Category Archives: Critic’s Notebook

A Trip Around the Sun With Taylor Mac’s ‘24-Decade History’

Hour by hour, decade by decade, Mac broke down American history, music, himself, and us—and then built us back up again.

Even in a polarized age, the best dramatists are drawn to complications, not simple answers, as Richard Nelson’s Chekhovian plays prove.

The authors of the latest installment have set the Time-Turner back to the 19th century.

Wendy Wasserstein’s 1997 play feels more contemporary than it should, especially during this political season.

Highlights of the annual festival included a rock band of Catholic schoolgirls, giant balloons, pop-up books, and deconstructed Chekhov.

Known for their work on screen, these two stage pros are in their element in ‘The Father’ and ‘The Crucible.’

Sholem Asch’s contested Yiddish classic is grist for Vogel and Taichman’s meditative new play-within-a-play.

A few farces aside, current plays in the Old Smoke offer no escape from a disturbing world.

From ‘Shuffle Along’ to ‘Hamilton,’ a look at how black music has shaped the sound of U.S. musical theatre.

With Yako 440, Israel’s new show at the BRIC, accompanied by a retrospective exhibit, both mourns and celebrates his jazzbo dad, steven ben israel.