T/theater

Melinda Dillon, 2-Time Oscar Nominee, Is Dead at 83

She was a Broadway star at 23 and then quit acting, but later re-emerged in films like “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and “A Christmas Story.”

Screen Time: A Film Star Captivates, and a Writer Is Surveilled

David Greenspan gives a wild ride of a performance in “On Set With Theda Bara,” and marionettes star in Vaclav Havel’s play “Audience.”

Charles Kimbrough, Actor Best Known for ‘Murphy Brown,’ Dies at 86

In a career that included a Tony nomination for “Company,” he specialized in playing uptight characters, notably Candice Bergen’s stuffy straight man.

From Lil Buck, History and a Chance to Flash Some Brilliance

“Memphis Jookin’: The Show,” which presents jookin “in the world it comes from,” is sincere entertainment, packed with talent and heart.

5 Things to Do This Weekend

Selections from the Weekend section, including a review of the dance company Cullberg's Joyce debut.

New York Blocks Payments to 20 Firms That Serve Hasidic Schools

Amid concerns about fraud in the industry, the city has stopped doing business with the companies, which provide special education, primarily to yeshivas.

‘Endgame’ Review: A Laugh at the Apocalypse?

There’s plenty of pleasure to be found at the end of the world in the Irish Repertory Theater production of Samuel Beckett’s play.

Nonbinary Broadway Performer Opts Out of Gendered Tony Awards

Justin David Sullivan of “& Juliet” decided to abstain from consideration and urged awards shows to “expand their reach.”

‘Lemons’ Review: A Fun Thought Exercise, Without Deep Thoughts

On London’s West End, Aidan Turner and Jenna Coleman star in a lightly dystopian comedy that succeeds as a portrait of a troubled couple, but falls short as political satire.

She Went Viral Mocking Trump. Now Sarah Cooper Is Taking on a New Role.

She is making her professional stage debut in the Off Broadway drama “The Wanderers,” and fulfilling a childhood dream. “It’s transformative,” she said.

Leslie Odom Jr. Plans Return to Broadway in ‘Purlie Victorious’

Kenny Leon will direct the revival of Ossie Davis’s 1961 play, which is expected to run this summer at an unspecified Broadway theater.

Oscar Isaac, Rachel Brosnahan and the Draw of a Neglected Hansberry Play

The first major New York revival of “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” Lorraine Hansberry’s 1964 Broadway play, comes to BAM this month. What took so long?

Cindy Williams, Co-Star of ‘Laverne & Shirley,’ Dies at 75

From 1976 to 1983, she (Shirley) and Penny Marshall (Laverne) drew millions of viewers to a sitcom playing roommates who worked in a Milwaukee brewery.

‘Asi Wind’s Inner Circle’ Review: Pick a Card, Not Just Any Card

A master at the top of his game, the magician Asi Wind performs fluidly and with obvious pleasure.

‘La Cage aux Folles’ Brightens Up Berlin

The vivid characters and the infectious melodies of the 1983 musical prove remarkably durable in Barrie Kosky’s madcap production at Komische Oper Berlin.

Sylvia Syms, Versatile British Actress, Is Dead at 89

In a career that began in the 1950s, she had roles that ranged from the lead in the movie “Teenage Bad Girl” to Margaret Thatcher and the Queen Mother.

‘The Smuggler’ Review: A Barman’s Rambling Yarn

The one-man show means to draw the audience into a moral quandary pitting immigrants and the American poor against each other.

Everett Quinton, a Force in Downtown Theater, Dies at 71

He took over the Ridiculous Theatrical Company after the death of his partner, Charles Ludlam, in 1987. His specialty was playing women, but his range was wide.

Obies to Honor Off Broadway Work Made During and After Lockdown

An in-person ceremony next month will focus on celebrating New York’s resilient theater scene; most awards will be announced in advance.

If You Want to Live Here, You’ll Have to Audition

The Rehearsal Club, which provided inexpensive housing for decades for aspiring actresses, singers and dancers trying to make it in New York City, is back. Carol Burnett said the club “saved my life.”

For a Pioneering Artist, the Joy of Having Done the Work His Way

Ping Chong discussed his more than 50-year career as a multidisciplinary artist who has found inspiration in the surreal.

‘Without You’ Review: Anthony Rapp’s Seasons of Love, and Loss

The actor, who starred in the original Broadway run of ‘Rent,’ reflects on the show’s early days and dealing with the grief of his mother’s death.

‘Memorial’ Review: An American Story, Set in Stone

The national controversy surrounding Maya Lin’s design for the Vietnam War Memorial is the subject of Livian Yeh’s nimble, process-driven play.

‘Modern Swimwear’ Review: The Designer and the Murderer

Depicting the final hours of a young fashion designer’s life, Caitlin Saylor Stephens’s play lacks the sturdiness to make its connection to real events believable.

Monica Bellucci Tries on the Dress, and Life, of Maria Callas

The film star embodies one of opera’s greatest divas in the solo show “Maria Callas: Letters & Memoirs,” coming to the Beacon Theater.

‘Small Talk’ Review: The Art of Meaningless Banter

In his brisk, low-maintenance Off Broadway show, the workhorse comic Colin Quinn extols the virtues of idle chitchat.

‘The Appointment’ Review: A Chorus Line at the Abortion Clinic

After its original New York outing in 2019, the trippy musical returns in the post-Roe era with an updated script and sharpened fangs.

What Are People in New York Lining Up for Now?

Stressful Covid lines are out, and happy lines are back, with New Yorkers and visitors queuing up for Sondheim, croissants and brunch.

‘Sugar Daddy’ Review: The Grief Comes Out in Laughs

In his show about mourning his boyfriend, the comedian Sam Morrison confronts overwhelming loss with punch lines and panache.

‘Sugar Daddy’ Review: The Grief Comes Out in Laughs

In his show about mourning his boyfriend, the comedian Sam Morrison confronts overwhelming loss with punch lines and panache.

‘Room’ Will Be Staged on Broadway, Starring Adrienne Warren

Emma Donoghue adapted the show from her best-selling 2010 novel; she also wrote the screenplay for the 2015 film.

In ‘Field of Mars,’ a March Toward Oblivion

Presented by Richard Maxwell’s New York City Players as part of this year’s Under the Radar Festival, the two-act play tries to measure humanity’s progress.

Nathan Lane’s New Play Is Photography Brought Alive

Larry Sultan’s iconic photo book “Pictures from Home” is being staged on Broadway.

‘The Immortal Jellyfish Girl’ Review: A 26th-Century Love Story

Featuring a lobster telephone and a robot boy with wings, this puppet romance set in a future post-ecological collapse succeeds on its own weird terms.

‘Drama’ Contains Many Things. But Drama Isn’t One.

The choreographer Constanza Macras’s new work at the Volksbühne is a chaotic revue featuring dance, slapstick, spoken dialogue, pop music and heavy-handed monologues.

‘Not About Me’ Remembers Decades Shrouded by AIDS

Eduardo Machado’s autofictional play follows the playwright’s alter ego as he navigates gay life in the 1980s and ’90s.

How Do You Measure a Season on Broadway? In Cast Albums.

From “A Strange Loop” to “Funny Girl,” most Broadway musicals of 2022 were recorded, offering listeners a chance to love or hate them again.

A Far-From-Revolutionary ‘Danton’s Death’

A passé take on Georg Büchner’s 1835 play about the French Revolution leans into the worst instincts of the Comédie-Française, our critic writes.

At Under the Radar, Family Histories Bubble Up With No Easy Answers

The Public Theater’s experimental theater festival is back in person for the first time since 2020. Here, our critics review a second selection of the works on display.

When Monsters Make the Best Husbands

“Frankenstein’s Monster Is Drunk and the Sheep Have All Jumped the Fences” and “Heaven,” two plays in Origin’s 1st Irish Festival, offer two very different views of marriage.

What’s Next for the Great Gay Play? Everything.

In recent shows, ideas of gayness are expanding, combining and disappearing all at once.

As ‘A Strange Loop’ Ends, Its Creator Looks Back on a ‘Supernova’

Michael R. Jackson discussed his Pulitzer and Tony-winning musical, which closed Sunday after a nine-month Broadway run.

Edie Landau, Film Producer Ahead of Her Time, Dies at 95

She and her husband invented a model for faithfully adapting acclaimed literature, illuminating an alternate path for independent cinema.

When Black Characters Double-Deal to Make Ends Meet, It’s Never Enough

In three Broadway plays this season, a quest for financial stability can’t undo the trauma of the past or dismantle the architecture that places a ceiling on Black futures.

At Under the Radar, Stories Unfold via Sexts, Tweets and Puppeteers

The Public Theater’s experimental theater festival is back in person for the first time since 2020. Here, our critics review a handful of the works on display.

Lumberyard Performing Arts Center in Hudson Valley to Be Sold

The American Dance Institute, which operates the center, said the pandemic and shifting priorities of donors had led it to rethink its mission.

Kevin Spacey Pleads Not Guilty to 7 Charges of Sexual Misconduct in U.K.

The Oscar-winning actor had already pleaded not guilty in July to five other counts of sexual misconduct. He is currently out on bail.

Paul Mescal Electrifies in a Revelatory ‘Streetcar’

In London, the Irish actor stars as Stanley Kowalski in a deeply empathic version of Tennessee Williams’s 1947 play, “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

Shakespeare in the Park Will Stage ‘Hamlet’ This Summer

Ato Blankson-Wood will star as the aggrieved prince in a modern-dress production directed by Kenny Leon.

5 Broadway Veterans on Race and Representation in Theater Design

“Theater traffics in unconscious symbolism.” Set designers, lighting designers and a sound designer talk about skin tones, aesthetics and more.

‘Here Lies Love,’ an Imelda Marcos Disco Musical, Will Play Broadway

The immersive dance show, with music by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim, will arrive this summer after a decade of productions Off Broadway and in London and Seattle.

6 Ways to Remember Martin Luther King in New York

The city offers plenty of options for honoring the civil rights leader. See musical performances, experience activism discussions and learn about Seneca Village.

Barry Grove to Depart Manhattan Theater Club After 48 Years

During his tenure, the nonprofit supported works that have gone on to earn seven Pulitzer Prizes and nearly 30 Tony Awards.

Ben Platt to Lead ‘Parade’ Revival on Broadway This Season

The musical’s exploration of antisemitism is timely, with rising concern about the issue in the United States and beyond.

A Paris Cabaret Makes Way for ‘Cabaret’

The 1966 American musical has opened at a venue that for decades hosted one of the city’s most famous revue troupes.

The Riverside Drive Apartment Where a Broadway Play Was Born

“Between Riverside and Crazy,” Stephen Adly Guirgis’s Pulitzer Prize-winning script, is set in a rent-controlled apartment that was inspired by the playwright’s own.

A Festival Is ‘Uncensored’ No More After Pulling a Work About Gender

The Frigid Fringe Festival in New York said it would no longer bill itself as “uncensored” after deciding not to move ahead with a performance it deemed anti-trans.

Alex Brightman Lays ‘Beetlejuice’ to Rest

A concussion nearly derailed the actor’s fan-favorite turn as the madcap, black-and-white striped ghoul. But he recovered in time for the closing show.

BAM Artistic Director David Binder to Step Down in July

Binder, who was a Broadway producer before joining the nonprofit in 2019, plans to return to theater’s commercial sector.

How These Sign Language Experts Are Bringing More Diversity to Theater

As productions increasingly include characters and perspectives from a variety of backgrounds, deaf and hearing people who translate the shows for deaf audiences are trying to keep up.

Broadway Bounces Back With ‘Best Week Since the Before Times’

Broadway shows grossed $51.9 million during the holiday week, the most since 2019, and “The Lion King” set a record for the most earned by any show in a single week.

‘Broadway Rising’ Review: Surviving the Pandemic

Stakeholders including Patti LuPone and Lynn Nottage share their real-time reactions to New York theater’s shutdown and reopening in Amy Rice’s documentary.

Onstage, It’s Finally Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas Again

After one holiday season lost to the pandemic and another curtailed by Omicron, seasonal staples including “The Nutcracker,” “A Christmas Carol” and “Messiah” are back in force.

Lynn Nottage’s ‘Clyde’s’ Is the Most-Staged Play in America

An annual survey, suspended during the pandemic, resumes and finds theaters nationally doing fewer shows and torn between escapism and ambition.

Did Fauci Lead America Astray on Covid?

Responses to an essay that criticized Anthony Fauci’s handling of the pandemic. Also: Migrants as props; abortion rights; David Milch; theater’s lessons.

To Mask, or Not to Mask: Theaters and Concert Halls Face a Dilemma

Some audience members are turned off by mask mandates. Others won’t attend indoor performances without them. Arts presenters are taking different approaches this season.

‘It’s My Tradition Too’: A Town’s Centuries-Old Passion Play Evolves

After a two-year pandemic delay, villagers in the German town of Oberammergau are once again re-enacting the story of Jesus’s life and death, with some changes.

On Broadway, One Show Decides to Keep Masks. No, It’s Not ‘Phantom.’

“American Buffalo,” at Circle in the Square, is sticking with masking till it closes, July 10, citing the “proximity of the audience to the actors” and “the staging in the round.”

You Don’t Want to Wear a Mask? Do It for Hugh Jackman

Beginning in July, Broadway will no longer require audiences to mask up. Actors and theater workers aren’t loving the idea.

You Don’t Want to Wear a Mask? Do It for Hugh Jackman.

Beginning in July, Broadway will no longer require audiences to mask up. Actors and theater workers aren’t loving the idea.

Broadway Will Drop Mask Mandate Beginning July 1

Most theaters stopped requiring proof of vaccination this spring. Now they are going “mask optional.”

‘A Strange Loop’ Wins Best Musical as Tonys Celebrate Broadway’s Return

“The Lehman Trilogy” won best play, “Company” won best musical revival and “Take Me Out” won best revival of a play at the 75th Tony Awards.

‘Come From Away’ to Close, the Latest Broadway Show to End Run

The musical, which opened in 2017, is the third to announce a closing in two days, as many shows struggle in a pandemic-softened marketplace.

Broadway theaters will continue requiring patrons to wear masks at least through June 30.

The decision comes at a time when New York City has declared a “high Covid alert.”

The Twisting Trail to the Tonys: ‘Can You Believe That We’re Here?’

At times it felt like a game of survival. But during a Broadway season unlike any other, productions showed their resourcefulness while learning how to live with Covid.

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ to Close on Broadway, After Reopening

The musical, which shuttered temporarily in January as the Omicron variant spread, has struggled with the slow return of tourists to the theater.

Your Monday Evening Briefing

Here’s what you need to know at the end of the day.

Most Broadway theaters have ended vaccination checks as coronavirus cases are rising.

Most of Broadway Ends Vaccine Checks as Cases Rise in New York

While for-profit theater owners and operators agreed to stop checking proof of vaccination this week, several nonprofit Broadway theaters continue to require it.

Manhattan Springs Back to Life

Broadway enthusiasts, art aficionados and food lovers will find new offerings in and around Times Square and in neighborhoods below 42nd Street, heralding the promise of a vibrant recovery.

‘For Colored Girls’ to Close on Broadway, Reflecting Tough Season

The revival, directed by Camille A. Brown, received strong reviews but struggled to attract audiences and overcome challenges posed by Covid.