Reviewing the Drama: Broadway, Off-Broadway, Ballet, Movies, and TV Reviews

Long Day's Journey to Broadway Added to Roundabout's 2015-2016 season is a revival of Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey into Night , and a fantastic cast is in tow. The revival, set to begin previews March 31, 2016, with opening night scheduled for April 19, will be led by Jessica Lange , Gabriel Byrne and—wait for it—Tony Award winner John Gallagher, Jr. , who'll be returning to the stage for the first time since 2011's Jerusalem . Directed by Jonathan Kent , the play, Broadway.com reports , is being "mounted in association with...Ryan Murphy." Other cast and creative team members will be announced later. (Young adult theatergoers: this is a Roundabout production so if you're between the ages of 18 and 35, you can purchase Hiptix for just $25.) Annaleigh Ashford and Julie White Team Up for Sylvia A revival of A. R. Gurney 's Sylvia will bow on Broadway this fall, and it boasts two fantastic ladies as the stars. Tony nominee A...

It's almost unheard of for New York City Ballet to import a ballet, yet sometimes exceptions are made. This spring brought the premiere of La Slyphide , a seminal work from Danish choreographer August Bournonville , to City Ballet, under the vision of Ballet Master in Chief, and fellow Dane, Peter Martins. The Bournonville program began with Bournonville Divertissements , set to music by Edvard Helsted and Holger Simon Paulli . This iteration was staged by Nilas Martins , Peter's son and former NYCB principal, after Stanley Williams's staging of Bournonville's choreography. It includes four movements, and is a fairly typical selection of divertissements. Diversissements are meant to entertain; there's no story and no through line. Such is the case with the Bournonville Divertissements . Throughout, the scenery and costumes are rather drab and muted, as is the choreography in the first and third movements. (The first movement, Ballabile, was led by soloists...

Casting News Taye Diggs ( Rent ) has been confirmed as the next Hedwig in the Tony-winning revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch . Diggs will begin performances on July 22, and continue for a 12-week run. The fantastic Rebecca Naomi Jones will continue in the role of Yitzhak. (Scroll down for her first backstage vlog.) Broadway.com has more. Uma Thurman ( Pulp Fiction ) and Kristin Chenoweth ( On the Twentieth Century ) will co-star in The Brits Are Coming , a comedic heist movie written by James Okaley and Alex Michaelides, and directed by Oakley. The Hollywood Reporter has details.    Tony winner John Gallagher, Jr. ( American Idiot , The Newsroom ) has his next gig lined up: The talented star has joined the cast of The Belko Experiment , a film written by James Gunn. Greg McLean will direct the picture, set to begin shooting in Bogota, Colombia, this June. Gunn posted the news on Facebook in a thoughtful message about the first time Gallagher auditioned for hi...

So you meet (or reunite) with someone. You both get a little tipsy. You sleep together. Then what? The next morning, regardless of whether or not the sun is up, can be a delicate, intense, exciting, scary, complex time, and in his new play, Neil LaBute explores those precious moments. His two-hander, starring Tony nominee Thomas Sadoski ( Other Desert Cities , Wild ) as Doug and Amanda Seyfried ( Les Miserables , A Million Ways to Die in the West ) as Beth, plays out in real time, beginning in the wee hours of the morning. Doug and Beth have a history but have just slept together for the first time, and over the course of 85 minutes, they try to figure out what's next. LaBute takes his time in revealing details, which I appreciate. Giving away too much too soon would have made the work overwrought and melodramatic. Withholding for too long would be tantalizing to the point of tedious. Instead, LaBute creates a timeless and universal arc of a fledgling relationship. No spo...

(Scroll down for your first look at the new Muppets show.) Theatre Award Season Updates Winners of the Outer Critics Circle Awards were announced this week, with The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time leading the pack. The OCC is made up of critics who cover the New York Theatre scene for out of town outlets, and the awards honor excellence in Broadway and off-Broadway. An American in Paris also won multiple awards: Best Musical; Best Director and Best Choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon; and Best Actor in a Musical, Robbie Fairchild. Unsurprisingly, Hamilton took home the honor for Best Off-Broadway Musical, as well as Best Score and others. Visit Theater Mania for the full list of winners. The Lucille Lortel Awards were handed out on Sunday, and Hamilton led the pack. The Lortels honor excellence in off-Broadway. In addition to winning Outstanding Musical, Hamilton team members also won in the following categories, among others: Outstanding Director, Th...

I kicked off my New York City Ballet spring season with an All Robbins program, and it was a great one. First up was The Goldberg Variations , a Jerome Robbins ballet set to an 18th century Bach composition . One of the things I have always loved about Robbins's choreography is the way you see the music in his movements. His choreography is what the music dictates. The music for this piece has the published title of "Aria mit verschieden Veraenderungen," with "veraenderungen" typically translated as "variations." Repertory notes state that "veraenderungen" could also be translated as "alterations" or "mutations." Robbins's ballet plays with all three translations. The piece begins with Faye Arthurs and Zachary Catazaro appearing in baroque-period costumes and dancing the theme. After the theme comes, of course, the variations, split into two parts. Part one, featuring soloists (including Lauren Lovette and...