‘Indecent’ (Photo: Carol Rosegg via The Broadway Blog.)
Over the course of 2017, The Broadway Blog reviewed nearly 100 productions, including Broadway, Off-Broadway, cabaret, concerts, and more. Some of them were winners and others were cringe-worthy. Here are our favorite one-liners from our critics who both loved as well as loathed some of the year’s most notable productions.
André Holland and Carra Patterson in August Wilson’s ‘Jitney.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave — April Stamm on Jitney
“Jitney is only as good as its ensemble. They are complete and realized characters, but also represent a snapshot of 1970s Pittsburgh and the African American experience on a larger scale. To pick out one or two shining stars would do a disservice to the beautiful orchestration of the acting company in this production.”
Rant – Matthew Wexler on Anastasia
“With a book by Terrence McNally and score by Stephen Flaherty (book) and Lynn Ahrens (lyrics), one would hope that Anastasia reached the epic proportions of its source material. But under the anachronistic and often over-stylized direction of Darko Tresnjak, her journey is about as interesting as a bowl of bland beet borscht.”
Sally Field and Joe Mantello in ‘The Glass Menagerie’ (Photo: Julieta Cervantes via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave — Matthew Wexler on The Glass Menagerie
“The Glass Menagerie is a muscular, often anachronistic work. ‘The play is memory,’ says the son, Tom (Joe Mantello), ‘Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic.’ If you believe those words at face value, as I did, you will discover a production that bristles with familial uncomfortability. That pushes your boundaries beyond the suspension of disbelief. And that, ultimately, breaks your heart as the ties that bind unravel before your eyes.”
Rant — Ryan Leeds on Come Light My Cigarette
“Come Light My Cigarette is so appallingly bad that it’s difficult to know where to begin with its excoriation. Even the dippy tagline is misleading: ‘There’s smoke, and fire.’ There is neither. There are, however, more than enough cringe-worthy lines to make you wonder how this piece came to fruition in the first place.”
The cast of ‘Indecent’ at the Vineyard Theatre. (Photo: Carol Rosegg via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave — Samuel L. Leiter on Indecent
“Taichman’s highly imaginative staging, using dance, music, and Brechtian storytelling techniques, is superb, and Indecent’s panoramic narrative is absorbing. There are numerous innovative moments but having the dust pour from the actors’ sleeves at select moments (evoking the notion of “ashes to ashes”) is as memorable as theatrical images get.”
Rant, April Stamm on Joan Vázquez: Something’s Coming – A Sondheim Tribute
“Although Vazquez claimed in his banter an obsession and reverence for Sondheim, it was hard to imagine while watching his performance that Vazquez had ever heard a song by Sondheim much less seen an entire show before.”
Laurie Metcalf in ‘A Doll’s House, Part 2.’ (Photo: Brigitte Lacombe via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave — Matthew Wexler on A Doll’s House, Part 2
“Nimbly written by Lucas Hnath and exquisitely directed by Sam Gold, A Doll’s House, Part 2 is a tour de force for its ensemble of actors, each of which has earned a Tony nomination for his or her performance. At its core is Laurie Metcalf as Nora, who relishes Hnath’s script for every juicy word and smartly juxtaposes period conventions and modernisms.”
Rant — Samuel L. Leiter on The Red Letter Plays: Fucking A
“A big regret is that Christine Lahti, unattractively bewigged, made up, and costumed (by Emilio Sosa) in Mother Courage-like basic drab, retains an aura of speech and sophistication that suggests she’s playacting rather than fitting seamlessly into Hester’s more life-battered skin. Without a Hester to believe in, there’s no way one can grasp just what Parks wants to say about class, gender, sex, and motherhood, much less believe she’s said it in Fucking A.”
‘Charm’ at MCC Theater. (Photo: Joan Marcus via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave — Lindsay B. Davis on Charm
“There are so many takeaways to be gleaned by Charm, but the one that stayed with me longest is about beauty. Mama D, thank you for the lesson that you can teach someone to see their own and in doing so, transform a person’s entire world.”
Rant — April Stamm on A Never-Ending Line: A Female Song Cycle
“Beyond the underwhelming vocal performances, unnecessary and strained choreography, and unmemorable music, the biggest problem is this production’s insulting, demeaning and possibly hurtful portrayals of women.”
The cast of ‘Once On This Island.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus via The Broadway Blog.)
Rave — Matthew Wexler on Once on This Island
“At its core, Once On This Island can only succeed if its central character Ti Moune captures the audience’s heart. Hailey Kilgore, making her Broadway debut, is a knockout. Kilgore brings to the role innocence, budding sexuality, fierce determination, and at times, a beautiful restraint that allows the acting company to envelop her in the storytelling.”
