Here’s my list of recommended Broadway and off-Broadway shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I either gave these shows strongly favorable reviews in The Wall Street Journal when they opened or saw and liked them some time in the past year (or both). For more information, click on the title.
Warning: Broadway shows marked with an asterisk were sold out, or nearly so, last week.
BROADWAY:
– Avenue Q* (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)
– Bridge & Tunnel (solo show, PG-13, some adult subject matter, reviewed here, closes July 9)
– Chicago (musical, R, adult subject matter and sexual content)
– Doubt (drama, PG-13, adult subject matter and implicit sexual content, reviewed here)
– The Light in the Piazza (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter and a brief bedroom scene, closes July 2, reviewed here)
– Sweeney Todd (musical, R, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
– The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee* (musical, PG-13, mostly family-friendly but contains a smattering of strong language and a production number about an unwanted erection, reviewed here)
OFF BROADWAY:
– Defiance (drama, R, adult subject matter and sexual content, reviewed here, extended through June 4)
– I Love You Because (musical, R, sexual content, reviewed here)
– Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living In Paris (musical revue, R, adult subject matter and sexual content, reviewed here)
– The Lieutenant of Inishmore (black comedy, R, adult subject matter and extremely graphic violence, reviewed here, closes Sunday and moves to Broadway April 18)
– A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop (one-woman show, PG, some adult subject matter, reviewed here)
– Slava’s Snowshow (performance art, G, child-friendly, reviewed here)
CLOSING THIS WEEKEND:
– Abigail’s Party (drama, R, adult subject matter, reviewed here, closes Saturday)
– Bernarda Alba (musical, R, adult subject matter and sexual content, reviewed here, closes Sunday)