Melissa Rose Bernardo

“His turn as Bynum is a performance for the ages, and one that elevates every actor in his orbit.”

“Top-notch comedy and covetable home decor—all in a tidy 100-minute package.”

“Thankfully, O’Hara and Byrne are so wonderful—and so wonderfully matched—that there’s no getting annoyed with either of them.”

“This all makes Chess sound rather dour, and it’s anything but.”

“So much of Liberation—Wohl’s best play, and she’s had some excellent ones, including Small Mouth Sounds and Make Believe—feels like a radical act.”

“It’s only right that this marvelous revival now should land at Theater.”

“Córdoba—making a smashing Broadway debut—has us rooting for her, and the Garcias, every step of the way.”

“Buoyed by Andrew Resnick and Michael Thurber’s kicky orchestrations, his renditions of Darin’s standards—the brassy, hard-edged ‘Mack the Knife,’ with those insistent key changes, and the absolutely manic, horn-crazed ‘Once in a Lifetime’—are thrilling.”

“Belflower is a master of teen-speak.”

“But all the vocal pyrotechnics on Broadway can’t help this Redwood grow.”

“Her Rose isn’t the abominable woman we’ve seen in previous productions.”

“As we’re all agonizing over our own impending holiday family gatherings, there’s nothing more comforting than watching other people’s messed-up relatives tear each other to pieces, especially when there’s a prescription painkiller involved.”

“It’s a jewel of a musical, and a pure ray of sunshine on a dark winter day.”

“But double- and even triple-casting has its pitfalls.”

“Ephron’s experience is powerful and affecting, but some stories simply don’t translate from the page to the stage.”

“Also because Hwang is so proudly flaunting his dramaturgical transgression.”

“Donnelly makes Veronica truly sing.”

“One, unfortunately, is the ending.”

“But things go awry after a late-in-the-game twist that pushes the bounds of plausibility attempts (unsuccessfully) to move the play into psychological thriller territory.”

“From the jump, this Vanya, with a new adaptation by Heidi Schreck, feels unmoored, as lost as its restless, lovelorn characters.”

“It’s easy to get caught up in the spell of this Cabaret, which is all about mood from the moment you enter down a dumpster-lined alley (we promise, it gets prettier).”

“Keys’ own words are perhaps the best description of her own show: an ode to New York, a love letter to the city (and the people) that helped her become the artist she is today.”

“A three-hour play about an unnamed 1970s band recording an album, set entirely in the recording studio: That’s, essentially, the elevator pitch for Stereophonic, which just opened on Broadway after a sold-out 10-week run at Playwrights Horizons in late 2023. But that doesn’t even begin to describe the genius on display at the Golden Theatre.”

“Herzog’s cracking adaptation runs just a little over two hours, with no official interval—only a 10-minute pause where you can go onstage and grab a (free) bracing shot of aquavit.”

“This production might not be overflowing with tension, but Shanley’s text rings truer than ever.”

“He’s savvy—and gutsy—enough to let his audience decide.”

“Spamalot—the 2005. Tony-winning Best Musical ‘lovingly ripped off’ (as the tagline sayeth) from the 1975 low-budget British movie—is back on Broadway, and it’s as wonderfully silly as ever.”

“Ohio is the source of all disappointment and grief in America.”

“Thankfully, Friedman has found three actors whose charm and genuine connection overrides their characters’ most unpalatable qualities.”

“Bioh’s play is a celebration of that.”

“That’s the genius of Here Lies Love, which premiered in a much more intimate production at the Public Theater in 2013.”

“The Cottage is at its best when at its lightest.”

“The ensemble is as fabulous as ever.”

“She’s hilarious—and extremely handsy with Sweeney—but, regrettably, not at all villainous.”

“Dancin’, a celebration of everything Fosse, is a love letter to the makers and performers, and clearly pitched to the people who appreciate the artistry in every pointed toe and crescent jump.”

“So if you haven’t yet caught up with this quintessentially New York playwright, Between Riverside and Crazy is an excellent introduction to Guirgis’ work.”

“Even better news: Will Swenson (Hair, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert) is sensational as the guitar-strumming, chart-topping, stadium-playing young Diamond.”

“& Juliet succeeds where many jukebox musicals don't: It shoehorns the songs into the script practically seamlessly.”

“He’s brought his latest show, the terrific The Old Man & the Pool, to the Vivian Beaumont.”

“But Walking With Ghosts moves in fits and starts, flickering with imagination before ultimately fading away in a ghostlike haze.”

“The dialogue between the two men positively crackles throughout, and the interplay between Abdul-Mateen and Hawkins—both edgy, raw, hilarious, and real—is razor-sharp.”

“After that, we’ll follow these beautiful, messy characters just about anywhere…even to a slightly unbelievable head-scratcher of a final scene.”

“Inevitably, The Kite Runner gets dragged down by all of those stories—not to mention by Amir’s constant narration.”

“The much-anticipated Sam Gold–directed Broadway production of Macbeth, which just opened at the Longacre Theatre, appears to be a comedy.”

“The Skin of Our Teeth is a lot.”

“This rousing revival testifies to the magnitude of her imagination and the unyielding power of the female voice.”

“The feeling, regrettably, is mutual.”

“There might be life beyond the walls of Ernestine’s expansive Grand Rapids, Michigan, kitchen, but Birthday Candles isn’t interested in it.”

“Rashad is fantastic as the 'tough as bricks' Faye, and Dirden—is simply spectacular as the buttoned-up Reggie.”

“Of all the Companys that I've seen...this one makes the strongest case for everything taking place in Bobbie's mind.”

“Clyde’s demonstrates that the twice-Pulitzered, MacArthur-winning author remains high among our most accomplished playwrights.”

“What if I told you that the best acting on Broadway is coming from a woman who doesn't utter a single word?”

“Thankfully, for now, she can (sort of) speak for herself in Is This a Room.”

“Broadway gets to experience this rockin’ rewrite of 16th-century her-story.”

“It’s damn funny, and very on-point.”

“Emotions are carefully measured and sentimentality is in short supply in My Name Is Lucy Barton, the very fine (and very faithful) stage adaptation of Elizabeth Strout’s mother-daughter–focused novel.”

“Jagged Little Pill is, indeed, messy: chaotic, complex, overstuffed, way ambitious, and savagely emotional.”

“But sometimes the sauce just doesn’t come together.”

“As central characters go, Wheeler is, admittedly, supremely unlikable.”

“The production’s chief draw is the pairing of theatrical luminaries Pryce and Atkins as a 50-years-married couple, and they more than live up to the hype.”

“And set designer Derek McLane has turned the inside of the Hirschfeld Theatre into a crystal-studded, heart-shaped, hopelessly romantic fantasyland.”

“Tootsie is full of terrific moments: Yazbek's delightfully pessimistic lyrics... and, most important, a genuinely believable, winning performance by Fontana.”

“As for how this production judges Joe, it's hard to ignore that Letts bears an eerie resemblance to capitalist warmonger and former Vice President Dick Cheney. Yet even as Joe is careening toward his inevitable fall, he never loses our sympathy.”

“Unfortunately, that heated moment happens in the final scene.”

“If you’re there to see Jackson, you won’t be disappointed.”

“Now, it feels energizing and hopeful—and exactly what our country needs.”

“Sadly, there are few sparks at the Imperial.”

“What’s on stage at Studio 54 works—because how could it not, when you have a company headlined by O’Hara and Chase singing such Porter gems as ‘Another Op’nin’, Another Show,’ ‘So in Love,’ and ‘Wunderbar’?”

“Iconis’ tunes, which have earned him a major online following, are character-driven and catchy...But a lot of Iconis’ songs, and Vizzini’s story, gets lost in the chaos at the Lyceum. Director Stephen Brackett isn’t much for subtlety or soft moments. Roland, ideally cast in so many ways, is pushing too hard—vocally and otherwise...”

“And the choreography—kinetic, forceful movement by Camille A. Brown (Once on This Island)—positively electric.”

“Only Broadway vet Nick Wyman, as corporate honcho Arthur Jensen, matches Cranston’s intensity.”

“The cast—Washington and Pasquale are especially fine as parents whose emotions ricochet from angry to anguished to afraid and back again—wrings just about all the drama they can out of the newsprint-thin script.”

“After more than three hours, it feels like The Ferryman has just begun.”

“But it makes for a weirdly compelling 95 minutes.”

“As soon as the lights go up and she begins soliloquizing—‘Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I!’—we are immediately, completely, utterly, spellbound.”

“Smartly, McGrath doesn’t bite off more than he can chew; the show focuses only on King’s breakthrough, when she sold her first song to Don Kirschner (Curt Bouril) to the start of her solo career.”

“An overwhelming feeling of déjà vu—or, to quote one of Mark Allen’s more insightful lyrics—‘disappointment mixed with déjà vu’—underscores Gettin’ the Band Back Together.”

“Speaking of beats: As soon as the curtain goes up, you’ll hear the unmistakable driving drum riff of ‘We Got the Beat,’ one of the band’s first (and best) singles, here transformed into a rousing full-company production number packed with exhaustingly good choreography by Spencer Liff.”

“Understanding turns out to be in short supply.”

“For a few very brief moments, a bully gets his comeuppance; a ‘f–kin’ bitch’ doesn’t have to shut up and be ‘very, very nice’ to her older, more powerful partner; and a ne’er-do-well night guard grows a bit of a spine.”

“Ouisa (seven-time Emmy winner Allison Janney, absolutely sublime) and Flanders, aka Flan (The Normal Heart Tony winner John Benjamin Hickey).”

“It’s that they have a way of instantly piercing your heart and burrowing into your consciousness, while also illuminating character and propelling the plot (no small achievement!).”

“Curse you, William Finn, for writing these heart-wrenching songs.”

“Yet from the start, the Roundabout Theatre Company's loud, broad revival - working with a new adaptation by Stephen Karam, a Tony winner for the Chekhovian drama The Humans - makes no attempt to find a tragicomic balance.”

“The characters — who include song-and-dance journeymen Jim and Ted (Bryce Pinkham and Corbin Bleu, taking on the Crosby and Astaire roles, respectively), fame-hungry bleached blonde Lila (Megan Sikora), and fame-shy mousy brunette Linda (Lora Lee Gayer) — are so stock they’re practically cardboard.”

“If you know Cats, this is essentially the Cats you know and either love or hate.”

“Yet on stage, this fantasy-driven story remains stubbornly earthbound.”

“Ferguson juggles all of these personalities rather deftly, making only a few fumbles. It takes about three calls for the ego-tastic chef to really take shape, and reservations manager Bob never really becomes instantly identifiable...Yet one can’t help but wish that for his Broadway return Ferguson had chosen something more substantial.”

“If you can resign yourself to the story’s innate ambiguity, you’re in for a perversely enjoyable experience.”

“Fortunately, one couldn't imagine a better Anna than Lavin, who's still a stunner at 78...and can stop a show with a mere raise of her eyebrow. Moreover, she can pull off a sitcom-territory line like, "His arms came around me, strong and soft. He was wearing Aramis.”

“So if you find yourself dry-eyed at the end of van Hove’s high-concept, low-frills production, there’s no need to check your pulse.”

“While by no means unpleasant, Smith's songs—given such regrettably ironic titles as 'Truly Alive' and 'I Will Remember'—are, well, lifeless and forgettable.”

“And yet…would that there were more!”

“Certainly not this leaden, sporadically moving update—which bears little resemblance to the original production.”

“Alas, nothing ensues or unfolds, which makes for an excruciatingly long 90 minutes (despite director Sam Gold’s snappy pacing).”

“It’s just a bomb and not the kind that made Babe Ruth famous.”

“Unfortunately, Machinal isn’t consistently intriguing or the tiniest bit emotionally involving.”

“Following a 30-year Broadway absence, Tyson gives an awe-inspiring performance.”

“It's good and well, not evil, but head-scratchingly, laughably, even painfully bad.”

“Like Chauncy's two worlds, Beane's eventually crumble as well.”