jtrent238 test blog: Theater Update: Broadway at the Movies

December 28, 2022

Dear Theater Fans,

I hope your holiday season has been a joyous one. Since this is a relatively quiet week, I wanted to shift gears and highlight a few movies that will be of interest to theatergoers.

I'm hearing wonderful things about "Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical," the screen adaptation of the 2013 Broadway show (itself an adaptation of Dahl's novel). "Bitterness never tasted so sweet," Amy Nicholson wrote in her review. She goes on to describe Emma Thompson's Agatha Trunchbull as "the type of monster who gets introduced chin hair first." Well, all right then! I'm especially looking forward to finally watching this one, which is available for streaming on Netflix.

A new documentary by Amy Rice, "Broadway Rising," surveys the industry's coronavirus pandemic-related shutdown and reopening. (It's available for streaming via paid rental on Google Play, YouTube and Prime Video.) And if you've seen "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery," now on Netflix, you've probably been wondering about those cameos by Angela Lansbury and Stephen Sondheim. Dave Itzkoff spoke to the director, Rian Johnson, a fan of musical theater, about how those two stars landed in the film.

Some other notables: "The Whale," Darren Aronofsky's big screen adaptation of Samuel D. Hunter's play, starring Brendan Fraser and in theaters now; "Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?," a Disney+ documentary chronicling Menzel's musical achievements; and "The Inspection," featuring Jeremy Pope, who is currently starring as Jean-Michel Basquiat in "The Collaboration" on Broadway.

And before you close the door on 2022, be sure to revisit the best of the year below, like breakthrough performances (including Julie Benko's run as the lead in "Funny Girl" this summer), Jesse Green's best of theater list and our critics' picks for the year's most unforgettable experiences.

And what about your picks for the best musical or play in 2022? Tell us about your favorite and why you loved it so much at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com. We may include your response in an upcoming issue of Arts & Leisure. Please include your name and the city and state (or city and country, if you're outside the United States) where you live.

Happy New Year!

Nicole Herrington

Theater Editor

(@nikkih04)

Netflix

CRITIC'S PICK

'Roald Dahl's Matilda the Musical' Review: Youth in Revolt

This musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel is a jolt of sour candy guaranteed to make you grin.

By Amy Nicholson

Vertical Entertainment

'Broadway Rising' Review: Surviving the Pandemic

Stakeholders including Patti LuPone and Lynn Nottage share their real-time reactions to New York theater's shutdown and reopening in Amy Rice's documentary.

By Nicolas Rapold

Daniel Dorsa for The New York Times; Fred R. Conrad/The New York Times

How Angela Lansbury and Stephen Sondheim Came to Appear in 'Glass Onion'

A fan of musical theater, Rian Johnson had long hoped to land the two stars. But he was already in the editing phase when they agreed to take part.

By Dave Itzkoff

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NEWS AND FEATURES

Rod Penn

Yippee Ki Yay: 'Die Hard' Comes to the Christmas Stage

The poet Richard Marsh is winning praise in London for a one-man theatrical version of the action movie.

By Alex Marshall

Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

Lloyd Suh's Plays About the Past Speak Directly to Our Present

The playwright of "The Far Country" is using a contemporary lens to show "the way in which memory becomes hereditary."

By Richard Morgan

Giovanni Rufino/Focus Features

Jim Parsons Takes the Romantic Lead

The Emmy-winning "Big Bang Theory" actor "could've done anything he wanted." Now starring in the tear-jerker film "Spoiler Alert," he's forging his own path.

By Juan A. Ramírez

LeeAndra Cianci

Day 25: That Time an Orthodox Jew Celebrated Christmas

Alex Edelman, a comedian, recalls his family's one-night fling with Christmas — undertaken as a mitzvah for a non-Jewish friend.

By Debra Kamin

Dyuti Majumdar

Shayok Misha Chowdhury and Laura Grill Jaye Win 2022 Relentless Award

The award's first prize to a musical went to the writing duo for "How the White Girl Got Her Spots and Other 90s Trivia."

By Rachel Sherman

Continue reading the main story

2022 IN REVIEW

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Best Theater of 2022

In a time of renewed awakening, a surprising number of shows smartly reflected those changes in song.

By Jesse Green, Maya Phillips, Laura Collins-Hughes, Scott Heller, Alexis Soloski and Elisabeth Vincentelli

Marc Brenner

The Best (and Worst) Theater in Europe in 2022

The Times's three European theater critics pick their favorite productions of the year — plus a turkey apiece for the festive season.

By Matt Wolf, Laura Cappelle and A.J. Goldmann

Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

BEST OF 2022

10 Stages and Screens Where I Saw Connection

For our critic-at-large, "Fat Ham," "Severance," "A Strange Loop" and "Sandman" were some of the places she found truth and transcendence.

By Maya Phillips

A24	BEST OF 2022 11 Ways I Escaped Reality This Year Our critic was haunted, in a good way, by the performances she saw in movies, theater and TV that offered glimpses into other worlds. By Salamishah Tillet

ABC	The Breakout Stars of 2022 Here are the actors, pop stars, dancers and artists who broke away from the pack this year, delighting us and making us think. By Maya Salam