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

Blackbird  is intense. David Harrower 's two-hander packs a lot of history and angst into the knock-down, drag out war that makes up the 90-minute play. As some of the marketing materials have said, Ray (Jeff Daniels) and Una (Michelle Williams) had a relationship some 15 years ago. Today, in the plain, fluorescent-lit break room at Ray's office, they'll have their reckoning. The relationship, as you might guess if you have an idea of the actors' age difference, was an inappropriate one. When Una was 12 and Ray was 40, the two had a three-month long sexual affair, and though Ray already went to trial and served some time for it, Una has arrived (unannounced) to re-litigate the abuse. It's not fun. It absolutely will make you uncomfortable—how could it not? (Director Joe Mantello ( The Humans , The Last Ship ) is sensitive and careful not to sensationalize the action.) Yet it's unfortunately relevant today, just as it was when it debuted off-Broadway in 2...

As I was walking out of Steve Jobs , a fellow moviegoer started talking to me about the film. He works at Tekserve, and has seen other movies about Jobs and Silicon Valley. As he spoke about his disappointment in the film, it became clear that he was heavily invested in the people portrayed, in the facts of the story told. I, of course, had different expectations. I'm not into tech. I don't care much about Steve Jobs, though I understand and can appreciate the impact he's had on modern technology and the way we live our lives (i.e., tethered to the devices he created). I'm even writing this on a MacBook. But I cared less about the people being portrayed than the characters being brought to life, and less about the facts than the truth of the human story being told. In these regards, Steve Jobs  is a compelling film (and there's absolutely no reason it should be rated R, other than that the squares at the MPAA don't like the word "fuck"). I didn...

Michelle Williams and Jeff Daniels Return to Broadway Oscar nominee   Michelle Williams ( Cabaret , Blue Valentine ) and Emmy winner and Tony nominee Jeff Daniels ( The Newsroom , God of Carnage ) will star in the Broadway debut of Blackbird , which was previously seen in New York off-Broadway. (Daniels starred in that production alongside his Newsroom  costar Alison Pill.) Previews will begin February 5, 2016, with opening night set for March 10. Playing at the Belasco, the limited engagement is scheduled to conclude on June 12. Joe Mantello  ( The Last Ship , Casa Valentina ) directs David Harrower 's play. Broadway.com has more. Lin-Manuel Miranda: Genius The term gets bandied about a lot, often in a cavalier manner. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone , Miranda quipped, "You know a great way to trick people into thinking you're a genius? Write a show about geniuses." (The show he's talking about, of course, is Hamilton .) But now the MacArthur...