Rex Reed

“She tries but fails to do it again in Call Me Izzy, a vehicle that is totally wrong for her skills.”

“Joyous and exciting, he combines the awesome athletic prowess of Gene Kelly with the libidinous body language of Bob Fosse.”

“Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends—especially the second act—is a musical evening to cherish.”

“The worthless songs all sound exactly alike while doing nothing to move the scant plot along.”

“The Roommate, I’m sorry to say, is not very good.”

“The only reason I got through this astoundingly over-praised travesty is Rachel McAdams.”

“This Cabaret is not the worst musical on Broadway.”

“The hopeless ineptitude of the playwright, Sandy Rustin, makes it hard to tell exactly what the point of this abysmal fiasco really is.”

“An enjoyable mess, to be sure, but a sprawling, disjointed, unfocused mess nonetheless.”

“For this, and countless other reasons, he turns Good Night, Oscar into one of the very few Broadway shows I have seen in recent years that truly, honestly and unimpeachably deserves its tumultuous standing ovation.”

“It’s noisy, lavish, unforgettable entertainment—in Broadway’s inspired version of Technicolor!”

“& Juliet is quite the most excruciating experience I’ve had on Broadway in decades.”

“A Strange Loop announces the arrival of an audacious maker of Broadway musicals who’s willing to scrape his conscience and that of society.”

“Scott Ellis’ grounded staging spotlights and underlines the conflicting emotional subtexts in Richard Greenberg’s profound script, in a production of Take Me Out that is an alternately tense, funny, and heartrending toast to America’s favorite pastime.”

“There is nothing Hugh Jackman can't do onstage—and in The Music Man he pretty much does it all—frontwards, backwards, and upside down.”

“It doesn’t take long to decide why we in the audience are bored with them, too.”

“A repeated triumph is guaranteed.”

“It's a tasteful holiday diversion, more artsy than your usual Elf: The Musical or Rockettes routine.”

“The result, in all honesty, is one bad play with two great actors working overtime to breathe life into a theatrical corpse that is dead on arrival.”

“I’m at a loss to describe it except to say it left me with a headache no Excedrin can cure.”

“Tootsie ends up being the same kind of vulgar, tasteless, cartoonish Broadway musical it sets out in vain to satirize.”

“But even if this production offers more ashes than flames, it’s a fine chance to experience how bracing it is to hear real people saying real things to each other—a rarity in today’s theater outings.”

“For the next 2 hours and 45 minutes, everything that can go wrong in a lunkheaded, misguided musical actually manages to do so.”

“Heidi Schreck has written and stars in a play that is part memoir, part civics lesson, part stand-up comedy routine and part TED talk—and every part of it is riveting.”

“The Roundabout revival is so blissfully staged and packs such a delightful comic punch, it made me retroactively regret missing the last Kiss Me, Kate mounting, which ran on Broadway from 1999 to 2001 and starred the late, great Marin Mazzie opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell.”

“The kindness and grace of a man who genuinely believes there is goodness in every man is still a lesson worth heeding by people of any age, especially in a harrowing world like the one we now inhabit.”

“The new Broadway production of Network is as dated and irrelevant as a nickel phone call.”

“Harvey Fierstein has rewritten and updated his landmark 1982 play for a new generation, and the result is a deeply moving and often hilarious meditation on love, loss, and the passage of time.”

“The result is a richly rewarding experience that manages to be both heartbreaking and life-affirming at the same time.”

“There isn’t a moment of wit or originality in it.”

“Tom Stoppard's brilliant, bewildering and ultimately bewitching Travesties is back on Broadway in a production that crackles with wit and intelligence.”

“This is one musical that you risk overlooking at your own peril, a vein of Broadway gold that I hope runs forever.”

“Mean Girls is a load of teenybopper trash which, like the recycled jokes and vapid, lukewarm Jeff Richmond-Nell Benjamin pop score, cannot really be appreciated by anyone without a mouthful of bubble gum.”

“The second half of Tony Kushner's marathon opus about AIDS, religion, politics and the meaning of life in Reagan's America is every bit as shattering as Part One: Millennium Approaches.”

“Three Tall Women is the benchmark by which everything on Broadway will be measured this year.”

“This is a show that lifts the spirits and fills the heart with joy, performed by a cast so talented and committed that they make every moment seem effortless.”

“Matching her incompetence every step of the way is Steve Martin’s incoherent writing.”

“As dotty as his anecdotes, ad libs, history lessons and other examples of higher learning are, it’s even more hysterical to watch him tell them.”

“Instead of an overblown extravaganza, it’s a work of low-key charm balanced by the high impact of intuitive ensemble work and a gorgeous score unlike anything on Broadway.”

“This is as good as polished, professional theater ever gets.”

“What I did not expect, in the bargain, was to have such a good time.”

“Allison Janney is magnificent as Ouisa, the wealthy Manhattan socialite who opens her heart and home to a mysterious young black man claiming to be Sidney Poitier's son.”

“Glamorously anchored at the Nederlander Theatre for what either promises or threatens to be a long run, this is one of those rare break-speed-records-to-get-there shows to save money for.”

“The revival of Miss Saigon that opened Thursday night at the Broadway Theatre is a sumptuous, emotionally devastating experience that left me wrung out like a dishrag.”

“Under the expert direction of Terry Kinney, this production of The Price succeeds in reminding us why Arthur Miller was one of America's greatest playwrights.”

“He is simply marvelous, and so is the play and everyone in it.”

“Her experience, knowledge and craft prove that Sunset Boulevard is an old warhorse that can still finish the race in first place.”

“The play is so bad it seem to be in an unknown language.”

“He’s the kind of misfit that is meant to be touching and sympathetic but grows irritating fast.”

“The current Broadway revival of Falsettos succeeds in spite of material that seems increasingly dated, thanks to a uniformly excellent cast and smart direction that emphasizes the humanity in William Finn's characters.”

“Otherwise, this production, directed by Jack O’Brien at the pace of a speedway derby, is nothing more than ambitious summer stock.”

“Under the sensitive direction of Simon Godwin, this production of Chekhov's final masterpiece is both heartbreaking and beautiful, anchored by Diane Lane's luminous performance as the doomed aristocrat Ranevskaya.”

“The show is a parade of inspired lunacy that had me laughing so hard I was wiping away tears.”

“Jim Parsons brings his trademark neurotic energy to the role of God in this irreverent comedy, though the material doesn't always live up to his committed performance.”

“Trapped in a straight jacket by Jason Moore’s shrill direction, all that was once fresh and funny has been ground and grated into a colorless mush.”

“This is a Long Day's Journey Into Night that will haunt you long after the final curtain falls, with performances so searing and honest that they seem to burn holes in your heart.”

“Noises Off is still one of the funniest plays of all time and you will not go away from this revisit with a frown.”

“The new Broadway revival of The Color Purple is a vastly improved, more focused and emotionally devastating experience than the original 2005 production.”

“David Mamet’s ghastly China Doll is the worst thing I’ve seen on a professional New York stage since the ill-fated Moose Murders.”

“This is easily the best production of A View From the Bridge I have ever seen”

“The rousing new musical Allegiance has an original book, original score and fresh, original ideas.”

“On Your Feet! is a crowd-pleasing musical that tells the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan with infectious energy, though it follows the familiar jukebox musical formula a bit too predictably.”

“This adorable little show has been buffed and polished until it gleams like a newly minted penny.”

“This is a magnificent evening in the theater that brings history to life with intelligence, wit and dramatic power that will leave you breathless.”

“It’s as funny as a case of syphilis in a monastery.”

“Under the direction of Sam Gold, the current Broadway revival of Tom Stoppard's The Real Thing is a messy, unfocused production that wastes the considerable talents of Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal.”

“With the charmless Ms. Hoffman guzzling gin like a vaudeville comic and dragging herself into one scene after the other, we get a hammer in the head.”

“The result is a production that feels more like a celebrity stunt than a serious theatrical endeavor.”

“This is Woody Allen's best work in years, a smart, funny, stylish entertainment that crackles with wit and charm.”

“Fiona Shaw is divine in this haunting, beautiful and deeply moving 90-minute monologue that transforms the Theatre into a sacred space.”

“The play is a powerhouse of raw emotion and volatile energy, but the production is uneven and the direction by Daniel Sullivan seems uncertain about what tone to strike.”

“The result is a lumbering, lifeless disaster that wastes the considerable talents of a superb cast”

“Haven’t we outgrown this bloated extravaganza?”

“The revival of Noel Coward's Private Lives that opened Thursday night at the Theatre is a welcome reminder of how sophisticated comedy used to sound when it was written by someone who knew what sophisticated meant.”

“This is a show that demands to be seen and heard, and the current Broadway revival delivers on its promise of spectacle with a production that is both lavish and emotionally satisfying.”

“The production is slick and entertaining, even if it doesn't break much new ground.”

“Mr. Quinn's one-man show is a thoughtful, funny and surprisingly moving meditation on the rise and fall of civilizations”

“The Enron play is energetic, entertaining and empty—a shallow, superficial overview of corporate greed.”

“Red is a masterpiece of writing, acting and direction that burns with the passion of creation itself. Alfred Molina and Eddie Redmayne give performances of such power and authenticity that they seem to combust before your eyes.”

“Neither of you will want to leave Wicked.”

“Lucas Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2 is a fascinating sequel that brings Nora back home 15 years later to face the consequences of her dramatic exit.”

“So All My Sons soars again, with its original values intact, stronger and tougher than ever.”

“I think the amount of new score will surprise a lot of people, just how much they’ve expanded on the movie score.”

“Away is a masterpiece of ensemble acting, storytelling and music that restores your faith in the basic goodness of human nature.”

“Bette Midler is so good in Hello, Dolly! that she makes you forget anyone else ever played the role.”

“This is not merely dance-as-entertainment, this is dance-as-something-new, dance that uses literary techniques to elevate story.”

“Jitney is a masterpiece of ensemble acting that brings August Wilson's vivid characters to vibrant life.”

“Despite its obvious drawbacks, fortunately, this Rose Tattoo remains well worth re-visiting for the polished performances and the enduring quality of Tennessee Williams’ writing.”