My Guide To the Best (And Least) Of Broadway This Season
How does a trip to hell sound? Or a visit to another Nether World? Or a deeply disturbing Oklahoma? You’ll also find a mountain of corpses, two media circuses, and mad kings (one of them a Kong) during this very dark/stormy/creepy season on Broadway.
But not all is doom or gloom. Lifting spirits are a pair of sweet lesbian kids, a guy who finds his softer side in heels, a triumphant geek — and Cher.
Welcome to the 2018-19 Broadway season, which ended with the annual mad rush of April openings and exhausted critics. But with so many intriguing offerings, what’s a Connecticut theater lover to do traveling to Manhattan in search of the best of Broadway?
From my perch as a theater critic for Variety, I’ve made an insider’s guide to help find the winning ticket to suit your tastes.
MUSICALS
Ain’t Too Proud at Imperial Theater
Briefly: Jukebox musical that follows the career of The Temptations
Target audience: Those who like songbook shows and a backstage history — without too much angst or ick.
Mission accomplished?: Skillful performances, smooth dance moves and glorious voices make it an appealing though lightweight show whose sole and soulful purpose is: “I’m Gonna Make You Love Me.”
Grade: B
Beetlejuice at Winter Garden Theatre
Briefly: Musical adaptation of the 1988 Tim Burton film which starred Michael Keaton as the demented demon wreaking havoc on the lives of the still-living and newly-dead.
Target audience: Fans of the film. Teens. Giddy goths.
Mission accomplished?: This theme park ride of a show has tons of laughs — some crude, some witty, and all told with manic glee by the inexhaustible Alex Brightman in the title role. The end’s a mess but what the hell.
Grade: B+
Be More Chill at the Lyceum Theater
