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.
BROADWAY:
• Annie (musical, G, reviewed here)
• Matilda (musical, G, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• The Nance (play with music, PG-13, closes Aug. 11, reviewed here)
• Once (musical, G/PG-13, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)
• The Trip to Bountiful (drama, G, closes Sept. 1, reviewed here)
• Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (comedy, PG-13, remounting of off-Broadway production, closes July 28, original production 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)
CLOSING NEXT WEEK IN WASHINGTON, D.C.:
• Coriolanus (Shakespeare, G/PG-13, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY IN CHICAGO:
• Pal Joey (musical, PG-13, reviewed here)
CLOSING SUNDAY OFF BROADWAY:
• Women of Will (Shakespearean lecture-recital, G/PG-13, reviewed here)