the hardest time.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:42AM[SHARE]
Friday, September 24, 2021

This Fall Black Theater Takes New York City by David Cote

The fall 2021 season is bustling with excellent theater about Black stories, experiences, and joy. From the experimental to new favorites.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 01:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Shakespeare Gets a Harlem Renaissance in 'Merry Wives' by David Cote

Playwright Jocelyn Bioh's 'Merry Wives' marvels audiences at Shakespeare in the Park with a modern approach to the canon.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:48AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, September 1, 2021

Broadway Drama Is Back With the Scorching 'Pass Over' by David Cote

Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu's "Pass Over" has the makings of a modern and Black retelling of "Waiting for Godot" yet stands alone, moving.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:53AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Actress Ann Dowd Courts Your Vote in 'Enemy of the People' by David Cote

The enemy of the people is misanthropic technocrats! No! It's selfish, amoral politicians! No! The enemy of the people is…people?

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:57AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Damned Enjoyable: 'Seven Deadly Sins' in the Meatpacking District by David Cote

At 'Seven Deadly Sins' " a suite of short plays staged in storefronts in the Meatpacking District " it's still under glass, this time with writhing, exotic specimens offered up for moral …

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:18PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Best of Theater Summer 2021, From 'Merry Wives' to 'Seven Deadly Sins' by David Cote

Our top theater picks for summer 2021, full of wicked performances from 'Whore's Eye View' to 'Tiny House.'

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 11:56AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, May 26, 2021

'This American Wife' Sits at the Crossroads of Camp and 'Real Housewives' by David Cote

This American Wife sets out to be an avant-garde, haute-camp allegory of seduction, corruption, and betrayal that conspicuously consumes itself.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 04:08PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 23, 2021

Stage and Screen Not at All Star-Crossed in 'Romeo and Juliet' by David Cote

The National Theatre's 'Romeo and Juliet' focuses refreshingly more on the angst of these star-crossed lovers than the heat.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 10:17AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Experiencing Theater Again at Off Broadway's 'Blindness' by David Cote

Given that the event is automated except for ushers and operators, you're effectively both spectator and live performer.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:45AM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 25, 2021

Bittersweet Medical Comedy 'Men's Health' Drops Trou at Audible by David Cote

Unfolding in 90 minutes of hospital visits, "Men's Health" is sort of "Pygmalion" with its pants off.

SOURCE: The New York Observer at 09:49AM[SHARE]

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