★★★★ Chekhov’s ubiquitous Vanya gets shaken and stirred
★★ Women endure emotional torture for the sake of friendship
Choir Boy: Make a Joyful Noise
★★★★☆ Oscar-winner Tarell Alvin McCraney makes his long-awaited Broadway debut with this 2013 coming-of-age drama
Noura: On Marriage, Motherhood, Refugees, and Family
★★★★☆ Versatile playwright-performer Heather Raffo continues to explore her Middle Eastern heritage with a Christmas-set family drama
Network: Maddening As Hell
★★☆☆☆ To quote Paddy Chayefsky’s Oscar-winning screenplay, this Network messes with the primal forces of nature
Downstairs: Tim and Tyne Daly Dig Up Family Secrets
★★★☆☆ In their first-ever shared New York stage appearance, the dynamic real-life siblings star as brother and sister in Theresa Rebeck’s family drama
The Other Josh Cohen: A Lovable Loser’s Valentine
★★★★☆ David Rossmer and Steve Rosen’s musical is as sweet as a bag of half-price Kit Kats
American Son: Ripped From the Headlines
★★★☆☆ Kerry Washington and Steven Pasquale star in this all-too-timely drama from lawyer/playwright Christopher Demos-Brown
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: We Believe in Fairies
★★★★☆ Though it be but little, it is fierce. The Mobile Unit’s made-to-travel Midsummer doesn’t skimp on the laughs or the fairy dust.
Good Grief: A Middling Drama From Writer/Star Ngozi Anyanwu
★★☆☆☆ A Nigerian-American woman literally wrestles with grief in Ngozi Anyanwu’s disconnected drama
The Waverly Gallery: Real Talk With Kenneth Lonergan
★★★★☆ The inimitable Elaine May makes her long-awaited Broadway return in a revival of Kenneth Lonergan’s wonderfully unsentimental memory play