★★★★☆ Keith Bunin’s play revolves around six passengers who imagine what they might have said to each other
Off-Broadway
How to Defend Yourself: Women Somewhat Empowered
★★★☆☆ Playwright Liliana Padilla looks at self-defense of both body and mind
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.
A Doll’s House: Ibsen Made Too Trendy for Words
★★☆☆☆ Jessica Chastain stars in Jamie Lloyd’s minimalist staging, resembling an actors’ exercise, of Ibsen’s classic.
Misty: Arinzé Kene Breaks Ground and Defies Genres
★★★★☆ The British performer mixes poetry, music, comedy, and piles and piles of orange balloons in his Olivier Award–nominated play
Misty: Up, Up and Almost Away With a Beautiful Balloon
★★★☆☆ Arinzé Kene’s balloon-laden “Black play,” with him starring, Omar Elerian directing
Crumbs From the Table of Joy: A Wonderful but Overlooked Memory Play Lovingly Revived
★★★★☆ Lynn Nottage’s 1950s-set richly crafted coming-of-age play gets its first New York restaging thanks to the Keen Company
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.
The Trees: Rootless Dramedy Out on a Limp Limb
★★☆☆☆ Agnes Borinsky writes, Tina Satter directs, 12-member cast performs