★★★★☆ The origin story for a fan-fave Netflix TV series uses every conceivable means to knock our socks off – and does
About Bob Verini
Floyd Collins: Waist-Deep in the Big Muddy
★★☆☆☆ Overproduction cripples the Broadway debut of a much-admired intimate art musical
Boop!: Betty Brightens Broadway, But….
★★★☆☆ Betty Boop flies out of B&W cartoons into today’s living color, with glittery star quality but a saggy story
The Last Five Years: A Romance Told Up and Down
★★★☆☆ A much-loved musical love story, featuring Nick Jonas and Adrienne Warren, makes a stylish but uneven Broadway debut
Buena Vista Social Club: ¡Qué Gran Fiesta!
★★★★★ A classic documentary on Afro-Cuban musical greats is transformed into a sparkling Broadway delight
Purpose: The Painful Legacy of Dreams Deferred
★★★★☆ Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins explores a prominent family’s ethical drifts in the muscular Steppenwolf Theater tradition
From Massachusetts: Diary of a Tap Dancer, or Bring In ’Da Joy
★★★★☆ Ayodele Casel’s guide to great female tap dancers of yesterday and today makes for an unforgettable night at the theater
Swept Away: Adrift on a Dark, Dark Sea
★★★☆☆ Talent, taste, and Avett Brothers sea-chanties serve a grim morality tale that doesn’t quite stay afloat
Elf: Ho-Ho-Hokum Done With Flair
★★★★☆ Splashy stage version of the holiday movie perennial offers visual delight for the moppets, and wit for the grownups
From Maine: My Best Friend’s Wedding Deserves a Grateful RSVP
★★★☆☆ Musicalizing a hit ’90s rom-com gains luster from the hit ’60s playlist of Bacharach and David