★★★★☆ Humor, horror and a little pathos mix nicely in this intimate, quirky import from Northern Ireland
Off-Broadway
Song of Joy: A One-Man Transcontinental Memory Play
★★★★☆ Writer-performer Carol Mazhuvancheril reconciles growing up (and eventually coming out) in India, Austria, and America
Truth’s a Dog Must to Kennel: A Strange, Strong Meta-Theater Must
★★★★☆ Ambitious, Inventive, prolific actor-writer Tim Crouch impressively worries about theater-going today
Oh Mary, It’s Christmas!: Justin Vivian Bond brings joy to Joe’s Pub
Alt-darling Justin Vivian Bond celebrates the true spirit of the season.
Des Moines: Kitchen Sink Naturalism, Turned on Its Head
★★★★☆ A superb ensemble brings Denis Johnson’s strange, unsettling play to comic life.
Eddie Izzard Performing Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations: Prepare to Be Transfixed
★★★★★ With words and gestures alone, Eddie Izzard recreates Dickens’ beloved bildungsroman.
Merrily We Roll Along: Opening Doors, and How!
★★★★★ Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez, and Daniel Radcliffe star in Maria Friedman’s sterling revival of the Sondheim-Furth musical
Merrily We Roll Along: How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Sondheim Show
★★★★★ To quote one of the songs from the much-maligned, but very beloved, musical: It’s a hit!
Bridget Everett & The Tender Moments: Boldly O’erleaping the Boundaries of Good Taste
★★★★☆ What with all the treacle on offer this month, you may savor something a little more spicy.
Becky Nurse of Salem: Do You Believe in Magic?
★★★★☆ Deirdre O’Connell plays a descendant of an accused Salem witch in Sarah Ruhl’s newest play