T/theater

This Erotic Epic Is Marina Abramovic at Her Most ‘Insane’

The Serbian artist’s latest piece is a four-hour exploration of folklore and sexuality, featuring singers, dancers, musicians and film.

What Clowns! (That’s a Compliment)

Natalie Palamides and Julia Masli are among the stars of a new clowning movement that revels in the comedy of failure. How did these fools become prestige?

Her Grandfather Owned the Yankees. Now She’s Producing ‘Damn Yankees.’

George Steinbrenner’s theater-loving granddaughter Haley Swindal is taking a big swing with a revival of the musical, slightly retooled for a new generation.

Three Broadway Stars Walk Into a Museum…

Bobby Cannavale, James Corden and Neil Patrick Harris talked about paintings that made an impression and, like their characters in “Art,” had questions about one another’s taste.

How a Chaotic ‘Network’-Style Outburst Plays Out in ‘Weather Girl’

In this dark comedy about climate change, a meteorologist meant to maintain a “happy voice” can no longer reassure viewers that it’s going to be all right.

17 Off Broadway Shows to Enliven Your October

André De Shields does Molière, Romy and Michele take the stage and Bat Boy makes his return just in time for Halloween.

He’ll Have the 10-Hour Theater Show, Please

As director of Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe, one of France’s top playhouses, Julien Gosselin is facing strong budgetary headwinds. But he’s keeping his vision big.

Patricia Routledge, Hoity-Toity Housewife of ‘Keeping Up Appearances,’ Dies at 96

Before she became known as the snooty suburbanite Hyacinth Bucket, Ms. Routledge was an acclaimed stage performer, appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and on the West End and Broadway.

‘The Honey Trap’ Review: A Thriller That Keeps Audiences Rapt Until the End

For a British soldier, a fatal night out breeds a hunger for revenge in Leo McGann’s suspenseful play at Irish Repertory Theater.

‘This Much I Know’ Review: ‘Eureka Day’ Playwright Still Has Questions

After his Tony win, Jonathan Spector returns with a dark, cerebral comedy involving academics and Stalin’s daughter.

‘Caroline’ Review: Chloë Grace Moretz as a Mother Starting Over

The actress stars in a closely observed new drama by Preston Max Allen about addiction, class and the safety of a transgender 9-year-old.

36 Things to Do in N.Y.C. in October: Comedians Aplenty, Comic Con and More

Jon Stewart, Atsuko Okatsuka and Pete Davidson are just three stars making us laugh this month, while cosplayers and fans assemble for the ultimate geek fest.

‘And Then We Were No More’ Review: Not Quite Kafka

The actor Tim Blake Nelson has penned a dystopian drama set in an unspecified future that puts forth lofty themes. Too bad it’s short on specifics.

In ‘Masquerade,’ You’re There Inside the Phantom’s Mind

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “The Phantom of the Opera” returns to New York in an immersive spectacle, as silly as it is thrilling.

‘Punch’ Review: After a Fatal Blow, an Unlikely Connection

James Graham’s Broadway play tells the true story of how restorative justice brought together a young man who threw a fatal punch and the parents of the victim.

At ‘Godot’ Opening, Stars Appreciate the Bromance

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jonathan Groff and Kieran Culkin were among the headliners who came out to support Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter’s new collaboration.

This Subversive Comedian’s Stage Shows Are Her Clowning Glory

Natalie Palamides’s mind-scrambling work oscillates between big laughs and pathos. Her show “Weer” is the first long run at the renovated Cherry Lane Theater.

‘Waiting for Godot’ Review: Cue the Air Guitar

Jamie Lloyd’s pristinely chic Broadway revival of the existential tragicomedy casts the “Bill & Ted” stars Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter as Samuel Beckett’s clowns.

Mozart’s ‘Figaro’ Meets Larry Kramer’s Fire Island

Kevin Carillo dreams up an unlikely combination, with results that are delirious and often persuasive, but also excessive.

Correcting the Record on Women’s Experiences of War

A stage adaptation of the Nobel laureate Svetlana Alexievich’s “The Unwomanly Face of War” gives Soviet women credit for their complex roles in World War II.

Could You Embrace the Man Who Killed Your Son? They Did.

The Broadway play “Punch” retells the true story of a fatal blow and how restorative justice brought healing to the parents and to the young man who threw the punch.

33 Things to Do for Halloween in New York City

From now to the end of October, spooky season takes hold in the five boroughs and beyond with parades, horror films and celebrations of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” at 50.

‘The Other Americans’ Review: John Leguizamo’s Family Drama Aims Big

For the first play he’s written, the actor stars as a striving Colombian American patriarch in the mold of Willy Loman or Walter Younger.

Half Naked and Sweating With Strangers, for Art

No phones, no street clothing. The artist Rashid Johnson has returned to the Russian and Turkish Baths with Amiri Baraka’s incendiary play “Dutchman.”

Manhattan Theater Club Names First New Artistic Director in 53 Years

Nicki Hunter will succeed Lynne Meadow in December, taking charge of a major nonprofit that stages shows on and off Broadway.

Now Andrew Lloyd Webber Is the One Wearing the Mask

A night out with the composer as he attended his latest project: “Masquerade,” a $25 million reimagining of “The Phantom of the Opera.”

‘Mexodus’ Tells an Underground Railroad Story You’ve Probably Never Heard

In this new hip-hop musical from Nygel D. Robinson and Brian Quijada, audiences hear a tale of reverse migration: Slaves leaving the United States for Mexico.

The Broadway Musical Is in Trouble

With the cost of staging song-and-dance spectacles skyrocketing and audiences drawn to older hits, none of the musicals that opened last season has made a profit. Fewer are planned this season.

‘Saturday Church’ Review: Saving Fabulous Souls to Sia’s Music

A new musical pulled from the pop star’s catalog among others, with a book from Damon Cardasis and James Ijames, tells the story of a Christian teen discovering ballroom and queer expression.

For Richard Thomas, Life Is Best Lived on a Stage

“When I walk into a theater, I’m at home,” the actor said. “And when I walk out on the stage, it’s the most comfortable place for me to be.”

‘Mexodus’ Review: A History Musical With Thrilling Loop-the-Loops

Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson take viewers south on the Underground Railroad in this electric production that feels like a jam session.

‘Come From Away’ Will Be This Season’s Most Produced Show in the U.S.

At least 23 regional theaters are planning productions of this story of hope after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

On This Stage, It’s Bleak Being a Man

Alice Birch’s latest play offers two modish genres for the price of one: the trauma narrative and the earnest inquiry into masculinity.

British Theater, Up Close on the Big Screen

NT Live, an arm of Britain’s National Theater, is reaching huge audiences around the world who can’t make it to London to see its performances.

In War-Torn Ukraine, ‘I Never Doubted the Importance of Theater’

Richard Nelson returns to the Public Theater with “When the Hurlyburly’s Done,” which he presented last winter in Kyiv. Here, he reflects on the experience with excerpts from his diary.

‘Art’ Review: Three Big-Name Actors, One White Canvas

James Corden, Bobby Cannavale and Neil Patrick Harris star in a revival of Yasmina Reza’s comedy about an inscrutable abstract painting.

Amber Ruffin Loves This Memento

To celebrate the opening of “The Wiz” on Broadway, the writer and comedian put a ring on it.

‘Galas’ Review: A Vocally Gifted Paper Doll

Charles Ludlam’s camp tribute to Maria Callas, featuring the countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, is glamorous to a fault at Little Island.

John Lithgow to Tackle Roald Dahl’s Antisemitism in Broadway ‘Giant’

The drama, which has had two runs in Britain, won London’s Olivier Award for best new play earlier this year.

‘Dreamgirls’ Will Return to Broadway After Global Star Search

A revival of the much-loved 1981 musical is planned for next fall, directed by Camille A. Brown.

The Play Is Fiction, but Their Monologues Are (Partly) Their Own

“Prince Faggot” has returned for an Off Broadway run this fall. The play aims to shock, but it’s the self-referential reflections that feel most profound.

How a Small Avant-Garde Theater Makes It Work in Brooklyn

The Brick, an Off Off Broadway institution in Williamsburg, has kept the lights on for more than 20 years by cobbling together support from donors, grants and ticket sales.

Tessa Thompson Puts a Sexy, Messy Spin on the ‘Female Hamlet’

Have you ever seen Ibsen’s “Hedda Gabler” set in the 1950s with a biracial star in a lesbian love triangle? In this new film adaptation, you will.

Theater to Stream: Mark Rylance in ‘Twelfth Night,’ and More

This month’s picks include a 1974 adaptation of the Eugene Ionesco play “Rhinoceros,” starring Gene Wilder and Zero Mostel, and a behind-the-scenes look at Disney.

The Playwright Who Sparked the English Renaissance? Hint: Not Shakespeare.

A new book by the Harvard scholar Stephen Greenblatt contends that the innovative dramatist Christopher Marlowe was the genius who inspired a cultural awakening.

Las chicas están gritando

En el teatro y en clubes de rock, en películas y redes sociales, mujeres jóvenes lanzan gritos liberadores e invitan a todo el mundo a unírseles.

‘The Brothers Size’ Review: A Spare and Poetic Restaging

In honor of its 20th anniversary, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s play gets a fiercely minimalist production at the Shed.

Polly Holliday, a Sassy Waitress on the Sitcom ‘Alice,’ Dies at 88

“Kiss my grits,” her character, Flo, was known to say. But that high-profile role was just one facet of a long, busy stage and screen career.

A TikTok Trend That Gets at the Complex Legacy of ‘Hamilton’

By recreating a snippet of the number “Best of Wives and Best of Women,” these funny shorts serve as both tribute and critique.

How a Musical Put House, Gospel and ‘Noisy Singers’ Together

“Saturday Church” taps into music from several genres, as well as Sia, to tell the story of a teenager struggling with his sexuality and faith.

13 Off Broadway Shows to See in September

Henrik Ibsen’s “The Wild Duck,” an early Celine Song play and John Leguizamo’s new family drama — here’s what’s on New York stages this month.

5 Years After Covid Closed the Theaters, Audiences Are Returning

Broadway is almost back, and pop music tours and sports events are booming. But Hollywood, museums and other cultural sectors have yet to bounce back.

Off Broadway, Labor Tension Heats Up

Stagehands and other backstage workers have gone on strike against a prominent theater, and two productions have been canceled.

Stratford-Upon-Lake-Michigan: Royal Shakespeare Company Plays Chicago

With less touring, it’s been a while since all the world has been its stage, but the troupe is working with the Chicago Shakespeare Theater — where it has family ties.

On Broadway, a Covid Switcheroo: Marsha Mason in for Mia Farrow

Mason, an associate director of “The Roommate,” which opened on Broadway last week, stepped in as Patti LuPone’s counterpart.

Does a Smash Hit Like ‘Lion King’ Deserve a $3 Million Tax Break?

Broadway is still recovering from the pandemic. A state tax-credit program has helped, but watchdogs say it aids some shows that don’t need a boost.

Audience Snapshot: Four Years After Shutdown, a Mixed Recovery

Covid brought live performance to a halt. Now the audience for pop concerts and sporting events has roared back, while attendance on Broadway and at some major museums is still down.

Is Earlier Better for Theater Start Times?

In an effort to entice audiences back after the pandemic, Britain’s National Theater is testing a 6:30 p.m. curtain.

Off Broadway, a Vital Part of New York Theater, Feels the Squeeze

The small theaters that help make the city a theater capital are cutting back as they struggle to recover from the pandemic.

Luring Theater Audiences Back After Covid

Readers discuss the decline in theater subscribers after the pandemic. Also: Northern Ireland; food allergies; a Covid playmate; anti-China bias.

72 Regional Theaters, One Shared Crisis

Michael Paulson spoke with producers and artistic directors at nonprofit theaters across the country about the crisis their industry is facing.

A Crisis in America’s Theaters Leaves Prestigious Stages Dark

As they struggle to recover after the pandemic, regional theaters are staging fewer shows, giving fewer performances, laying off staff and, in some cases, closing.

In ‘Plays for the Plague Year,’ the Soundtrack of Our Lives

Suzan-Lori Parks wrote one play a day for 13 months during the pandemic. Those stories come to life onstage in the form of monologues, dialogues and songs at Joe’s Pub.

As Presenters Cut Back on Streams, Some Disabled Arts Lovers Feel Left Out

When shuttered venues embraced streaming during the pandemic, the arts became more accessible. With live performance back, and streams dwindling, many feel forgotten.

‘Covid Vortex Anxiety Opera’ Review: Gloom, Zoom and a New Bloom

The veteran performance artist Karen Finley leads the audience through the troubles that plagued New York City at the peak of the pandemic.

Obie Awards Honor ‘English’ as Best New Play

A ceremony for the awards, celebrating work Off and Off Off Broadway, will be held Monday, but organizers decided to announce the winners in advance.

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.