★★★☆☆ Jaclyn Backhaus fights back at current domestic policies to mixed but hopeful results
Off-Broadway
Happy Birthday, Wanda June: Kurt Vonnegut’s First Play Not Happy-Making
★★☆☆☆ The revival takes advantage of the Donald J. Trump environment but not well
School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play: Jubilantly Funny High School Days
★★★★☆ Jocelyn Bioh’s uproarious comedy returns to MCC
Plot Points in Our Sexual Development: In a Queer Relationship, Universality
★★★★☆ A careful, wry look inside a very specific relationship—and at how everyone grows up and figures themselves out
The Book of Merman: Merman, Mormon Spoof Down in the Depths
★☆☆☆☆ Leo Schwartz and DC Cathro may enjoy what they’ve written, but many others might not
Gloria: A Life: Around a Campfire With Gloria Steinem
★★★☆☆ Playwright Emily Mann, director Diane Paulus, and an all-female creative and production team join forces with journalist, author, and feminist icon Gloria Steinem
Mother of the Maid: A Soldier and Her Other Heart
★★★★★ Glenn Close brings Joan of Arc’s mother to radiant life in a luminous account of women’s strength, and love
Mother of the Maid: Glenn Close, Grace Van Patten Hot as Mom and Saint Joan
★★★☆☆ Jane Anderson’s follows a mother whose difficult child turns out to be a saint in the making
Ordinary Days: Keen Company Revives Adam Gwon’s Promising Musical
★★★☆☆ This perfectly pleasant chamber musical includes one breathtakingly emotional song
Apologia: No Apologies Necessary for Stockard Channing
★★★☆☆ The accomplished leading lady exuberantly carries a not-quite-satisfying play