★★☆☆☆ Stephen Belber’s latest drama shuffles through a tiresome heap of cliches
The Convent: Modern-Day Women Go Soul Searching in a Medieval Milieu
★★☆☆☆ Jessica Dickey’s latest play scarcely achieves its intriguing possibilities
Colin Quinn Red State Blue State: Snarking Over America’s States of Disunion
★★★☆☆ A curmudgeonly humorist stands up to gripe about various aspects of our polarized society
About Alice: Calvin Trillin’s Fond Portrait of the Woman He Loved
★★★★☆ A writer provides a tender account of his wife, who did more than merely face up to cancer
LaBute New Theater Festival: A Sharp Playwright Assumes a Gentler Style
★★★☆☆ A trio of new plays presents a Hitler apologist, a bad date, and one self-absorbed heart-breaker
Blue Ridge: A Tedious Journey Through Underdeveloped Territory
★★☆☆☆ Even the typically combustible Marin Ireland can’t strike many sparks from a sparsely dramatized story
The Girl with the Alkaline Eyes: Guys and a Dancing Doll of Futuristic Design
★★★☆☆ The “Be More Chill” choreographer delivers a new dance drama with a vintage story and a modern score
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo: Typically Tutu Funny to Describe
★★★★☆ The Trocks spin back for the holidays as en pointe entertaining as ever
Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show: American Idols Reunite for the Holidays
★★☆☆☆ Former rivals Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken get together to vocalize holiday songs
Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine: Facing Your Not-So-Fab Origins
★★★★☆ Playwright Lynn Nottage’s lighter side is nicely served by Signature Theatre’s revival