All stories by Matt Wolf on BroadwayStars

Thursday, June 18, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 10: Epic plays from the National Theatre and Broadway alongside voices raised in protest by Matt Wolf

The state of Britain then and now gets a look-in, as do animals in human form As lockdown continues, National Theatre at Home has announced its final sequence of plays, and several of the v…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:12AM[SHARE]

Theatre Lockdown Special 9: Alan Bennett revisited, and so is Oz by Matt Wolf

THEATRE LOCKDOWN SPECIAL 9: Alan Bennett revisited, and so is Oz Some familiar titles, a 1913 rarity and a show in which the audience plays its part The government may occupy shifting sands…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:12AM[SHARE]

Heard Any Good Plays Lately? by Matt Wolf

Caryl Churchill and Simon McBurney are among the British theater talents contributing to "The Lockdown Plays," a series of new works you can listen to, but can't see.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, June 4, 2020

Theater Lockdown Special 8: A film star plays tough, and several familiar titles are examined anew by Matt Wolf

Tom Hiddleston reminds us of his stage roots, as does Christopher Walken as Captain Hook As we continue into a third month in lockdown, the arts continue to suggest ever-changing worlds beyo…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 28, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 7: Party politics and a Broadway titan or two by Matt Wolf

Early James Graham joins various Broadway legends, Irving Berlin and Jerry Herman amongst them The live-ness of theatre seems further away with every passing week, but at least the art form…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:24PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 21, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 6: A prolific playwright, a timeless play, and speeches galore by Matt Wolf

A popular American star vehicle and 'Alice in Wonderland' minute-by-minute figure among the cultural bounty during the week ahead Can we really be entering a third month in lockdown? Indeed…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:03AM[SHARE]

Andrew Lloyd Webber: Now, Yesterday and Tomorrow by Matt Wolf

Online broadcasts of some of the composer's greatest hits put the spotlight on a 50-year career.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 05:06AM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 14, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 5: A solo show for the ages, Ibsen refreshed, and yet more frolicsome cats by Matt Wolf

From a much-traveled one-man play to a continent-spanning National Theatre premiere, the theatrical week offers plenty so savour No one can accuse the gods of streaming of failing to cast a…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:03PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 7, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 4: Little-known Lloyd Webber, prize-winning Shakespeare, and starry David Mamet by Matt Wolf

In an ever-busy week, the Donmar and Finborough join the online bustle Has anyone else noticed how fulltime this streaming thing has become?  Those who were of a mind to (and who never s…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 30, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 3: Mary Shelley twice over, Europe writ large, and one day more for a mega-musical by Matt Wolf

Sonnets galore also form part of another busy week amidst bizarre times Time is moving in mysterious ways at the moment. It's been possible over the last month or so to mark out the beginni…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 01:42PM[SHARE]

To Restart After Lockdown, Theaters Need to Think Small by Matt Wolf

Theatrical extravaganzas could be a long time returning. But until then, there are plenty of great plays with tiny casts.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 09:24AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 23, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 2: Birthdays aplenty, songs of hope, a starry quiz - and more by Matt Wolf

Sondheim's and Shakespeare's natal days feted. Plus a chance to match wits with a knight and a dame As lockdown continues, so does the ability of the theatre community to find new ways to t…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 16, 2020

Theatre Lockdown Special 1: Starry podcasts, late-career Shakespeare, a celebrity basement - and more by Matt Wolf

Theatre buffs have no shortage of scintillating options during our ongoing shut-in The lockdown has been extended, but here's the good news: each week whereby we are shut inside seems to br…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:24PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Twelfth Night, RSC/Stratford-upon-Avon online review - inventive but underfelt by Matt Wolf

Kara Tointon leads a concept-heavy, Victorian-era Shakespeare update Twelfth Night is rarely long-absent from the British stage and nor is it in our current climate of streaming aplenty. Th…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 05:24AM[SHARE]
Monday, April 13, 2020

Flowers for Mrs Harris, Chichester Festival Theatre online review - a warmly open-hearted weepie by Matt Wolf

Musical adaptation celebrates British pluck, coupled with luck 18 months or so after it opened in Chichester, Flowers for Mrs Harris launches a sequence of streamed productions from the Wes…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 06:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 9, 2020

Closed Theaters Are Nothing New. The Good News Is, They Reopen. by Matt Wolf

London's playhouses have been shuttered before, by plagues and war for instance, but they have always returned as strong as ever.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 11:12AM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Wonderland, Hampstead Theatre online review - a major play about the miners by Matt Wolf

Beth Steel award-winner makes for muscular, eerily apposite fare The talk is of an "economy in ruin [with] unemployment through the roof": a précis of Britain in lockdown? In fact, this is…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:12AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 7, 2020

Cyprus Avenue, Royal Court Theatre online review - a mind in mesmerising meltdown by Matt Wolf

Stephen Rea rivets once again in David Ireland play One of the most blistering stage performances in recent memory gets a renewed lease on life with the streaming of the 2019 screen version…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:54AM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 2, 2020

Wild, Hampstead Theatre online review - timelier than anticipated by Matt Wolf

Mike Bartlett's 2016 play chimes with our topsy-turvy times "The whole world is just tilting at the moment," we're told near the end of Wild, the Mike Bartlett play from summer 2016 that…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 08:12AM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 22, 2020

Sondheim at 90: adults will listen by Matt Wolf

The composer-lyricist has left an indelible legacy Here's an irony worthy of the work of Stephen Sondheim, an artist who clearly knows a thing or two about the multiple manifestations of th…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 12:03PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 19, 2020

Last Nights on London's Stages, Before the Lights Went Out by Matt Wolf

While the city's theaters were still open, several plays seemed to have relevant messages for our troubled times.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 10:06AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 13, 2020

Love, Love, Love, Lyric Hammersmith review - a stinging revival by Matt Wolf

Mike Bartlett play remains as buoyant and biting as ever The Beatles lyric that gives Mike Bartlett's terrific play its title dates to 1967, which also happens to be the year in which the f…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 12, 2020

On Blueberry Hill, Trafalgar Studios review - superb acting, specious plot by Matt Wolf

Sebastian Barry two-hander offers rich acting opportunities for two of Ireland's finest Some wondrous acting is sacrificed on the altar of an increasingly wonky plot in On Blueberry Hill, t…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:48AM[SHARE]
Friday, March 6, 2020

Daniel Monks on Starring in London's The Seagull with Emilia Clarke and Why He's an Ali Stroker Super Fan by Matt Wolf

Daniel Monks electrified London at the end of 2019 playing the title role at the Donmar in Teenage Dick, Chinese-American writer Mike Lew's teasingly titled play that transposes Shakespeare'…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 07:06PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, March 3, 2020

Pretty Woman: The Musical, Piccadilly Theatre review - not so pretty, actually by Matt Wolf

Popular film romcom looks fairly icky on stage It's not so much that Pretty Woman: The Musical isn't much good, which it isn't. More to the point is that this West End replica of the …

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 03:36AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 28, 2020

West End Star Terence Wilton on The Woman in Black's Enduring Appeal in London and Beyond by Matt Wolf

The Woman in Black, the theatrical chiller adapted from the Susan Hill novel, celebrated 30 years in the West End last summer and has recently opened to acclaim at the McKittrick Hotel off-B…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 05:12PM[SHARE]
Thursday, February 27, 2020

In London, Contemporary Anxieties Take the Stage by Matt Wolf

Three plays consider the divisions wrought by Brexit, Britain's surveillance state and the terror of the news cycle, with varying levels of success.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:03AM[SHARE]
Monday, February 24, 2020

Be More Chill, The Other Palace review - more exhausting than enlightening by Matt Wolf

American theatre phenomenon pushes buttons aplenty to diminishing effect This latest musical theatre exercise in "geek chic" has been an American phenomenon: a show propelled by social medi…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 09:18AM[SHARE]
Friday, February 21, 2020

'This is a Love Story': Why Danny Mac Doesn't Think Pretty Woman on the West End Glamorizes Prostitution by Matt Wolf

Danny Mac dazzled followers on Strictly Come Dancing with his fancy footwork on the ever-popular BBC program, but the English performer has since made a separate name for himself in st…

SOURCE: Broadway.com at 02:42PM[SHARE]

A Number, Bridge Theatre review - a dream team dazzles anew by Matt Wolf

Roger Allam and Colin Morgan refashion Caryl Churchill's contemporary classic There are any number of ways to perform A Number, Caryl Churchill's bleak and beautiful play about a father and…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 10:12AM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 15, 2020

The Visit, National Theatre review - star turn bolsters baggy rewrite by Matt Wolf

Lesley Manville rises above the prevailing muddle Lesley Manville's thrilling career ascent continues apace with The Visit, which marks American playwright Tony Kushner's return to…

SOURCE: The Arts Desk at 07:48AM[SHARE]

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