Theater review THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. At the St. James Theatre, 246 W. 44th Street. At the center of the Broadway musical “The Queen of Versailles” is an unfinished, 90,000-square-foot house in Florida — one of the biggest private homes in America. Misguided, over-the-top, well-intended and seemingly … Read more
Theater review LITTLE BEAR RIDGE ROAD 95 minutes, with no intermission. At the Booth Theatre, 222 W. 45th St. Actress Laurie Metcalf and playwright Samuel D. Hunter are a match made in Middle America. There are few writers who can sublimely craft, and without any condescension, powerful stories set in flyover country as well as … Read more
Theater review LIBERATION Two hours and 30 minutes, with one intermission. At the James Earl Jones Theatre. Progress ain’t easy, preaches the new Broadway play “Liberation,” which opened Tuesday night at the James Earl Jones Theatre. That bittersweet message is a common one onstage. How many issue-based shows have you seen that wrap up with, … Read more
Theater review ROMY AND MICHELE: THE MUSICAL Two hours and 30 minutes with one intermission. At Stage 42. The off-Broadway show “Romy and Michele: The Musical” cuts out “High School Reunion” from the title. Punchier, I guess. If only that eraser was put to better use. The sorry excuse for a stage adaptation, which opened … Read more
When I arrived at the Stratford Festival in Ontario this year, there was snow on the ground and wreaths on the doors. In late September. But it wasn’t because of premature Canadian frost and exuberant holiday cheer. No, a Christmas movie was being filmed in the lovely town that boasts exceptional Shakespeare stagings, modern plays … Read more
Theater review RAGTIME 2 hours and 45 minutes, with one intermission. At the Vivian Beaumont Theater, 150 W. 65th St. When massive musicals are downsized, the typical argument in favor of the choice is that fewer sets and dazzling doodads put the focus squarely on the music, lyrics and story. That’s certainly true of the latest … Read more
Theater review MASQUERADE Two hours with no intermission. Through Feb. 1 at Lee’s Art Shop, 218 W. 57th Street. When “The Phantom of the Opera” closed on Broadway in 2023 after a mirror-shattering 35-year run, everybody figured it would eventually come back. Nobody, however, foresaw that the return of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical to New … Read more
Theater review Waiting for Godot Running time: Two hours and 15 minutes with one intermission. At the Hudson Theatre, 141 W. 44th Street. Over at the Hudson Theatre on 44th Street, the crowd is waiting for Neo. And John Wick. And, of course, Bill and Ted. In the sense that Keanu Reeves shows up for work at … Read more
Theater review ART Ninety minutes with no intermission at the Music Box Theatre. Much in the way that Serge’s two best friends cannot fathom why he purchased a totally white painting for $300,000, I fail to understand the enduring popularity of the play “Art.” French writer Yasmina Reza’s 1998 whine-and-cheese comedy, which opened at the … Read more
Theater review TWELFTH NIGHT One hour and 45 minutes with no intermission. At the Delacorte Theater. “Twelfth Night,” a comedy of disguises and mistaken identities, is a smart play to reopen Shakespeare in the Park with after a two-year renovation break. Sitting in the 62-year-old open-air Delacorte Theater, you sure recognize the old girl. But … Read more
More From Johnny Oleksinski Theater review HERCULES Two hours and 20 minutes at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in London, England. LONDON — Disney has been hammering away at “Hercules” for eons. And more often than not, the show has toppled over like the Colossus of Rhodes. The Public put on a nice enough production … Read more
movie review MAMMA MIA! Two hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission. At the Winter Garden Theatre. The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself! It’s summer again at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway, where that dreamy discothèque “Mamma Mia!” reopened Thursday night after 10 years away from Broadway. The wonderful, escapist … Read more
Theater review GINGER TWINSIES 80 minutes with no intermission. At the Orpheum Theatre, 126 Second Ave. Am I seeing double? If the answer is “yes” at “Ginger Twinsies,” you might be suffering from heatstroke. Because the funniest bit of writer-director Kevin Zak’s stage parody of “The Parent Trap” that opened Thursday night at the Orpheum … Read more
“Snow White” star Rachel Zegler has sparked controversy yet again, this time with her West End stage debut. The actress, 24, stars as Eva Perón in Jamie Lloyd’s new production of “Evita” at the London Palladium in the UK. She is playing former First Lady of Argentina in the show, which debuted in 1978 and … Read more
Theater review CALL ME IZZY 85 minutes with no intermission. At Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St. Jean Smart is at the height of her career. She’s won three Emmy Awards in the last four years for her widely acclaimed performance as stand-up comic Deborah Vance on “Hacks.” The wonderful actress with a newfound prestige … Read more
Theater review ANGRY ALAN 85 minutes with no intermission. At Studio Seaview, 305 W. 43rd Street. For nine years, audiences grew to love John Krasinski’s mild-mannered Jim on “The Office”: His half-grins, dry confessionals, knowing glances at Pam. Jim was one of TV’s nicest guys. And that’s what makes the puppy-dog actor’s casting in Penelope … Read more
Theater review DEAD OUTLAW One hour and 40 minutes, with no intermission. At the Longacre Theatre, 220 West 48th Street. There’s a nagging similarity between the 20th-century criminal Elmer McCurdy and “Dead Outlaw,” the eccentric musical about him. McCurdy was killed in a shoot-out with police after a bungled train robbery in 1911. And then, … Read more
Theater review JUST IN TIME Two hours and 20 minutes, with one intermission. At the Circle in the Square Theatre, 235 West 50th Street. That a musical about the too-short life of Bobby Darin, the 1950s and ‘60s crooner who notched a string of hits before dying young at 37, would turn out to be one … Read more
Theater review PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL The title of “Pirates! The Penzance Musical” is a loony one. What, exactly, is a Penzance musical? Don’t give this sugar-coated, smile-a-second Broadway show the hook so fast, though. The only grunted “arrrgh”s come from the stage. The slaphappy, reworked revival of “The Pirates of Penzance,” which opened Thursday night at … Read more
Theater review STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW Two hours and 45 minutes, with one intermission. At the Marquis Theatre, 210 West 46th Street. The Mind Flayer has come to Broadway. I don’t mean the giant, spider-like creature of Netflix’s science-fiction series “Stranger Things” — though that nasty fella is here, too — but the entire … Read more