★★★★☆ Not every woman wants – or needs – a makeover, but plenty of women enjoy initiating them. Toxic or benevolent? You get to decide.
Regretfully, So the Birds Are: Clear the Airwaves for a Fresh New Voice
★★★★☆ Fledgling playwright Julia Izumi works out Tolstoy’s dictum about families unhappy and otherwise in this loopy portrait of three adult Asian adoptees.
The Wife of Willesden: Ever Willing, and Then Some
★★★★☆ Chaucer’s outspoken, sex-positive “Wife of Bath,” as updated by Zadie Smith, has some insights to share, along with a remedial agenda.
The Harder They Come: Crime Pays, Up to a Point
★★★☆☆ Suzan-Lori Parks musicalizes the 1972 film with a skilled cast and crew but sugarcoats the original’s gritty realism
Dark Disabled Stories: Bodily Challenges Examined with a Light, Deft Touch
★★★★☆ A trio of differently abled performers embody Ryan J. Haddad’s rollicking collection of real-life tales.
Crumbs from the Table of Joy: Nearly Three Decades Later, This Debut Script Still Feels Fresh
★★★★☆ With this, her first produced work, Nottage tossed out the rulebook for “well-made” plays and came up with a doozy.
The Rewards of Being Frank: A Wildean Knock-Off Offers Slim Pickings
★★☆☆☆ Anyone who attempts to tread in Wilde’s footsteps had better be devilishly adroit – sadly not the case in this clumsy exercise.
Love: This Is No Place Like Home
★★★★★ Alexander Zeldin’s “you-are-there” study of a London housing shelter delivers edge-of-the-seat impact
The Seagull: Not Your Great-Great-Great-Grandmother’s Chekhov
★★★☆☆ Hovering midway between parody and homage, this modernist rendering of a justifiable classic proves neither illuminating nor much fun.
Hip Hop Cinderella: A Clever Update Leaps Far into the Future
★★★★★ Finally, a kiddie show with an on-point message, snazzily presented.