A Thrilling ‘Ferryman’ Serves Up a Glorious Harvest Feast
Culture, Yesterday
Jez Butterworth’s great, sprawling drama of rural Northern Ireland during the Troubles bares a culture’s contradictions through riveting storytelling.
A Song of Eternity in ‘Midnight at the Never Get’
Culture, Yesterday
It’s 1963 again, and this chamber musical packs all the heartbreak and bliss of love in a Village gay bar of the era.
Not Just for Grown-Ups: The Broadway Audience Is Getting Younger
Theater, October 19
The average age of the Broadway theatergoer last season was 40.6 — the lowest since 2000, the Broadway League says, and 15 percent of theatergoers were under 18.
This Playwright Has Been Listening to Her Mother
Culture, October 19
Jaclyn Backhaus’s new play sounds like the story of a Punjabi-American of her generation, and it is. But it also draws on her mother’s fraught family.
A Three-Way Smackdown Over ‘The Lifespan of a Fact’
Weekend, October 18
When a gassy essayist and a pesky researcher are forced together by a crusading editor you get a topical comedy with a lot to prove.
In Paris, Justice Takes Center Stage
Weekend, October 19
Justice — its rhetoric and its travails — is at the heart of several new theater productions in Paris.
‘Gloria: A Life,’ Starring Ms. Steinem and Her Audience
Culture, October 18
Emily Mann’s stage biography of the feminist trailblazer is more of a historical pageant than a play, but what happens at the end is riveting drama.
Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard Reunite in a Broadway Holiday Show
Culture, October 18
The two former “American Idol” rivals will be in a limited-run show that opens in December at the Imperial Theater.
15 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend
Weekend, October 18
Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.
Pull Up a Seat. Two Plays, Dinner and Western History Are Served.
Arts & Leisure, October 18
A downtown theater has cleared the house to make room for Samuel D. Hunter’s pairing “Lewiston/Clarkston.”
Glenn Close Raises a Saint in ‘Mother of the Maid’
Culture, October 17
In Jane Anderson’s satisfyingly old-fashioned play about Joan of Arc’s mom, Ms. Close shows the stuff of which great stage stars are made.
Sex, Lies and Vindication in a Most Timely ‘Measure for Measure’
Culture, October 17
The heroine’s impossible position could hardly be more sympathetic or central than in this Pushkin Theater Moscow/Cheek by Jowl staging.
Stockard Channing Is a Mother to Remember in ‘Apologia’
Culture, October 16
Portraying a celebrated art historian with two resentful sons, Ms. Channing finds the anguished heart in a didactic comic drama.
Tom Stoppard, Always Tackling ‘The Hard Problem’
Arts & Leisure, October 16
Can a drama about the nature of consciousness be emotional, too? For its latest production, he’s tinkered with the script to firmly answer yes.
In ‘Fireflies,’ the Preacher’s Wife Gets Her Say
Culture, October 15
Donja R. Love’s fantasia on the married life of a great civil rights orator suggests the price paid by the woman who gives him his voice.
‘Rags Parkland’ Plays the Interplanetary Homesick Blues
Culture, October 15
A folk concert provides the scaffolding for this stealthily moving sci-fi musical.
A Put-Upon Nanny Erupts in Todd Solondz’s ‘Emma and Max’
Culture, October 15
This strident satire from the filmmaker behind “Happiness” and “Wiener-Dog” is perfectly staged — and all too obvious.
Aasif Mandvi Makes You Want to Stop at ‘Sakina’s Restaurant’
Culture, October 14
Mr. Mandvi, who spent nearly 10 years as a correspondent on “The Daily Show,” brings back his solo comedy act. It returns with new resonance.
Remembering the Way It Was (Not) in ‘The Things That Were There’
Culture, October 13
David Greenspan’s tone poem of a play, at the Bushwick Starr, considers time, death, family and the ways in which we recall our dead.
Lenny Bruce Is Still Talking Dirty and Influencing People
Express, October 13
The influential “sick humor” comic, who died of a drug overdose in 1966, is having a resurgence in pop culture.
In ‘Travisville,’ the Rocky Path of Change in a Southern Town
Culture, October 12
William Jackson Harper’s polished debut as a playwright, set in 1964, pits patient negotiation against disruptive activism.
Carol Hall, ‘Best Little Whorehouse’ Composer, Is Dead at 82
Obits, October 12
Ms. Hall was a moderately successful songwriter until she and two collaborators came up with one of the biggest Broadway hits of the 1970s.
Mercedes Ruehl Takes Weekly Strolls With Her Acting Students
Styles, October 12
The actress, who stars in the Broadway revival of “Torch Song,” is an acting teacher and mentor.
She’s 17, Sardonic and Ready to Sing in ‘Beetlejuice’
Arts & Leisure, October 12
Condescend at your own risk to Sophia Anne Caruso, the go-to girl for adventurous stage roles. “Even from a young age,” she says, “I had very finicky taste.”
Enraged by Their Times, Women of Ambition Seize the Stage
Culture, October 12
Three eras, three plays drawn from real life. But the same old double standard.
A Marathon of New Plays Gives an Epic Start to Munich’s Theater Season
Weekend, October 12
“Dionysos Stadt” is a 10-hour epic inspired by the Greek classics that traces the arc of human drama. It’s just one of many new productions on Munich’s stages.
16 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend
Weekend, October 11
Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.
O, for a Muse of Fire, or a Comptroller, to Save ‘Popcorn Falls’
Weekend, October 11
Armed with money for a theater (which doesn’t exist) to save his town, a mayor tries his hand at playwriting in this two-actor, multicharacter comedy.
This Broadway Season, the Play’s Really the Thing
Arts & Leisure, October 10
In a turnabout no one expected, New York’s most prominent stages are rich with drama, most of it new and most of it American.
A Playwright’s LSD Trip Becomes a Psychedelic Journey
Culture, October 10
The British playwright Leo Butler believes that taking acid can have beneficial effects. His new play explores how he thinks it can help.
‘The Ferryman’ Shows a Dark Irish Chapter Through a Personal Lens
Arts & Leisure, October 10
It took persuading, but Jez Butterworth wrote his new play for his partner, Laura Donnelly, both to honor her history and give her a great part.
New York City to Help Small Theaters Be More Accessible
Culture, October 9
Grants will provide closed captioning of spoken words, or audio description of action, on mobile devices, in a way that is not distracting to other patrons.
A New Biography of a Brilliant Playwright Who Died Too Young
Book Review, October 9
“Looking for Lorraine,” by Imani Perry, is an admiring account of the life of the influential playwright, activist and intellectual Lorraine Hansberry.
The Ages of A.R. Gurney in the Wistful ‘Final Follies’
Culture, October 9
This bill of short comedies, early and late, allows fans of Gurney to chart the evolution of theater’s foremost chronicler of a waning caste.
How Chicago Is Changing Theater, One Storefront at a Time
Culture, October 8
Can tiny companies thrive in the shadow of major institutions? In this theater-mad city, the question may actually run the other way.
For Aasif Mandvi, a 20-Year-Old Play Now Feels Like ‘Political Resistance’
Culture, October 8
“Sakina’s Restaurant,” which put him on the map, has new resonance, which is why he’s summoning the energy to play all its roles all over again.
The Actor-Playwright Exploring What It Means to Be African in America
T Style, October 8
In “Good Grief,” Ngozi Anyanwu shines the spotlight on her own experience growing up Nigerian in the middle-class suburbs of Pennsylvania.
There’s a Dark, Golden Haze in This Reclaimed ‘Oklahoma!’
Culture, October 7
A stripped-down, communal version of the 1943 musical reveals a great complex work of theater, with chili and cornbread included.
In ‘Evolution of Mann,’ Fumbling Cuteness Goes Only So Far
Culture, October 7
An aspiring musical-theater writer is on the hunt for Ms. Right in this familiar romantic comedy.
Roger Robinson, Who Tackled August Wilson Roles, Dies at 78
Obits, October 5
He won a Tony Award for his work in the 2009 revival of Mr. Wilson’s “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone,” his seventh and final Broadway appearance.
Beyond ‘Rent’: 4 Glimpses of the Unheard Jonathan Larson
Arts & Leisure, October 5
A series of New York concerts will bring to life songs from the composer’s catalog, some from unseen shows, several of them eerily prescient.
Mandy Patinkin Has Found a ‘New Life Partner in Music’
Culture, October 5
With “Homeland” about to end, he’s released his first new albums in more than a decade, with a young pop-minded producer pushing him to take risks.
Epic Shakespeare and Bite-Size Pinter Command the London Stage
N Y T I, October 5
There is much to enjoy in a production of “Antony and Cleopatra” and a season of Pinter’s one-act plays in London, our critic says.
12 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend
Weekend, October 4
Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.
In This Entertaining ‘Bacchae,’ Dionysus Is a Nasty Woman
Weekend, October 4
Anne Bogart directs a flashy production that puts ancient anxieties about women and power front and center.
Hillary Clinton Is Coming to Broadway. As a Character in a Play.
Culture, October 4
Lucas Hnath’s “Hillary and Clinton” will be the first play with Mrs. Clinton as a protagonist to reach Broadway.
Wrestling With a Master in ‘On Beckett’
Culture, October 3
Bill Irwin blurs the lines between clown and dramatic actor in an insightful anatomy of the works of Samuel Beckett.
Is Milo Rau Really the Most Controversial Director in Theater?
Arts & Leisure, October 3
He has a manifesto. He puts jihadism onstage. He’s surrounded by scandal. But this much-acclaimed director says deep down he’s a conservative.
A Captive Emily Dickinson in ‘Because I Could Not Stop’
Culture, October 3
In this multimedia performance piece, Angelica Page delivers a portrait of a poet for whom being “nobody” was anything but a pleasure.
In Scathing ‘Downstate,’ Sympathy for the Devils
Culture, October 3
Bruce Norris’s new play at the Steppenwolf Theater Company applies his usual cynicism to questions of justice and vengeance for sex offenders.
Suzan-Lori Parks Wins Distinguished Playwright Award
Culture, October 3
Ms. Parks has been chosen for the Mimi, or the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, which comes with a $200,000 cash award.
Tina Turner Musical to Open on Broadway Next Fall
Culture, October 3
“Tina,” which is running in London and will open in Germany in the spring, will have a Broadway production in the fall of 2019.
National Theater in London Offers Glasses With Live Subtitles
Culture, October 3
To help those with hearing problems, speech is shown in real time on the lenses. The technology will be available free during the 2019 season.
An ‘Intoxicating’ Singer, Whether It’s Green Day or ‘Oklahoma!’
Arts & Leisure, October 2
Still waiting for her signature role, the versatile Rebecca Naomi Jones is changing things up in a stripped-down new staging of the musical classic.
5 Shows to See in New York: With Glenn Close, Michael Cera and More
Culture, October 2
Revivals, transfers and new plays that look to the past make for an unusually reflective October theater scene.
‘Girl From the North Country’ Sets the Darkness Aglow
Culture, October 1
Conor McPherson’s bleak tale of a Minnesota boardinghouse in the Great Depression finds a luminous transcendence in the Dylan song book.
Defacing ‘Art’: After 20 Years, the Hit Play Gets a Brash Coat of Paint
Culture, October 1
Yasmina Reza’s tidy comedy has been produced in 45 countries and translated into 30 languages. How will it withstand a deconstruction by two experimental theater companies?
She’s Still Debating ‘What the Constitution Means to Me’
Culture, October 1
In the baggy, emotionally fraught play, Heidi Schreck considers her ever-changing relationship with a seminal document.
‘Kinky Boots’ Will End Its Broadway Run in April
Culture, September 28
The show’s lead producers said that the final performance will be April 7, 2019, making it by then the 25th-longest-running Broadway production in history.
Joe Masteroff, Playwright of ‘Cabaret’ Fame, Is Dead at 98
Obits, September 28
The winner of a Tony for his evocation of decadent prewar Berlin, he is also remembered for another acclaimed Broadway musical, “She Loves Me.”
Sharing a Secret
Arts & Leisure, September 28
A romantic garden. A Chinese opera. And a select audience, wandering under Californian stars.
Theaters Fight Over ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘Evan Hansen’ in San Francisco
Culture, September 28
Nederlander of San Francisco asked a judge to prevent a rival theater from staging the popular shows.
Welcome to the Playhouse
Arts & Leisure, September 28
“Smugness is lethal,” says the filmmaker Todd Solondz, who, with “Emma and Max,” brings his sharp eye for hypocrisy to the stage for the first time.
Great Pretenders Pocket Laughs in ‘The Nap’
Weekend, September 27
Richard Bean’s comedy about a wayward attempt to fix a snooker match tickles its audiences into contentment.
14 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend
Weekend, September 27
Previews, openings and some last-chance picks.
Merle Debuskey, Renowned Theatrical Press Agent, Dies at 95
Obits, September 27
He represented hundreds of shows on Broadway and off and had a long association with Joseph Papp, whom he helped battle to keep Shakespeare free.
Shakespeare + Chekhov = ‘Uncle Romeo Vanya Juliet’
Weekend, September 27
The Bedlam show, stitched together from parts borrowed from Chekhov and Shakespeare, should perhaps be credited to Chekspeare.
At This Theater, All of the Directors Will Be Women
Culture, September 27
Anna Bergmann begins her role as the playhouse director of the Badisches State Theater in Germany with an all-female-directed season.
Two European Favorites Take to the Paris Stage
Weekend, September 27
Thomas Ostermeier and Krystian Lupa present works at the city’s major playhouses at the beginning of a new theater season.
Mike Birbiglia Solo Show ‘The New One’ Headed to Broadway
Culture, September 26
The play, a comedy about his own reflections on fatherhood, will run for nine weeks at the Cort Theater, with previews beginning Oct. 25.
Sondheim and the City: In a Rethought ‘Company,’ a Woman Wavers
Arts & Leisure, September 26
Marianne Elliott has reset the new London production to the modern day, with the notorious bachelor Bobby now a commitment-shy Bobbie.
‘Make Believe’ Has a Cast of Children, but No Fairy Tales
Culture, September 26
Bess Wohl’s new play is a regret-tinged examination of sibling connections that maybe, back in those formative years, were not forged solidly enough.
Clashing Lives in Tennessee Williams’s ‘Creve Coeur’
Culture, September 26
This congested revival, directed by Austin Pendleton, features a mismatched cast of four and some classic Williams dialogue.
What’s a Woman’s Role? All of ’Em, ‘Bernhardt/Hamlet’ Argues
Culture, September 25
Janet McTeer plays Sarah Bernhardt as the Prince of Denmark in Theresa Rebeck’s muscular new play about gender limitation and possibility.
Speaking (and Signing) of Job, in ‘I Was Most Alive With You’
Culture, September 24
Craig Lucas’s play — about deafness, gayness, addiction, disease, faith and philosophy — puts a modern family to the test.
A Slain Journalist’s Voice Resounds in ‘Intractable Woman’
Culture, September 23
Stefano Massini’s poetically cadenced portrait of the life and death of the Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya lets facts speak for themselves.
An Autumnal Patti Smith Remembers Summer in ‘Words and Music’
Culture, September 23
In a piece she describes as “sort of a play,” the poet and singer journeys through her past, with a little help from her children.