Janice C. Simpson

“And yet, Mantello's production has made me appreciate Death of A Salesman in a whole new and more visceral way.”

“But to my surprise, I had a pretty good time.Maybe that's a result of expectations. Sidney Lumet’s movie and its iconic performances by Al Pacino and John Cazale have been beloved by generations of moviegoers (including me) and what seems to have most disappointed the people who don’t like the staged version is that it’s different from the film.”

“That's not to say that there aren't things to enjoy in Reddick's play... Or that there aren't similar pleasures to be found in the supple staging by Knud Adams.”

“Both their plays are bearing testament to the existence of functional families—onstage and off—and the power of that unconditional love.”

“I found myself observing how well they were crafting their performances rather than being moved by them.”

“Martin fares better with Boop! But only slightly.”

“Although that may be because there really isn't one. The best scenes in the show may be the two video montages put together by S. Katy Tucker to make fun of Reddit and TikTok influencers.”

“But the play’s100-minute running time doesn’t leave enough time for them to do more than state their positions and then move on to the next plot point.”

“And yet, by the time Home’s ending rolled around, I had succumbed once again to the old-fashioned pleasures of the play—and to its defiant optimism.”

“And, of course, that play turned out to be Mother Play.”

“The current book just slides from one scene in Lempicka's life to the next, without taking time to develop her character or those of the people around her.”

“Suffs may now be an entertaining history lesson (it's chocked full of memorable anthems and the row of women seated behind me cheered them all) but I'm not so sure that the show will make it into the musical theater history books.”

“Playwright Bekah Brunstetter has written a smart book for The Notebook that adds some bits of much need humor to author Nicholas Sparks' somewhat sappy story.”

“Still, I'm afraid most of the blame for this revisal's failings have to be laid at Sorkin's door.”

“Onstage puppeteers skillfully manipulate all these creatures and although the humans are always visible, the effect is often magical.”

“I'm both delighted and relieved to be able to say that this Sweeney lived up to, and maybe even surpassed, my expectations.”

“I'm going to have to count this version of it as a failure.”

“And yet the play's center doesn't quite hold. In fact, I had a hard time finding a center.”

“The results in this 90-minute doc are both heartbreaking and heartwarming and a potent reminder of how theater really can change lives, particularly young ones.”

“I will concede that I now understand why people so love this show.”

“All of the young cast members, most of whom are making their Broadway debuts, work hard but their characters' storylines are so thinly drawn that it was hard to connect with any of them.”

“Still, anyone who has yearned for a closer relationship with a father or a son may find themselves tearing up at the end.”

“So a production that should offer smart commentary instead just seems gimmicky.”

“A Strange Loop also has graphic depictions of sex, some blasphemous representations of religion and lots of profanity, including the n-word.”

“Saturday Night could play for many nights to come.”

“If you consider yourself a true theater lover, you should see it if there is any way that you can get to Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theater before its run there is scheduled to end on May 29.”

“Neither Paradise Square nor Suffs is truly bad. But neither is as rewarding as it might have been either.”

“I think all three shows deliver on those fronts”

“But the biggest glitch is the revival’s star Katrina Lenk, who was wonderful in Indecent and won a Tony for playing the world-weary tavern owner in The Band’s Visit.”

“I want to urge everyone to see the show, which has just been extended through Nov. 12, because it's a good one.”

“I found the new ending to be awkward, pedantic and overly long.”

“Shannon makes you fall in love with him and with the possibility that love truly can heal all wounds.”

“Now the show has taken up residence at the venerable Lyceum Theater and it’s even better.”

“Which, come to think of it, is a fairly apt metaphor for this entire endeavor.”

“Under Shapiro's steady hand, all three actors appear totally comfortable onstage and deliver performances that go far beyond cameo status.”

“But your enjoyment of the show is probably going to be determined by how big a fan you are of Buffet's music.”

“But I'm now not so sure about the phone book thing because I barely made it through Stories by Heart, the one-man show Lithgow is doing at the Roundabout Theatre Company's Theatre through March 4.”

“Prince of Broadway is a reminder of all that Hal Prince has given to musical theater—and of how much all of us who love it are in his debt.”

“The Great Comet is an ingratiating show but, despite its source material, it's not really a substantive one.”

“But although Burstein has a fine voice, he's also a very fine actor and he brings lots of other things to the role as well.”

“"I'm usually no fan of director John Doyle's work...But Doyle's revival of 'The Color Purple' knocked me out.”

“Ashford, dressed by costumer Ann Roth in a shaggy sweater and knee pads to protect her joints as she bounces around David Rockwell's perhaps too lovely set, is great at the job.”

“But, alas, it seems the magic has gone.”

“I found its conceit of having deaf actors sign their dialogue and song lyrics while hearing actors simultaneously speak and sing the same lines to be distracting and to lessen, instead of heighten, the emotion.”