Bob Verini

July 4, 2018 8:31 pm

The Closet: A Gay Deceiver for a New Century

★★★☆☆ Matthew Broderick shines in Douglas Carter Beane’s uneven comic vision of a post-bigotry, Freak Flags Flying modern America

Birthright: Six Characters in Search of a Common Ground

By Melissa Rose Bernardo

★★★★☆ Politics underscore but don’t overpower the character-driven epic from Jonathan Spector

Birthright: Political and Personal Issues Intersect to Powerful Effect

By Frank Scheck

★★★★☆ The new play by Jonathan Spector ("Eureka Day") depicts the reunions over two decades of a group of friends who met on a Birthright trip to Israel.

A Walk on the Moon: A Musical Tribute to Enduring Marriage Vows

By David Finkle

★★★☆☆ Pamela Gray adapts her 1999 film, Annmarie Milazzo adds the tuneful score

From Massachusetts: The Zionists, A Family Storm (And The World’s)

By Bob Verini

★★★☆☆ Amidst a hurricane, a Jewish family hashes out Israel and Palestine, solving little but revealing plenty

CRITICS' PICKS

Melanie Moore in Black Swan. Photo by Hawver and Hall

From Cambridge, MA: Black Swan, Tu-Tu Thrilling

★★★★☆ Classy musicalization of a psychosexual cinethriller uses human and technical legerdemain to spellbind

Well, I’ll Let You Go: Coping with Grief, Magnificently

★★★★★ Quincy Tyler Bernstine gives a whirlwind performance in a stunning new play by Bubba Weiler

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone: Revival of Wilson’s Drama About “Finding Your Song” Mostly Sings

★★★★☆ Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson star in Debbie Allen's revival of August Wilson's modern classic.

Death of a Salesman: More Relevant Than Ever

★★★★★ Nathan Lane, Laurie Metcalf and Christopher Abbott star in Joe Mantello's emotionally searing revival.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball: A Disco-Tastic Revival of Lloyd Webber’s Musical

★★★★★ You’ll be feline good after this ultra-glam Broadway-meets-ballroom production

Giant: Antisemitism Laid Bare

★★★★☆ John Lithgow plays famed author Roald Dahl in Mark Rosenblatt’s play directed by Nicholas Hytner