★★★★★ Michael Stuhlbarg is back on the boards, as good—or better—than ever
Off-Broadway
Socrates: The Power and Danger of Critical Thinking, in Another Fragile Democracy
★★★★☆ Michael Stuhlbarg makes a triumphant return to the Public Theater in Tim Blake Nelson’s bracing, probing new play
17 Border Crossings: Thaddeus Phillips Journeys With Great Success
★★★★☆ A unique look at how differently borders are patrolled around the globe, directed by Tatiana Mallarino
Norma Jeane Baker of Troy: Marilyn Dies Again, in Sparkling New Shed
★☆☆☆☆ Ben Whishaw and Renée Fleming star in incomprehensible new whatnot at exciting new venue
Norma Jeane Baker of Troy: The Shed Opens With a Mystifying Melologue
★☆☆☆☆ Ben Whishaw and Renee Fleming valiantly appear in a gloomy chamber opera
Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie: Focusing Upon a Slice of Late ’70s Life
★★★☆☆ The Mad Ones offers an awfully ultra-real look at a focus group
Sincerely, Oscar: Great Lyricist Hammerstein II Is Mistreated in a Revue
★☆☆☆☆ Soprano Doreen Taylor conceives and writes a below-par showcase for herself and Azudi Onyejekwe
The Cradle Will Rock: Legendary Agitprop Musical Gets the John Doyle Treatment
★★★★☆ Marc Blitzstein’s 80-year-old rabble-rousing musical retains its bite
The Cradle Will Rock: A Proletarian Musical Looks Kind of Labored
★★☆☆☆ Director John Doyle scarcely does justice by Marc Blitzstein’s legendary 1937 musical
I Carry Your Heart: A Play About a Transplant And What Else Is Planted
★★★★☆ Georgette Kelly keenly sees how many hearts are affected after one meaningful operation