Aaron Botwick

“It is a lovely little piece, and one that I hope will continue to serve thoughtful actors and directors for many tomorrows to come.”

“The dominant color in Lear's court is gold; a porcelain bulldog and lion straddle the throne. These choices, with their whiff of Art Deco, are no doubt topical, though never fully explored: the text, about the dissolution of ancient Britain, doesn't really speak to our current political moment, and that's okay.”

“The result is an unilluminating albeit entertaining mash-up of docudrama and Richard III.”

“It is messy as hell and an indisputable work of genius.”

“Hadestown is overflowing with rich, lively music.”

“Despite its adoration by acting students, Wilson’s play is nothing special.”

“Like the show as a whole, the dance demonstrates that there is much we can do to revivify these staid mid-century classics.”

“Unfortunately, this Frankenstein’s monster doesn’t quite cohere.”

“The result is more even-handed, less humiliating, and vaudevillian—and what remains is a fully enjoyable comedy of manners in the style of Noël Coward.”

“Gay or straight, these kids are all deprived of love, of nurture, mimicking a manhood they have not yet reached and lashing as a cover for vulnerability; stern-faced Bobby usually looks like he is moments away from either punching or crying.”

“Cluttered with schtick and flashy gadgets, this Network makes lots of noise but has little resonance.”

“Ultimately, it is the harmony created between these first-rate actors, all extraordinarily generous to one another, that makes The Waverly Gallery essential viewing.”

“And idiotic lyrics aside, I did feel the wonder.”

“As melodrama, then, The Ferryman is crackerjack theater, riveting for most of its three-hour-plus runtime.”

“This story of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield is just dull, a non-entity, a play that was written on autopilot.”

“So go see Ms. Jackson—before it’s too late.”

“There’s no getting around it: Joshua Jackson is a bad actor.”

“Instead, Escape to Margaritaville is endlessly amiable fare, pulsating with unaffected sincerity and good vibes.”

“Ms. Kirkwood’s dialogue is sharp, funny, and somewhat spare, preferring suggestion over exposition.”

“The material is far too thin to justify its existence: why bother with Trump at all, why not just write a traditional thriller when you have so little to say?”

“Mr. Akhtar masterfully weaves together a collection of journalists, lawyers, businessmen, and traders to create a portrait of American wealth that is compelling, illuminating, and relevant all at once.”

“The cast assembled here, for the play's first Broadway production, is first-rate across the board.”

“It’s a shame that a play like Indecent—a play that is often vital and brimming with life—succumbs in its final scenes to kitsch.”

“This is docudrama of the first caliber, in which a large cast and even larger issues are expertly condensed into almost three hours of thrilling drama.”

“For the life of me, I cannot see why, and Present Laughter serves as a delightful rebuke to this trend, proving that there’s always more room for madcap farce on the Great White Way.”

“Sweat is an indictment of an economic system that is unconcerned with company loyalty or with rewarding decades of literally back-breaking work.”

“Miss Saigon uses spectacle to manufacture tragedy, forgetting the human element along the way.”

“What a delight, then, that the Donmar Warehouse has imported a production worthy of Christopher Hampton’s text.”

“Simon Stephens’ Heisenberg, likely named after the uncertain relationship in which these two find themselves, is a gentle and unassuming play, one whose eighty minutes pass without much surprise but without much to dissatisfy, either.”

“Eclipsed is precisely the kind of work that precludes this reaction, forcing a confrontation between audience and subject matter without offering the easy pressure relief valve of cynical hopelessness or self-congratulatory liberalism.”

“Broadway musicals are so often disappointing because they don’t really believe in the value of their silliness. In other words, they hedge their bets...”

“There’s nothing really wrong with that, I suppose, but, like the fun house mirror, what I know to be a funny, moving, and endlessly smart story is reflected back at me as fairly average Broadway fare.”

“Something Rotten! is that rare piece of fluff that knows exactly where it stands while occasionally betraying an unexpected intelligence.”