AmericanTheaterWeb NewsClips

Associated Press

A tension-free 'American Buffalo' arrives on B'way

Harvey Fierstein ponders his return to 'Hairspray'

Financial Times

Billy Elliot, Imperial Theatre, New York
The true star of this production, in addition to the three dancers who play Billy, is choreographer Peter Darling, writes Brendan Lemon

La La La Human Steps/Amjad, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York
Hilary Ostlere finds in this deconstruction of two classic ballets a jumble of old themes a fast-forward speed

Bloomberg.com

Leguizamo Drops F-Bombs in Mamet's `Buffalo'; Woolf Goes Video: John Simon
“American Buffalo” (Chicago, 1975; Off Broadway, 1976; Broadway, 1977, 1983) made its steady progress to becoming David Mamet’s breakthrough play. Revived on Broadway with Cedric the Entertainer, John Leguizamo and Haley Joel Osment, it has now become multicultural (black, Hispanic, Caucasian) but still concerns three lowlifes botching a heist.

Sondheim's `Road Show' Gets Boost From Housing Bust After Long Gestation
In ``Road Show,'' the Stephen Sondheim-John Weidman musical opening tonight at New York's Public Theater, the character Wilson Mizner takes to the radio to promote real estate in 1920s Boca Raton, Florida.

USA Today

Mamet's 'American Buffalo' just might steal your heart

Christopher Plummer gets wordy, naughty and nice 'In Spite of Myself'

Variety

'Billy Elliot' opens on Broadway
Elton John, Stephen Daldry attend premiere

Stage-to-screen scores pose challenges
Composers use restraint with 'Doubt,' 'Frost/Nixon'

Review: American Buffalo
...the influence of its speech patterns has become increasingly pervasive in films, cable TV and imitative theater, while humanized hoodlums have turned up everywhere. Maybe that's why this starry revival sits so flatly on its impressive set. Or maybe it's the lack of a connective thread among its performers. Either way, something isn't working.

Review: My Vaudeville Man!
The life of a teenage hoofer who runs away from home to perform on the vaudeville circuit is examined in "My Vaudeville Man!," the second production of York Theater's 40th season. The two-character musical has plenty of charm, personable acting and great tapping from Shonn Wiley, but overall the effect is more pleasantly enjoyable than rousing.

Review: Dawn
Thomas Bradshaw's gleefully ugly new drama, "Dawn," is less a play than a prank. In fact, "drama" may not actually be the right word -- the longer you think about the piece's intentionally stilted dialogue and revolting set pieces, the more you may get the sense you've just sat through a bleak, black comedy, without getting the joke

Review: Dear Edwina
Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler's "Dear Edwina" calls itself "a musical comedy for kids," but that tagline somewhat undersells it. The characters are kids, the subject matter is kid-friendly, but there's enough musical comedy for general audiences in this darling little show, filled with songs and laughs.

Review: Ruined
Lynn Nottage takes on one of playwriting's toughest challenges -- the dramatization of distant, gruesome political realities -- in her elegant and eloquent new work, "Ruined." Depicting the horrific toll sexual violence has taken on women in the Democratic Republic of Congo...

Back Stage

American Buffalo reviewed by David Sheward
Director Robert Falls provides a solid, straightforward framework for David Mamet's deceptively simple story. Unfortunately, his actors are not as perfectly balanced as the material.

My Vaudeville Man! reviewed by Andy Propst
This work charts the career of Jack (Shonn Wiley) from the moment he leaves home to join a vaudeville touring circuit. His story is ideally suited for a musical.

Amerissiah reviewed by A.J. Mell
This overstuffed, scattershot, but potent black comedy springs from the fevered brain of Derek Ahonen, playwright, director, and co-founder of the troupe known as the Amoralists.

Mary the Third reviwed by Karl Levett
While the presentation has rudimentary production values, Katrin Hilbe, putting the emphasis on Rachel Crothers' words, directs an able cast, with the younger players especially strong.