★★★★☆ Studs Terkel’s classic interviews with Tilly the Toiler, Tommy the Tiller, and others are musicalized with class and concern
The Mountains Look Different: Hardscrabble West Ireland Doings
★★★★☆ Micheál mac Liammóir’s couldn’t-be-more-Irish play, keenly directed by Aidan Redmond
Life Sucks: Playwright Aaron Posner Fun-Fools With Anton Chekhov
★★★★☆ An expert cast, directed expertly by Jeff Wise, has fun tossing a Chekhovian theme salad
Much Ado About Nothing: Director Kenny Leon Sees Shakespeare’s Vision
★★★★★ Danielle Brooks as Beatrice and Grantham Coleman as Benedick lead the superb revival
Little Women: Playwright/Actor Kate Hamill Has Her Way with Alcott
★★☆☆☆ The classic American novel updated according to current gender-shifting attitudes
Nomad Motel: Carla Ching’s Play Pits Parents vs. Children, Sorta
★★★☆☆ Playwright Ching is close to getting her California-based drama on the right contemporary path
Chita Rivera: The Cabaret Act of This Year and Other Years? You Bet
★★★★★ She’s 86 but hardly 86ed in a jubilant celebration of an on-stage life
From London: Miller Vibrant, Strindberg Strong, Sweet Charity Less Sweet
More reactions to a diverse, generally rewarding current London season–and like-able Sally Field
Octet: Dave Malloy’s Musical 12-Step Program is Tarot-iffic
★★★★☆ Eight singer-actors, under Annie Tippe’s flawless direction, sing out 12-Step woes
Mac Beth: Light Not Only Thickens But Goes Out on Will’s Classic
★★☆☆☆ Director Erica Schmidt wrongly thinks that a girls-school spin is how to treat the Bard