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

The nominations for the 62nd annual Outer Critics Circle Awards were announced earlier today. (These awards honor excellence in Broadway and off-Broadway, and are presented by writers and commentators who cover New York theatre for out-of-town media outlets.) Pippin leads with 11 nominations, though Kinky Boots is not far behind with nine nods (look for my review of Kinky Boots later this week). Winners will be announced May 13 and honored at a luncheon on May 23. Herein, the full list of nominees. Outstanding New Broadway Play Grace (by Craig Wright) Lucky Guy (by Nora Ephron) The Nance (by Douglas Carter Beane) The Testament of Mary (by Colm Toibin) Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (by Christopher Durang) Outstanding New Broadway Musical Chaplin A Christmas Story Hands on a Hardbody Kinky Boots Matilda Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play Bad Jews (by Joshua Harmon) Cock (by Mike Bartlett) My Name is Asher Lev (by Aaron Posner) Really Really (by ...

Oscar Update Big news: Seth MacFarlane is hosting the Oscars ! That's right, when the 85th Academy Awards are handed out on February 24, 2013, MacFarlane ( Family Guy , Ted ) will be there to host the festivities. Read more about the hosting gig on Playbill , and below, watch MacFarlane tell his dad the exciting news. (In related news, a misguided parents group is filing a complaint about American Dad , another of MacFarlane's shows. The ridiculous thing about these kinds of complaints is that the kids the parents are trying to protect don't get the salacious aspect of the joke. They don't know to make anything of it until their parents cause such ado. Get over it, parents. If you don't want you kids to see that, then don't let them watch it.) Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The nominees for the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class have been announced and include artists like Joan Jett and the Blackhearts , N.W.A. , Deep Purple , Albert King , Randy Newman...

Some of my favorite movies and TV episodes start at the end, or at least not at the beginning. They start with a scene that happens toward the end of our story and then kick us back to the beginning so we can figure how we arrived at the known conclusion. And so I was instantly engaged at the start of Craig Wright’s new play Grace , which begins and end by asking, “Can we go back?” In Grace (directed with precision by Dexter Bullard), Sara (Kate Arrington) and Steve (Paul Rudd) have moved down to Florida (from Minnesota) in order to open a chain of gospel-themed hotels. Their neighbor is Sam (Michael Shannon), who is grieving the loss of his fiance and healing from the accident that took her life and nearly took his. (The neighbors’ exterminator is Karl (Ed Asner), a device of a character who helps develop the other characters.) Steve is not a "knower," he’s a believer. That’s what brought him to his faith and what also proves to be his tragic flaw. Think about it:...