All stories by Michael Sommers on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Dan Cody's Yacht: A Smart Vessel, Running Short of Its Destination by Michael Sommers

★★★ Anthony Giardina's ambitious new play studies money, privilege, and higher education The post Dan Cody’s Yacht: A Smart Vessel, Running Short of Its Destination …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:31PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 31, 2018

The Boys in the Band: 50 Shades of Gay by Michael Sommers

★★★★★ Jim Parsons, Zachary Quinto, and a charismatic ensemble leap out of a queer time capsule from 1968 The post The Boys in the Band: 50 Shades of Gay appeare…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:21PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Dance Nation: A Seriocomic Fandango Celebrates Girl Power by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Clare Barron's unusual new play wildly reflects the mindsets of young teen girls The post Dance Nation: A Seriocomic Fandango Celebrates Girl Power appeared firs…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:15PM[SHARE]
Monday, May 7, 2018

Light Shining in Buckinghamshire: Lessons on How to Lose a Revolution by Michael Sommers

★★★ Writer Caryl Churchill and director Rachel Chavkin deliver a time-melding history lesson at New York Theatre Workshop The post Light Shining in Buckinghamshire: Lessons…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, May 3, 2018

Summer and Smoke: Sparks Fly High in a Soulful Romance by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Passionate performances by Marin Ireland and Nathan Darrow ignite Tennessee Williams' rarely-staged romantic drama The post Summer and Smoke: Sparks Fly High in…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:14PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 26, 2018

The Iceman Cometh: Denzel Washington Swims Above O'Neill's Lower Depths by Michael Sommers

★★★ Living portraits of riffraff gleam amid an arty Broadway revival of a classic The post The Iceman Cometh: Denzel Washington Swims Above O’Neill’s Lower Dept…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:29PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Saint Joan: Manhattan Theatre Club's Revival Doesn't Ring the Bell by Michael Sommers

★★ A cheerful Condola Rashad confidently portrays Shaw's saintly warrior as a pleasant peasant The post Saint Joan: Manhattan Theatre Club’s Revival Doesn’t Ring the …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:16PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 23, 2018

Transfers: Two Bronx Guys Level Their Eyes On a Prize by Michael Sommers

★★★ Lucy Thurber's latest drama contrasts a couple of disadvantaged students who aim for a better life The post Transfers: Two Bronx Guys Level Their Eyes On a Prize appea…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 08:30PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 22, 2018

The Metromaniacs: David Ives' Latest Shows It's All in the Rhyming by Michael Sommers

★★★ A French antique is smartly refinished by David Ives, but gets tarnished by its express delivery The post The Metromaniacs: David Ives’ Latest Shows It’s Al…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, April 18, 2018

The Seafarer: Matthew Broderick Plays a Wicked Game of Cards by Michael Sommers

★★★★ A diabolical visitor encounters amazing grace in Conor McPherson's supernatural Irish drama The post The Seafarer: Matthew Broderick Plays a Wicked Game of Card…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:01PM[SHARE]
Sunday, April 15, 2018

Mlima's Tale: Lynn Nottage Incarnates the Ivory Trade with Cruel Irony by Michael Sommers

★★★★ An imaginative quasi-documentary sees an elephant's precious tusks pass through a chain of ivory traffickers The post Mlima’s Tale: Lynn Nottage Incarnates…

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 09:54PM[SHARE]
Thursday, April 12, 2018

Carousel: A Real Nice Clambake That's Nicer to Hear Than See by Michael Sommers

★★★★ The bittersweet Rodgers & Hammerstein classic sounds far lovelier than it looks The post Carousel: A Real Nice Clambake That’s Nicer to Hear Than See …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, April 10, 2018

Miss You Like Hell: Can a Latina Mom Fight Deportation? by Michael Sommers

★★★ An incandescent Daphne Rubin-Vega blazes through a topical new musical at The Public The post Miss You Like Hell: Can a Latina Mom Fight Deportation? appeared first on …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM[SHARE]
Monday, April 9, 2018

This Flat Earth: A School Shooting Raises Sad Questions by Michael Sommers

★★ A sorrowful teen survivor wonders: "So why don't the grown-ups just fix it?" The post This Flat Earth: A School Shooting Raises Sad Questions appeared first on New York Stage …

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:15PM[SHARE]
Monday, March 26, 2018

Lobby Hero: Longeran's Law and Disorder Looks Timely by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Chris Evans and Michael Cera face off in a provocative study of shady behavior at the newly redone Hayes Theater

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 10:00PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 25, 2018

The Stone Witch: Dan Lauria Depicts a Grumpy Genius by Michael Sommers

★ Dan Lauria depicts an arrogant artist in a tedious mix of shallow dramatics and fanciful visuals.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 06:30PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 18, 2018

Harry Clarke: Billy Crudup Charms as a Misleading Man by Michael Sommers

★★★★ Billy Crudup smoothly portrays a seductive rogue and his many admirers in a new solo play.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Later Life: A.R. Gurney Offers a Brief Re-Encounter by Michael Sommers

★★★ In Later Life, A.R. Gurney paints a Jamesian portrait of a gentleman's second chance at true love.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 11:27PM[SHARE]
Thursday, March 8, 2018

Good for Otto: Not So Great for Ed Harris and Company by Michael Sommers

★★ Ed Harris leads excellent actors through a loosely-knit string of case studies in David Rabe's overlong new drama.

SOURCE: New York Stage Review at 07:00PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Peccadillo's Tone-Deaf Revival of George Kelly's "The Show-Off" Is Nothing to Brag About by Michael Sommers

Possibly you are familiar with a guy like Aubrey Piper, the egotistical title figure of THE SHOW-OFF: Aubrey is a noisy know-it-all whose sense of truth is only marginally anchored in realit…

SOURCE: Village Voice at 03:46PM[SHARE]
Friday, August 19, 2016

Theater | New Jersey: Review: A King's Long Goodbye in Madison by Michael Sommers

In "Exit the King" by the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, a 400-year-old ruler must go, eventually.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:52PM[SHARE]
Sunday, July 17, 2016

Review: 'Coriolanus' in Madison Has 20th-Century Costumes and 21st-Century Conflict by Michael Sommers

The rarely produced play, visually updated in this revival by the Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey, pits a scornful Roman consul against a boisterous populace.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:34PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 24, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: Review: Annie Baker's Drama Is First Show in Mile Square Theater's Hoboken Home by Michael Sommers

The award-winning 'Circle Mirror Transformation,' a study of an amateur drama class, is the inaugural offering of a formerly vagabond company.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:01PM[SHARE]
Friday, June 10, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: Review: 'West Side Story' Returns to Paper Mill Playhouse After 25 Years by Michael Sommers

This revival in the New Jersey theater stays true to the classic musical with traditional staging, high-flying dances and teenage-fueled emotion.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:23PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 27, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: A Three-Character Drama That Keeps You Guessing by Michael Sommers

A trio of shady ladies figure in "Villainous Company," Victor L. Cahn's new play, with duplicitous doings and plot twists.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 08:09PM[SHARE]
Friday, May 20, 2016

Arts | Connecticut: Review: 'A Song at Twilight' at Shakespeare Theater of New Jersey by Michael Sommers

Noël Coward's play, about a man whose ex-lover confronts him with details of his dark past, offers conflict, surprise and an affecting conclusion.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 07:19PM[SHARE]
Sunday, May 15, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: Hard Truths About Racism in 'White Guy on the Bus' by Michael Sommers

Upbeat suburban scenes are interrupted by travels to a different world in inner-city Philadelphia, with a deadly serious twist.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 01:25PM[SHARE]
Friday, April 22, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: Review: 'Old Love New Love' Explores the Pain of Alzheimer's by Michael Sommers

Poignant moments punctuate "Old Love New Love," a play by Laura Brienza that is receiving its world premiere at Luna Stage Company in West Orange, N.J.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 06:37PM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 16, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: New Jersey Series Frees Some Playwrights From 'Developmental Hell' by Michael Sommers

The new program NJPAC Stage Exchange commissions plays and promises staged readings and eventually full productions in Newark.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 04:45PM[SHARE]
Sunday, March 27, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: In 'For Worse,' an Affair Doesn't Wreck a 30-Year Marriage by Michael Sommers

The play by Deborah Rennard, in its world premiere at the New Jersey Repertory Company in Long Branch, portrays two women in love with a scoundrel.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 12:56PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 5, 2016

Arts | New Jersey: Review: In 'Ropes,' a High-Wire Act of Brotherly Bonding by Michael Sommers

The play, by Bárbara Colio, focuses on three men bound uneasily together by their distant ties to their father, a tightrope walker who abandoned them as boys.

SOURCE: The New York Times Subscription at 02:26PM[SHARE]

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