Situational comedy doesn’t need bells and whistles. Interesting people in amusing situations can be plenty. Alan Ayckbourn’s The Norman Conquests introduces six characters at their sick mother’s house over one…
Theatre Is Easy
104 Articles
Molly Marinik
2 Min Read
Molly Marinik finds herself pleasantly surprised by the excellence of the historical drama Mary Stuart.
Molly Marinik
3 Min Read
Molly Marinik reviews Offices, the new play by Ethan Coen, and finds giggles aplenty.
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: An exciting new musical with a lot to like — and, well, a lot to dislike. Aaron Tveit, Alice Ripley, and J. Robert Spencer in Next to Normal…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: Bitingly funny and self-aware. Perfect entertainment, especially for members of Generations X and Y. Thomas Sadoski and Marin Ireland in Reasons to Be Pretty Neil LaBute is one…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: The most viscerally unique performance in New York right now. Unparalleled and unexpected, it’s a great way to spend an evening. Many people consider New York City a…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: A spectacular dance show but an unnecessarily embellished Broadway extravaganza. Billy Elliot: The Musical opened on Broadway last November, so this post is certainly tardy, but it took…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
Preston Martin and Nicolas Greco in Kaspar Hauser BOTTOM LINE: A new musical theatre piece that’s as endearing as it is weird. Off-off-Broadway can be a tricky class of theatre…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: Dare I say “the perfect Broadway play”? Sometimes an ideal Broadway cast is assembled: they command the stage with such presence and work together with such ease that…
Molly Marinik
2 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: You never know who you can trust in this character-driven tale of love, deceit, and getting what you want in life. There isn’t a ton of action, though…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: A traditional-feeling musical with incredible choreography and a kick-ass cast. It’s a first-rate production guaranteed to make you happy (if musicals are your sort of thing). If the…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: Wonderful characters, witty banter, sharp writing and exceptional production value make for a fun playgoing experience. When you’re on Cripple Billy’s journey, you never know what will happen…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
…Or at least for a little while. Beginning January 4, Planet EarthÁ¢€â„¢s economic melt-down makes its way to Broadway. And not in the form of a snazzy new musical (which…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: It’s like watching an indie movie on a stage. The Language of Trees is a captivating story about realistic people thrown into an extreme situation. The Language of…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: Holmes, I stand corrected. Back in May, when the cast of All My Sons was announced and I learned that Katie Holmes would play the role of Ann…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: I would’ve really liked this musical when I was 13. 13 is one of this season’s new, big-budget Broadway musicals. It’s the story of 12-year-old Evan, who’s forced…
Molly Marinik
2 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: It’s not the best of musicals, it’s not the worst of musicals. I don’t want to compare A Tale of Two Cities to Les Miserables because ATOTC, in…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
Rent, the most uplifting/most depressing musical of the ’90s, will close this Sunday, September 7, after more than 5,100 performances on Broadway. Although it’s time for the now culturally dated…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
We’re one week in to the New York International Fringe Festival with one more week to go. With 202 plays and musicals of all varieties from all over the world…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
New shows! Cheap tickets! Genres and subjects galore! The New York International Fringe Festival might just be the best entertainment you’ll find in New York this summer. And Theatre is…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: Rarely do I see a show that makes me so delightfully happy I want to share it with everyone. [title of show] is incredibly clever in its self-deprecation…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
It’s summertime in New York City and that means two things: more motivation to get off your butt and do stuff, and more house guests coming to visit. Get some…
Molly Marinik
2 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: Tragedy befalls a young couple and they’re left to pick up the pieces. The story is told in nonlinear vignettes, so the audience actively tries to stitch the…
Molly Marinik
2 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: It’s wordy and long and the subject matter seems less than current, but the production is great, the direction is interesting, and the cast is one of the…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
Attention, theatre buffs: the 2008 Tony Awards are Sunday, June 15, and that means it’s time to place your bets! Theatre Is Easy presents the coolest Tony Awards competition this…
Molly Marinik
2 Min Read
The newest revival of Gypsy, starring queen diva Patti LuPone, opened in March to obnoxiously good reviews. How good, you ask? The Wall Street Journal wrote that Á¢€Å“youÁ¢€â„¢ll never see…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, but some It girls should stick to acting in front of a camera. ThatÁ¢€â„¢s not exactly how the song goes, but it might be…
Molly Marinik
3 Min Read
On Tuesday the American Theatre Wing announced the 2008 Tony Awards nominees. The Tonys are the highest honors given to Broadway shows and performers — they’re basically the Oscars for the movies’ less powerful…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
BOTTOM LINE: A solid play about straight guys that both genders should find relatable and entertaining. See it now — it closes Sunday, May 18. The Four of Us is the…
Molly Marinik
1 Min Read
POINT/COUNTERPOINT: Cry-Baby Opinions aren’t fact, but everybody has ’em, especially your trusty theatre reviewers at Theatre Is Easy. This week marks the first installment of a new series, “Point/Counterpoint,” in…