★★★☆☆ A Wheel of Death, a pack of cats, and a hand-balancing duo are the top acts
Off-Broadway
A Woman of the World: Emily Dickinson Well Remembered, Almost
★★★★☆ Kathleen Chalfant radiant as poet Dickinson’s friend(?) Mabel Loomis Todd
A Woman of the World: Promoting a Poet, and Herself
★★★☆☆ Kathleen Chalfant turns in a luminous performance as Emily Dickinson’s editor in a new play by Rebecca Gilman
Panama Hattie: Klea Blackhurst Swell as Cole Porter’s 1940 Heroine
★★★☆☆ The plot is nothing to rave to friends about, but the songs have the rich Yalie’s gossamer sound
Seared: Theresa Rebeck’s Kitchen-Set Comedy Needs More Fire
★★★☆☆ Theresa Rebeck centers her newest comedy on a crash-and-burn–style pretentious New York chef
Seared: Raúl Esparza Gets All Fired Up As a Deranged Master Chef
★★★☆☆ MCC Theater makes a tasty dish of Theresa Rebeck’s lite comedy
The Michaels: Making the Right Moves
★★★★☆ Richard Nelson takes us back to Rhinebeck, with a thoughtful play about time passing, decently
The Michaels: Richard Nelson Extends the Excellence of His Apple and Gabriel Cycles
★★★★★ Maryann Plunkett, Jay O. Sanders, and Brenda Wehle take us back to another kitchen in Nelson’s Rhinebeck
Macbeth: A Slimmed-Down Version of the Scottish Play
★★★★☆ The couple who slays together stays together? Real-life spouses Corey Stoll and Nadia Bowers star as Shakespeare’s murderous Scots.
Macbeth: Do Too Many Witches Spoil the Theatrical Brew?
★★★☆☆ John Doyle directs Corey Stoll’s title warrior as too full of the milk of human kindness