★★★☆☆ A curmudgeonly humorist stands up to gripe about various aspects of our polarized society
Off-Broadway
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
Trick or Treat: A Bold Play About Dementia Gets Less and Less Bold
★★☆☆☆ Playwright John Neary presents a Northeastern family in as much distress as the proceedings are
Behind the Sheet: Charly Evon Simpson Smart on Women’s Problems
★★★★☆ How a surgeon in the South uses slave women to solve complicated labor developments
LaBute New Theater Festival: Reasons to be Wary, of Modern Life
★★★☆☆ Three new one-act plays by Neil LaBute find men and women grappling with contemporary and historical issues
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
Maestro: Toscanini Conducts Beautiful Music Again
★★★★☆ Eve Wolf’s newest look at a supernal artist, with six musicians added to lend their proficient all
On Blueberry Hill: Unlikely Bedfellows, in Crime and Forgiveness
★★★★☆ From Ireland, a tale of two (very different) tortured souls, and towering performances
Under the Radar: Minor Character, [50/50] old school animation
★★★★ Chekhov’s ubiquitous Vanya gets shaken and stirred
★★ Women endure emotional torture for the sake of friendship
Blue Ridge: A Tedious Journey Through Underdeveloped Territory
★★☆☆☆ Even the typically combustible Marin Ireland can’t strike many sparks from a sparsely dramatized story