★★★☆☆ Cecily Strong does her utmost as a spinster (yes, the dated epithet is apt) desperate to find a mate at all costs.
I Love You So Much I Could Die: A Relatable Palliative
★★★☆☆ A shy courage infuses this recessive exercise in responding to emotional trauma.
Hamlet: A Tour de Force That Fails to Lift Off
★★☆☆☆ Eddie Izzard’s formidable talent is spread a bit thin in this daunting abridgment of Shakespeare’s masterwork.
Russian Troll Farm: The Hijinks Are Far from Hilarious
★★☆☆☆ Poke a troll and you might discover its soft underbelly.
Jonah: Three Ages of Woman, Intriguingly Interspliced
★★★★☆ Gabby Beans portrays a writer-in-training at three distinct junctures in her life, slightly jumbled to fascinating effect.
Aristocrats: Brian Friel’s Chekhovian Homage Treated Rather Shabbily
★★☆☆☆ Brian Friel’s Ballybeg aristos face reduced circumstances, with varying degrees of grace (and varying degrees of acting skill).
Buena Vista Social Club: Go for the Music Alone
★★★☆☆ The book could use a some beefing up, but the music is a treat – an extraordinary experience in so intimate a space.
How to Dance in Ohio: Exuberance Triumphs over Social Unease
★★★★☆ With a bold, groundbreaking documentary as inspiration, this brave new musical delivers depth and delight.
Life & Times of Michael K: Puppets Lend Visceral Immediacy to a Modern Literary Classic
★★★★☆ The travails of a born outsider, coping with inconceivable hardships in the South Africa of four decades ago, tragically resonates to this day.
Spamalot: Spamalot: Trumpeting the Return of a Raunchy Musical Comedy for the Ages
★★★★☆ A crack cast reinvigorates Eric Idle’s irreverent slice of highly improbable history.