★★★★☆ Long-Run Lookback: A smart jukebox musical remains a some kind of wonderful Broadway attraction
Sommers
The Emperor: The Curious Decline and Fall of Haile Selassie
★★★☆☆ Kathryn Hunter conjures up the hothouse atmosphere of a vanished kingdom
Uncle Vanya: An Americanization of a Russian Classic
★★★★☆ Richard Nelson’s new version of Chekhov’s intimate classic is artfully understated
The Phantom of the Opera: Still Wonderfully Crazy After All These Years
★★★★★ Long-Run Lookback: That musical madman remains as romantic as ever in his Majestic home
The Naturalists: A Romantic Triangle Shoots Up in the Irish Countryside
★★☆☆☆ A play about new love and old crimes amid Ireland’s rural greenery strains credulity and patience.
Heartbreak House: Framing Shaw’s Upside-Downton Abbey Saga
★★☆☆☆ Inconsistent acting styles and a needless frame obscure Shaw’s portrait of pre-war English society
The Gospel at Colonus: A Joyful Noise Erupts in Central Park
★★★★☆ A unique piece of musical theater briefly makes an inspirational reappearance
Hershey Felder As Irving Berlin: Say It With Music
★★★☆☆ Hershey Felder is pretty good in his modest tribute to a great American songwriter
The House That Will Not Stand: Southern Women Rattle Their Chains
★★★☆☆ A thoughtful new drama is drawn from little known social practices of circa 1813 New Orleans
This Ain’t No Disco: Rough Times at Studio 54
★☆☆☆☆ Glitter ball melodramatics are rolled up into an unworkable musical