Wednesday, February 22, 2023

Theater Update: Jessica Chastain Has Nothing to Prove

Spring season highlights

Dear Theater Fans,

It's time for a little spring planning. There are more than 20 plays and musicals to look out for on Broadway and Off Broadway over the next few months. Those listings, curated and written by Steven McElroy, are part of our Spring Preview of upcoming live performances.

Also on that list: Jessica Chastain in Jamie Lloyd and Amy Herzog's adaptation of "A Doll's House," now in previews at the Hudson Theater, where it is set to open March 9. The play has been "stripped down to its barest essentials," Alexandra Alter reports, adding that "Chastain seems to relish the challenge." (And that comes through in Thea Traff's gorgeous portraits of Chastain.)

Reflecting on her Broadway debut 10 years ago in "The Heiress," Chastain said: "I don't feel the angst and the fear that I did the last time I was onstage. Now I feel like I've put in a lot of work, and I feel like I've carved a place for myself in the industry. People know I work hard."

On the musical theater front, Jesse Green looks at upcoming revivals with a shared moral dilemma: The image makeover given to political figures (like Imelda Marcos in "Here Lies Love" and Eva Perón in "Evita") and folkloric heroes (like King Arthur in "Camelot") who may not deserve it. "By applying the powerful tools of the form to darker and more dangerous figures," Jesse wrote in his essay, "those figures are literally given greater voice, forcing us to consider the ways in which they are humans even if they may also be monsters."

If you're still thinking about our recent call out for cast album recommendations, here are a couple more suggestions. Vanessa Bak said she saw "13" on Broadway for her 14th birthday. "My friends and I will still sing the songs when we all hang out together," she wrote. "Fourteen years later this musical is still a point of bonding for us, and the music is just fun!" (Nancy Coleman recently wrote about that coming-of-age musical.)

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Larry Spinelli wrote about his extensive CD collection. "I love having the physical artwork and liner notes, which add to the experience," he wrote. "Nothing makes me smile more than the Pearl Bailey cast recording of "Hello, Dolly!" because she was incomparable and it was my first Broadway musical!"

Please reach out to me at theaterfeedback@nytimes.com with suggestions for stories or to offer your thoughts on what you've read.

Have a wonderful week,

Nicole Herrington

Theater Editor

(@nikkih04)

SPRING PREVIEW

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Thea Traff for The New York Times

Jessica Chastain Returns to the Stage With Nothing to Prove

In a pared-down Broadway revival of "A Doll's House," the Oscar-winning actress doesn't have props, period costumes or much of a set. To her surprise, she likes it.

By Alexandra Alter

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Cristina Polop

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

When 'A Little Touch of Star Quality' Is a Little Too Much

In upcoming musical revivals, world leaders both real (Imelda Marcos, Eva Perón) and folkloric (King Arthur) get an image makeover they may not deserve.

By Jesse Green

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Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Live Performance in New York: Here's What to See This Spring

"Life of Pi" and Laura Linney on Broadway, Lise Davidsen at the Met Opera, SZA on tour: Here's what we're looking forward to this season.

By Steven McElroy, Joshua Barone, Siobhan Burke, Jon Pareles, Brian Seibert, Lindsay Zoladz and Roslyn Sulcas

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FROM OUR CRITICS

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Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Review: Rude T-Shirts and Rude Awakenings in 'A Bright New Boise'

An early play by Samuel D. Hunter finds the author developing his voice by lending it to the lost souls working at an Idaho Hobby Lobby.

By Jesse Green

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Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

Review: In 'The Wanderers,' Two Marriages and a Movie Star

Anna Ziegler's play about an Orthodox couple in the 1970s and an unorthodox one in the 2010s explores the limits of longing.

By Jesse Green

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Daniel Rader

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Review: In 'Leo Reich: Literally Who Cares?!,' He's Too Hot to Live

Reich, a comedian and writer, transforms into the avatar of Gen Z disaffection in his taut, biting solo show at Greenwich House Theater.

By Naveen Kumar

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Kat duPont Vecchio

Review: In Eulalie Spence's Harlem, the 1920s Come to Life

"She's Got Harlem on Her Mind," three of Spence's one-acts, packaged together at the Metropolitan Playhouse, are filled with gender and class politics.

By Maya Phillips

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Johan Persson

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

On London Stages, Finding Something Fresh in Tragedy

New productions of "Medea" and "Phaedra" feature outstanding performances from Sophie Okonedo and Janet McTeer as women pushed to the edge.

By Matt Wolf

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JJ Geiger

CRITIC'S PICK

Review: A New Opera Puts Real Emotions in a Fantasy Garden

Kate Soper's "The Romance of the Rose," which had its long-delayed premiere at Long Beach Opera, showcases her signature quick-shifting eclecticism.

By Zachary Woolfe

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Apollonia T. Bitzan

Review: 'Die Monosau' Revives Chaotic Energy in Berlin

Chaos also plays a role in a new play at the Volksbühne theater that delivers on its pledge of a director-free evening.

By A.J. Goldmann

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Johan Persson

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK

These 2 Productions Bring a Jolt of Energy to British Musicals

The art form needs to make room for lesser-known names, to refresh and enlarge the talent pool, our critic writes.

By Matt Wolf

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