★★★★☆ Jesse Berger’s Red Bull company goes to town on an almost forgotten 1592 work
Off-Broadway
Dear World: Donna Murphy Endears in Jerry Herman Encore
★★★★☆ Once an unsuccessful musical, now directed by Josh Rhodes at City Center with a top-drawer cast
Dear World: A Macaron-Sweet Revival of Jerry Herman’s Paris-Set Musical
★★★★☆ Encores! shines a spotlight on yet another overlooked Jerry Herman musical with a troubled history and memorable score
The Harder They Come: Crime Pays, Up to a Point
★★★☆☆ Suzan-Lori Parks musicalizes the 1972 film with a skilled cast and crew but sugarcoats the original’s gritty realism
The Harder They Come: The Easier This Musical Pops
★★★★☆ Suzan-Lori Parks rounds up songs from Jimmy Cliff, others for a fun, tough time
The Coast Starlight: Strangers on a Train
★★★★☆ Keith Bunin’s play revolves around six passengers who imagine what they might have said to each other
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