Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.
Warning: Broadway shows marked with an asterisk were sold out, or nearly so, last week.
BROADWAY:
• Fela! * (musical, PG-13, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
• God of Carnage (serious comedy, PG-13, adult subject matter, reviewed here)
• South Pacific * (musical, G/PG-13, some sexual content, brilliantly staged but unsuitable for viewers acutely allergic to preachiness, reviewed here)
OFF BROADWAY:
• Avenue Q (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)
• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)
• The Orphans’ Home Cycle, Parts 1 and 2 (drama, G/PG-13, too complicated for children, now being performed in rotating repertory with third part of cycle, extended through May 8, reviewed here and here)
• Our Town (drama, G, suitable for mature children, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:
• Ernest in Love (musical, G, a bit too complicated for children, closes Feb. 14, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON IN CHICAGO, ILL.:
• American Buffalo (drama, PG-13/R, violence and very strong language, closes Feb. 14, reviewed here)
CLOSING SOON IN SARASOTA, FLA.:
• Life of Galileo (drama, G, accessible to well-read older teenagers, closes Feb. 17, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY IN WEST PALM BEACH, FLA.:
• Copenhagen (drama, PG-13, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY OFF BROADWAY:
• The Emperor Jones (drama, PG-13, contains racially sensitive language, reviewed here)