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

I didn't see Boyhood  in the theaters but as soon as it was released on Netflix, I received my copy. It lay on my floor for a couple of weeks because each time I reached for it, the thought of sitting for a three-hour movie seemed too much for a weeknight. I was also concerned that I'd heard too much hype, with award nominations (and several wins) and other accolades pouring in before I saw it. I thought that I might find the concept - checking in with this boy for a few days each year over 12 years, and using the same cast - would result in something without soul. Boy, was I wrong. The cumulative experience of watching a boy grow up, and watching his parents grow and watching everything around him grow and change, is utterly powerful. It crept up on me; I was engaged throughout, and could relate to the struggles of both the boy growing up and the (divorced) parents trying to cope, trying to grow. But I did not expect to burst into tears as the film ended, crumpling onto...

Something wicked this way comes—except those stakes are never quite felt in this somewhat uneven production of Shakespeare’s bloody tragedy, Macbeth . Directed by Jack O’Brien ( Catch Me if You Can ), there’s a lack of urgency and intensity throughout much of the nearly three-hour play. Unlike last season’s abridged Macbeth (a thoroughly engrossing production that starred Alan Cumming), this is faithful to the text. And while that could be the reason this production of Macbeth drags, especially in the expository scenes, the poor pacing is more likely to due to the direction. (To wit: There’s plenty of exposition in, say, Richard III , currently enjoying a superlative bow courtesy of Mark Rylance and company. Nothing drags in that production, directed by Tim Carroll.) The good news is there’s a brilliant supporting cast, a winning ensemble uncommon in large productions. We have everyman Brian d’Arcy James as Banquo, one of Macbeth’s trusted compatriots. In small unadorned momen...