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

James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson Return to Broadway The veteran actors will star in a revival of D.L. Coburn 's The Gin Game . As Playbill notes , this is the first time Tony winners James ( The Best Man , You Can't Take It With You ) and Tyson ( The Trip to Bountiful ) will be on Broadway together since 1966, when they played in A Hand is on the Gate . Previews will begin September 21, with opening night set for October 13. Directed by Leonard Foglia , The Gin Game is slated for the intimate Golden Theatre. Tony Awards Update The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for a final time to determine eligibility of the season's last several shows . Unless ruled otherwise, actors/actresses whose names appear above the title are considered eligible for Lead Actor/Actress awards; performers whose names appear below the title are considered eligible in the Featured Actor/Actress categories. Tony Award nominations will be announced on Tuesday, April 28 (visit tonyawa...

Music is a featured character in Tom Stoppard 's The Real Thing , being given a terrific revival, directed by Sam Gold , by Roundabout Theatre Company. The title made the U2 song, "Even Better Than the Real Thing," get stuck in my head, and that's apropos given the subject matter. The song (not featured in the play) is about a person trying to win over his lover; the chorus proclaims, "you're the real thing // even better than the real thing." Stoppard's play is about relationships, the difference between art and "the real thing," trying to find the elusive real thing—whatever that looks like. Stoppard ( Arcadia ) is an intelligent and eloquent writer, so you must pay attention to what the talented ensemble is saying; if you do, you'll find yourself fascinated by the way we interact with each other, by the differences between what we say, what we mean and what we mean to say. (What each character chooses to reveal and in what forum ...