Archives for May 2014

“Those who heard him lecture never forgot the experience–how he once said, with memorable bite: ‘whenever you hear a man speak of “realism,” you may always be sure that this is the prelude to some bloody deed.'”
Michael Ignatieff, Isaiah Berlin: A Life

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:

• Act One (drama, G, too long for children, closes June 15, reviewed here)

• Bullets Over Broadway (musical, PG-13, reviewed here)

• Cabaret (musical, PG-13/R, all performances sold out last week, closes Jan. 4, reviewed here)

• Casa Valentina (drama, PG-13, closes June 15, most performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• The Cripple of Inishmaan (serious comedy, PG-13, many performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder (musical, PG-13, reviewed here)

• Matilda (musical, G, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Les Misérables (musical, G, too long and complicated for young children, nearly all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Of Mice and Men (drama, PG-13, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Once (musical, G/PG-13, reviewed here)

• A Raisin in the Sun (drama, G/PG-13, all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

• Rocky (musical, G/PG-13, 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 SOON OFF BROADWAY:

• The Heir Apparent (verse comedy, PG-13, extended through May 11, reviewed here)

“He loved quoting the stern admonition he had read on a grave in an English churchyard: ‘Avoid shame.'”
Michael Ignatieff, Isaiah Berlin: A Life