★★★☆☆ Playwright Charly Evon Simpson has a strong but compromised say, mightily helped by her director and cast
English: Playwright Sanaz Toossi Looks at Language in So Many Wise Words
★★★★☆ A smart cast, under Knud Adams’ smart direction, speak in two tongues but both English
The Merchant of Venice: John Douglas Thompson’s Shylock Takes the Town
★★★★☆ Arin Arbus directs a cast in which some act flashily and some put too much flash in their acting
Black No More: A New Musical About Black Lives Delivers So Much More
★★★★☆ Tariq “Black Thought” Trotter and inspired colleagues, under Scott Elliott’s direction, examine today’s racist dilemmas
The Music Man: Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster Band Together Okay
★★★★☆ Meredith Willson’s joyful musical comedy is back, with Jerry Zaks directing and Warren Carlyle choreographing
Tambo & Bones: American Racism Probed in Ambitious, Faulty Comic Drama
★★★☆☆ Playwright Dave Harris plucks characters from long-repudiated minstrel shows to make his sadly pertinent points
The Tap Dance Kid: Taps 10, Direction 8, Score 5, Book 4
★★★☆☆ Choreographer Jared Grimes brings cheer to the Henry Krieger-Robet Lorick-Charles Blackwell musical, directed by Kenny Leon
Prayer for the French Republic: Will Jews Always Have Paris and the Rest of France?
★★★★☆ Playwright Joshua Harmon confronts anti-Semitism, with brilliant cast and strong David Cromer direction
Intimate Apparel: Lynn Nottage’s First-Rate Play Opera-ized to No Evident Purpose
★★★☆☆ Ricky Ian Gordon’s two-act composition is bolstered by strong ensemble singing, as Bartlett Sher directs
The Collision/Martyrdom: Two Very Long One-Acts Come Up Short
★☆☆☆☆ The Lizzie Fox-Lily Riopelle Two Headed Rep troupe looks back a millennium for inspiration it doesn’t entirely find