★★★★☆ Playwright David Henry Hwang gives main-character energy in a self-deprecating stage mockumentary
Broadway
McNeal: Robert Downey Jr. Brings Real Star Power to a Sometimes Artificial-Feeling Play
★★★★☆ The Oscar-winning actor makes his stage debut in Ayad Akhtar’s new drama about an emotionally troubled novelist
McNeal: Robert Downey Jr. Stars in Riveting New Play
★★★★★ From Marvel to “method,” the movie star is the real deal in his Broadway debut as a writer hooked on AI
The Hills of California: Le Jez Hot!
★★★★★ Laura Donnelly stars in a time-hopping play about a musical family that hits all the right notes
The Hills of California: Jez Butterworth’s Piercing Gaze on Four Sisters
★★★★★ Sam Mendes intensely directs a dark Blackpool dramedy with an unbeatable cast
The Roommate: Bronx Bad Girl, Meet Midwestern Nervous Nellie
★★★☆☆ Patti LuPone and Mia Farrow play roommates–turned-unlikely friends in the Jack O’Brien–directed two-hander
The Roommate: Boulevard comedy, sitcom-style
★★★☆☆ Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone star in Jen Silverman’s play about two women from very different worlds.
Once Upon a Mattress: Sutton Foster-of-the-Swamps Reigns Triumphant
★★★★☆ Another Encores! musical comedy winner takes up residence on Broadway
Once Upon a Mattress: Medieval Hellzapoppin With Laughs for Days
★★★★☆ Sutton Foster unleashes her inner clown in a torrent of hilarity, bringing new luster to a familiar property
Job: Therapy Can Be Dangerous
★★★☆☆ Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon play a therapist and his possibly dangerous new patient in Max Wolf Friedlich’s play, newly transferred to Broadway.