This year, Mark Zuckerberg wants to be more like Tony Stark.
In a Facebook post Sunday, the social network’s founder and chief executive said
his personal challenge for 2016 is to build an assistant powered by
artificial intelligence to help him at home and work.
“You can
think of it kind of like Jarvis,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote, referring to the
artificial-intelligence assistant used by Mr. Stark, the fictional main
character played by actor Robert Downey Jr. in the movie “Iron Man.”
Mr.
Zuckerberg said he would code the AI assistant himself and start by
exploring pre-existing technologies. He plans to train his virtual
assistant to understand his voice and help guide responsibilities at his
home, such as keeping watch over infant daughter Max.
“I’ll
teach it to let friends in by looking at their faces when they ring the
doorbell,” Mr. Zuckerberg wrote in his post. “I’ll teach it to let me
know if anything is going on in Max’s room that I need to check on when
I’m not with her. On the work side, it’ll help me visualize data in
[virtual reality] to help me build better services and lead my
organizations more effectively.”
Mr.
Zuckerberg’s personal challenge for 2016 is more technical than in
years past. Last year, he promised to read a book every two weeks. In
2011, he only ate meat that he killed himself.
AI-powered digital assistants such as Apple Inc.’s Siri, Alphabet Inc.’s Google Now and Microsoft Corp.’s Cortana are commanding a lot of attention in Silicon Valley.
Facebook Inc. is developing its own artificial-intelligence assistant
called “M,” which is embedded in its Facebook Messenger app. Last year,
Facebook bought Wit.ai, a voice-recognition startup backed by
venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz that aims to help machines
understand humans.
Mr. Zuckerberg hasn’t selected a name for his
virtual assistant yet. He said that he would probably build it with
Facebook-developed technology so he could access work conducted by the
social network’s artificial-intelligence research team.
In the
comments section of his post, one person urged him to “create a kind
enough AI that won’t stage a violent takeover of the human race.”
Mr. Zuckerberg responded: “That’s the plan. (A kind AI.)”
“I
think we can build AI so it works for us and helps us,” he said,
replying to another comment on the post. “Some people fear-monger about
how AI is a huge danger, but that seems far-fetched to me and much less
likely than disasters due to widespread disease, violence, etc.”
Approximate
running times are in parentheses. Theaters are in Manhattan unless
otherwise noted. Full reviews of current productions, additional
listings, showtimes and ticket information are at nytimes.com/theater. A
searchable, critical guide to theater is at nytimes.com/events.
Previews and Openings
‘The Changeling’
(in previews; opens on Jan. 10) If the holidays inspire you with less
than charitable feelings, you can indulge them with Red Bull’s revival
of Thomas Middleton and William Rowley’s deliciously grisly Jacobean
tragedy. Manoel Felciano, Christian Coulson and Sara Topham star in this
tale of desire, madness and betrayal, directed by Jesse Berger. Lucille
Lortel Theater, 121 Christopher Street, West Village, 866-811-4111,
redbulltheater.com. (Alexis Soloski)
Coil
(performances start on Tuesday) This annual festival, sponsored by
PS122, winds up for another incarnation. Two Elevator Repair Service
alumni, Kaneza Schaal and Frank Boyd, each premiere a new work. Ms.
Schaal’s “Go Forth,” is an exploration of mourning; in “The Holler
Sessions,” Mr. Boyd plays a Midwest D.J. They are joined by Chris
Thorpe’s “Confirmation,” a piece about confirmation bias directed by
Rachel Chavkin, and “Intimacy” by Melbourne’s Ranters Theater. At
various locations. More information: 212-352-3101, ps122.org. (Soloski)
‘Key Change’
(previews start on Thursday; opens on Jan. 13) A show developed by
women incarcerated in a prison in the North of England, this devised
theater piece was a winner of a Best of Edinburgh Award at the summer’s
festival. The playwright Catrina McHugh, the director Laura Lindow and a
cast of five actors present the women’s stories. Fourth Street Theater,
83 East Fourth Street, East Village, 212-868-4444, smarttix.com.
(Soloski)
‘Maurice Hines Tappin’ Thru Life’
(in previews; opens on Jan. 11) Those who shuffle on over to New World
Stages will see this intimate song-and-dance show written and performed
by the actor and hoofer Maurice Hines. As his brother Gregory, who died
in 2003, can no longer tap alongside him, Maurice Hines will be joined
by the dancing siblings John and Leo Manzari and accompanied by the Diva
Jazz Orchestra. Jeff Calhoun directs the brushes, strikes and changes.
New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, 212-239-6200,
newworldstages.com. (Soloski)
‘Noises Off’
(in previews; opens on Jan. 14) The Roundabout revives Michael Frayn’s
evergreen farce of backstage antics and onstage fiascoes under the
direction of Jeremy Herrin (“Wolf Hall”). Expect slammed doors, dropped
trousers and many sardines offered by a first-class cast including
Andrea Martin, Campbell Scott, Megan Hilty, Tracee Chimo and Jeremy
Shamos. American Airlines Theater, 227 West 42nd Street, 212-719-1300,
roundabouttheatre.org. (Soloski)
‘Our Mother’s Brief Affair’
(in previews; opens on Jan. 20) Linda Lavin is a very lively actress.
But in this new play by Richard Greenberg, directed by Lynne Meadow, she
plays a woman on her deathbed, who perturbs her grown children with an
upsetting confession. Kate Arrington, Greg Keller and John Procaccino
co-star in the family romance. Samuel J. Friedman Theater, 261 West 47th
Street, 212-239-6200, manhattantheatreclub.com. (Soloski)
Prototype: Opera/Theater/Now
(performances start on Wednesday) A tuneful celebration of musical and
theatrical experiment, this year’s festival features the world premiere
of “Angel’s Bone,” by Du Yun and Royce Vavrek, about two seraphs
stranded on Earth. American premieres include “Sága,” by Dez Mona and
Baroque Orchestration X, a song cycle on the subject of homecoming; and
“The Last Hotel,” the first opera by the playwright Enda Walsh. Robert
Woodruff directs the New York premiere of “Dog Days,” set in a future
with a shifting boundary between man and beast. Various locations,
212-352-3101, prototypefestival.org. (Soloski)
Under the Radar
(performances start on Wednesday) The Public Theater’s festival of
experimental performance has been sending out strong signals for many
years now. Highlights of this year’s incarnation include 600
Highwaymen’s “Employee of the Year,” a play for adults performed by five
children; Guillermo Calderón’s “Escuela,” a period piece about
paramilitary training; and “Germinal,” by Halory Goerger and Antoine
Defoort, in which four performers create a whole world. The festival
also includes performances by Lars Jan and Early Morning Opera, Dorothée
Munyaneza and Compagnie Kadidi, Ahamefule J. Oluo and the Royal Osiris
Karaoke Ensemble. At various locations. For tickets and information:
212-967-7555, undertheradarfestival.com. (Soloski)
Broadway
‘Allegiance’
A singing history lesson about a dark chapter in American history, the
internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. Jay Kuo’s score is
unfortunately derivative, and the book feels overburdened by the need
to both entertain and inform. George Takei (“Star Trek,” duh!) and the
still plush-voiced Lea Salonga star (2:20). Longacre Theater, 220 West
48th Street, allegiancemusical.com, 212-239-6200. (Charles Isherwood)
★ ‘An American in Paris’
The ballet luminary Christopher Wheeldon makes a triumphant debut as a
Broadway director with this rhapsodic stage adaptation of a classic
musical with a heavenly Gershwin score. The ballet dancers Robert
Fairchild and Leanne Cope, as the semi-star-crossed lovers, are radiant,
and Max von Essen sings like a dream as an heir who aspires to a
nightclub career. Pure joy (2:30). The Palace Theater. 1564 Broadway, at
47th Street, ticketmaster.com, 877-250-2929. (Isherwood)
‘China Doll’
A saggy new play by David Mamet that creeps, hunched and sluggish, into
incomprehensibility. As a besieged billionaire businessman, a
terminally distracted Al Pacino stretches every sentence into a
self-contained, crumbling tower of words. He seems to be melting before
our eyes. Pam MacKinnon directs the cast of two; Christopher Denham is
Mr. Pacino’s valiant sounding board (2:00). Gerald Schoenfeld Theater,
236 West 45th Street, chinadollbroadway.com, 212-239-6200. (Ben
Brantley)
★ ‘The Color Purple’
A makeover made in heaven. The director John Doyle has slimmed down and
toned up a show that seemed leaden and garish in its original Broadway
incarnation. This musical version of Alice Walker’s celebrated novel
about black women finding their voices — which features Jennifer Hudson
and, in a star-making performance, Cynthia Erivo — is a triumph of
elemental, emotional storytelling (2:35). Bernard B. Jacobs Theater, 242
West 45th Street, Manhattan, 212-239-6200, colorpurple.com. (Brantley)
★ ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
This timely new production of the much-loved and much-revived 1964
musical comedy honors the show’s ebullience of spirit, as embodied in
the Jewish milkman Tevye (an assured and affecting Danny Burstein),
living in a Russian shtetl in the early 20th century. But as directed by
Bartlett Sher with his customary sensitivity (“The King and I,” “South
Pacific”), this multihued staging moves to a heart-stopping conclusion.
It’s just a musical, no? Yes, but what a musical (2:35). Broadway
Theater, 1681 Broadway at 53rd Street, 212-239-6200, fiddlermusical.com.
(Isherwood)
‘Finding Neverland’
This musical adaptation of the 2004 biopic about J.M. Barrie, the
creator of “Peter Pan,” heightens the film’s tidy psychologizing and
life-affirming messages by thickening their syrup and corn quotients.
The show brings to mind those supersize sodas sold in movie theaters.
It’s mostly empty calories. Diane Paulus directs a cast led by Matthew
Morrison (2:30). Lunt-Fontanne Theater, 205 West 46th Street,
877-250-2929, ticketmaster.com. (Brantley)
★ ‘Fun Home’
This extraordinary musical memory play about a girl and her father,
adapted by Jeanine Tesori (music) and Lisa Kron (book and lyrics) from
Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel, occupies that mysterious place where we
all grew up — the shifting landscape governed by those contradictory
creatures, our parents. Sam Gold directs a nigh-flawless cast in a show
that brings fresh oxygen to Broadway (1:40). Circle in the Square
Theater, 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, funhomebroadway.com,
212-239-6200.
★ ‘The Gin Game’
A superlative James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson headline the director
Leonard Foglia’s excellent revival of D.L. Coburn’s durable 1976 comedy
about two residents of a retirement home who bond – and bicker – over
the card table (2:00). Golden Theater, 252 West 45th Street,
212-239-6200, thegingamebroadway.com. (Isherwood)
★ ‘Hamilton’
Yes, it really is that good. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s rap-driven portrait
of the rise and fall of Alexander Hamilton, directed by Thomas Kail,
makes us feel the unstoppable, urgent rhythm of a nation being born. A
show that changes the language of the American musical, while offering
resounding evidence that this beleaguered genre is not only surviving
but thriving (2:45). Richard Rodgers Theater, 226 West 46th Street,
877-250-2929, hamiltonbroadway.com. (Brantley)
★ ‘The King and I’
Bartlett Sher’s resplendent revival of this Rodgers and Hammerstein
classic, set in the royal court of 19th-century Siam, is both panoramic
and personal, balancing epic sweep with intimate sensibility, lavish set
pieces with exquisitely sung soliloquies. Kelli O’Hara’s Anna Leonowens
is something wonderful indeed (2:50). Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln
Center, 212-239-6200, lct.org. (Brantley)
★ ‘King Charles III’
Mike Bartlett’s flat-out brilliant portrait of a monarchy in crisis –
set in and around Buckingham Palace in a highly foreseeable future –
takes all manner of audacious license, poetic and otherwise, treating
its contemporary subject (the House of Windsor) in the style of
Shakespeare’s history plays. His presumption pays off big-time. Tim
Pigott-Smith is splendid as the wavering title character (2:30). Music
Box Theater, 239 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200,
kingcharlesiiibroadway.com. (Brantley)
‘Misery’
Though based on one of Stephen King’s most terrifying novels, this
stage adaptation (by William Goldman) is unlikely to leave anyone cold
with terror. Starring a vacant Bruce Willis in his Broadway debut and a
hard-working Laurie Metcalf, this story of a best-selling author held
captive by a psychopathic fan sustains a steady, drowsy room temperature
throughout (1:30). Broadhurst Theater, 235 West 44th Street,
212-239-6200, miserybroadway.com. (Brantley)
‘On Your Feet!’
This latest jukebox musical to plug in to Broadway’s power strip tells
the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan’s rise to pop-chart success with
crowd-pleasing flair and plenty of itchy-feet-making dance music. The
vibrant Ana Villafañe and Josh Segarra star as the Cuban-born Estefans
(2:20). Marquis Theater, 1535 Broadway, at 45th Street, 877-250-2929,
onyourfeetmusical.com. (Isherwood)
★ ‘School of Rock: The Musical’
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s friskiest show in decades. Based on the 2003
movie, this story of a rock ’n’ roll nerd (played by Alex Brightman, a
bouncing Super Ball of energy) who teaches a class of regimented
fifth-graders (a fabulous band of preadolescents) to “stick it to the
man” is as amiably easygoing as it is loud (2:20). Winter Garden
Theater, 1634 Broadway, at 50th Street, schoolofrockthemusical.com,
212-239-6200. (Brantley)
‘Something Rotten!’
This rambunctious show, which weds the Elizabethan theater and the
brassy Broadway musical, dances dangerously on the line between tireless
and tedious. But the large cast, which includes Brian D’Arcy James and
Christian Borle, remains as wired as Adderall-popping sophomores during
exam week. Casey Nicholaw directed this exhausting frolic from Wayne and
Karey Kirkpatrick, and John O’Farrell (2:20). St. James Theater, 246
West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, rottenbroadway.com. (Brantley)
★ ‘Spring Awakening’
One of the great Broadway musicals of the past decade is born anew with
this inventive revival from the Deaf West Theater company, directed
with remarkable finesse by Michael Arden. A vibrant cast of both deaf
and hearing actors share the roles in this inspiriting production of the
show about adolescent angst in 19th-century Germany, with a fluid book
by Steven Sater and a gorgeous score by Duncan Sheik (2:20). Brooks
Atkinson Theater, 256 West 47th Street, 877-250-2929,
springawakeningthemusical.com. (Isherwood)
★ ‘A View From the Bridge’
This is what Greek tragedy must once have felt like. Ivo van Hove’s
magnificent reconception of Arthur Miller’s drama about a blue-collar
Brooklyn family takes you into extreme emotional territory that you
seldom dare visit in real life. As the doomed longshoreman Eddie
Carbone, Mark Strong gives the most powerful performance you’re likely
to see this year (1:55). Lyceum Theater, 149 West 45th Street,
212-239-6200, lct.org. (Brantley)
Off Broadway
‘Bayside! The Musical’
Attending this bawdy, ridiculous, unauthorized parody of the
harebrained sitcom “Saved by the Bell” is a bit like going to a midnight
screening of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” given the many inside
jokes and synchronized audience responses. Audience members know the
material so well because half the humor comes from merely reproducing
every ludicrous plot twist and trope from the TV show (including Zack’s
giant cellphone, Becky the Duck and other allusions that will be
familiar to longtime fans). The other half of the humor is just good
old-fashioned raunch, usually playing up the horrifying ways to
reinterpret a squeaky-clean children’s show (2:00). Theater 80, 80 St.
Marks Place, East Village, 212-388-0388, baysidethemusical.com.
(Catherine Rampell)
‘Clever Little Lies’
Marlo Thomas plays the mother of a straying young husband in Joe
DiPietro’s comfort-food comedy-drama, which feels like a throwback to
Neil Simon’s early work from the 1960s (1:30). Westside Theater
Upstairs, 407 West 43rd Street, cleverlittlelies.com, 212-239-6200.
(Isherwood)
★ ‘Colin Quinn: The New York Story’
Mr. Quinn’s joke-dense monologue is a lovely nostalgic lament for a New
York gone by (1:15). Cherry Lane Theater, 28 Commerce Street, West
Village, 866-811-4111, colinquinnthenewyorkstory.com. (Jason Zinoman)
‘Daddy Long Legs’
This sweet, beautifully sung and only occasionally unsettling musical
adaptation of Jean Webster’s 1912 novel is predicated on the lengthy
correspondence between a pert orphan and her anonymous benefactor. Even
if the relationship between the adorable Jerusha and the debonair Jervis
reads as at least a little creepy, their voices twine charmingly
(2:15). Davenport Theater, 354 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200,
daddylonglegsmusical.com. (Soloski)
‘Double It’
Chen Shi-Zheng’s chamber spectacle is an exuberant enactment of
acrobatic feats performed by a bunch of boisterous and unusually
flexible young adults. Too many of the scenes have a similar energy and
pace, but it’s impossible not to cheer for these charming players and
their giddy zeal (1:20). Baruch Performing Arts Center, 55 Lexington
Avenue, at 25th Street, 212-352-3101, baruch.cuny.edu/bpac. (Soloski)
★ ‘The Flick’
Annie Baker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about the beauty and sadness
in the lives of three workers in a run-down movie theater has been
remounted under the deeply focused direction of Sam Gold. Moving, funny,
unforgettable, but definitely a polarizing night at the theater, thanks
to Ms. Baker’s quietly observational pacing (3:10). Barrow Street
Theater, 27 Barrow Street, at Seventh Avenue South, West Village,
212-868-4444, barrowstreettheatre.com. (Isherwood)
‘Full House! The Musical!’
This frenetic, ribald and exhausting satire from the creators of
“Bayside! The Musical!” barely stops for breath. Only Marshall Louise
freezes time with her delicious sendup of the grown Mary-Kate and Ashley
Olsen. Her impersonation might be one-note, but it is something to
treasure (2:00). Theater 80, 80 St. Marks Place, East Village,
212-388-0388, fullhousethemusical.com. (Andy Webster)
‘Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King’
Mr. Minhaj, a recent addition to “The Daily Show” stable of
correspondents, tells some brown-in-a-white-world personal stories in
this one-man show, dwelling especially on high school and a bad prom
experience. There are a few amusing anecdotes, but he strings them out
far longer than they deserve, and they’re not terribly insightful in the
first place (1:10). Cherry Lane Theater, 38 Commerce Street, West
Village; 866- 811-4111, homecomingkingshow.com. (Neil Genzlinger)
‘Lazarus’
A great-sounding, great-looking and ultimately mind-numbing new musical
built around songs by David Bowie. Michael C. Hall stars as Thomas
Newton, the character Mr. Bowie played in “The Man Who Fell to Earth,”
and this impressionistic show is a sequel of sorts to that 1976 film.
Directed by Ivo van Hove, this glamorously muddled show is transfixing
only when it sings (2:00). New York Theater Workshop, 79 East Fourth
Street, East Village, 212-460-5475, nytw.org. (Brantley)
★ ‘Marjorie Prime’
Jordan Harrison’s elegant, thoughtful and quietly unsettling play about
memory and mortality works by stealth, a seeming featherweight that
keeps landing skillfully targeted punch after punch. Impeccably directed
by Anne Kauffman, with acting to match by a four-member cast that
includes the wonderful Lois Smith as a woman retrieving her past with
some robotic assistance (1:20). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West 42nd
Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Brantley)
★ ‘MotherStruck!’
The vibrant Staceyann Chin’s new solo show explores her difficulties —
financial, physical and otherwise — on the journey to motherhood. Ms.
Chin’s wit and humor leaven a sometimes dark story (2:00). Lynn Redgrave
Theater at Culture Project, 45 Bleecker Street, near Lafayette Street,
East Village, 866-811-4111, cultureproject.org. (Isherwood)
‘Phalaris’s Bull: Solving the Riddle of the Great Big World’
In this idea-heavy one-man show, Steven Friedman, a Renaissance man
whose areas of expertise include philosophy, seeks to weave a capsule
history of philosophical thought with an autobiography, the two strands
eventually coming together in a surprising way. But he is no performer,
and his awkward delivery makes the show something of a slog (1:20).
Beckett Theater at Theater Row, 410 West 42nd Street, 212-239-6200,
solvingtheriddleplay.com. (Genzlinger)
’Ruthless!’
This spiked Shirley Temple of a show, which first opened in 1992 and
now returns with less fizz, follows the adventures of Tina Denmark (Tori
Murray), a stage-struck prepubescent with occasional homicidal
tendencies. But what must have once seemed wildly satirical could
practically pass for documentary (1:35). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West
46th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, ruthlessthemusical.com. (Soloski)
‘Shear Madness’
This astonishingly durable interactive murder mystery has been running
in Boston since Jimmy Carter was in the White House, and some of the
jokes in the late-arriving New York incarnation definitely show their
years. But the tone of this improv-heavy play depends hugely on the
performers. They lend an inclusive spirit of fun to the proceedings, set
in a Manhattan hair salon where the audience determines which character
is the most likely suspect (2:00). New World Stages, 340 West 50th
Street, 212-239-6200, shearmadness.com. (Laura Collins-Hughes)
‘Take Care’
Heed the show’s title if you’re afflicted with performance anxiety.
This highly interactive production about climate change and the racial
conflicts boiling in America requires (minimal) participation from
self-described “voyeurs,” but more engagement from willing volunteers
(1:10). (The show goes on hiatus Monday and returns Jan. 7.) Flea
Theater, 41 White Street, TriBeCa, 866-811-4111, theflea.org.
(Isherwood)
‘These Paper Bullets!’
Rolin Jones’s very free adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” hurtles
the tale forward to London in the 1960s, and concerns the romantic
complications faced by the lead singers of a Beatleslike band. Billie
Joe Armstrong provides the catchy songs, but Mr. Jones’s sometimes
labored adaptation, directed by Jackson Gay, has its saggy spots (2:30).
Linda Gross Theater, 336 West 20th Street, Chelsea, 866-811-4111,
atlantictheater.org. (Isherwood)
‘Trip of Love’
This bloated concoction takes a seemingly random collection of Top 40
hits from the 1960s and turns them into dance numbers, with a sparse,
clichéd girl-meets-boy story woven in. Ridiculous stuff, but the
big-budget sets are sometimes fun (1:50). Stage 42, 422 West 42nd
Street,212-239-6200, tripoflove.com. (Genzlinger)
‘2 Across’
Starring Andrea McArdle (“Annie”) and Kip Gilman as crossword-solving
middle-aged singletons, this meet-cute, sitcom-style two-hander is a
battle-of-the-sexes throwback by Jerry Mayer, a veteran television
writer. The actors’ appealing rapport makes the play surprisingly
palatable, at least for a while (1:30). St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West
46th Street, Manhattan, 212-239-6200, 2acrosstheplay.com.
(Collins-Hughes)
‘A Wilder Christmas’
Peccadillo Theater Company presents a pair of haunted one-acts by
Thornton Wilder, directed by Dan Wackerman. “The Long Christmas Dinner,”
a comedy dappled with dolor, mostly comes off well until the director
substitutes a sentimental ending for Wilder’s sad one, but “Pullman Car
Hiawatha” is excruciatingly jollied up. This production is afraid of the
dark, and that’s where Wilder is most luminous (1:30). Theater at St.
Clement’s, 423 West 46th Street, Clinton, 866-811-4111,
thepeccadillo.com. (Collins-Hughes)
Off Off Broadway
★ ‘Antigona’
Pairing flamenco with ancient Greek tragedy is the kind of idea that
makes the brow furrow. But in Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca’s dark
and explosive dance drama, adapted from Sophocles’ “Antigone,” the
odd-couple match makes an “Aha!” kind of sense. Choreographed by Ms.
Barrio, who plays the title role with arresting intensity, this is a
union of two fierce and stylized forms (1:30). West Park Presbyterian
Church, 165 West 86th Street, 866-811-4111, nocheflamenca.com.
(Collins-Hughes)
Extravaganzas
★ ‘Big Apple Circus: The Grand Tour’
Friendly, beguiling and emphatically humane, this popular circus takes
travel as its theme this year, with its performers cavorting as Jazz Age
sailors, aviators and sightseers. The aerial act is terrific, the
horses elegant, the Wheel of Wonder sufficiently terrifying. Many of the
acts are graceful rather than thrilling, but this is nevertheless a
first-class jaunt. And it only takes a MetroCard to get there (2:00).
Damrosch Park, Lincoln Center; 800-922-3772, bigapplecircus.org.
(Soloski)
Long-Running Shows
‘Aladdin’
The Disney movie refashioned for the stage, with shtick, sparkles and
silliness cutting the syrup (2:20). New Amsterdam Theater, 214 West 42nd
Street, 866-870-2717, aladdinthemusical.com.
‘Avenue Q’ R-rated puppets give lively life lessons (2:15). New World Stages, 340 West 50th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘Beautiful: The Carole King Musical’
Becoming Carole King, song by song by song (2:25). Stephen Sondheim
Theater, 124 West 43rd Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘The Berenstain Bears Live! In Family Matters, the Musical’
An adaptation of three of Stan and Jan Berenstain’s children’s books
(:55). Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, 248 West 60th Street,
866-811-4111, berenstainbearslive.com.
‘Black Angels Over Tuskegee’
The tear-jerker story of these trailblazing African-American pilots
(2:30). Actors Temple Theater, 339 West 47th Street, Clinton,
212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
Blue Man Group
Conceptual art as entertainment (1:45). Astor Place Theater, 434
Lafayette Street, East Village, 800-258-3626, ticketmaster.com.
‘The Book of Mormon’
Singing, dancing, R-rated missionaries proselytize for the American
musical (2:15). Eugene O’Neill Theater, 230 West 49th Street,
212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘Chicago’ Jazz Age sex, murder and razzle-dazzle (2:25). Ambassador Theater, 219 West 49th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’
Navigating life’s maze with a socially challenged prodigy (2:25). Ethel
Barrymore Theater, 243 West 47th Street, curiousonbroadway.com,
212-239-6200.
‘The Fantasticks’ Boy meets girl, forever (2:05). Snapple Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
‘Fuerza Bruta’
This shiny, sensory-overload spectacle from the creators of “De la
Guarda” is rife with not especially impressive acrobatics, throbbing
music, many-colored lights and high winds from machines set at storm
speed (1:20). Daryl Roth Theater, 20 Union Square East, at 15th Street,
212-239-6200, fuerzabrutanyc.com.
‘A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder’
A feast of murder, music and merriment in Edwardian England (2:20).
Walter Kerr Theater, 219 West 48th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘Jersey Boys’ The biomusical that walks like a man (2:30). August Wilson Theater, 245 West 52nd Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘Kinky Boots’
These boots are made for dancin’ — and stompin’ out bigotry (2:20). Al
Hirschfeld Theater, 302 West 45th Street, Clinton, 212-239-6200,
telecharge.com.
‘The Lion King’ Disney’s call of the wild (2:45). Minskoff Theater, 200 West 45th Street, 800-870-2717, ticketmaster.com.
‘Matilda the Musical’ The children’s revolution, per Roald Dahl (2:35). Shubert Theater, 225 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘Les Misérables’
The celebrated musical about that hard-luck bread-stealer is back —
again (2:50). Imperial Theater, 249 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200,
telecharge.com.
‘Perfect Crime’
The murder mystery that has been investigated since 1987 (1:30).
Snapple Theater Center, 210 West 50th Street, 800-745-3000,
ticketmaster.com.
‘The Phantom of the Opera’ Who was that masked man anyway (2:30)? Majestic Theater, 247 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200, telecharge.com.
‘Sex Tips for Straight Women From a Gay Man’
Part bachelorette party at Chippendales, part embarrassing midnight
show in Pigalle (1:20). 777 Theater, 777 Eighth Avenue, at 47th Street,
888-841-4111, sextipsplay.com.
‘Sistas: The Musical’
Black women reflect on their lives, with songs (1:30). (Saturdays and
Sundays.) St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th Street, Clinton,
212-239-6200, sistasthemusical.com.
‘Sleep No More’
A movable, murderous feast at Hotel Macbeth (2:00). The McKittrick
Hotel, 530 West 27th Street, Chelsea, 866-811-4111, sleepnomorenyc.com.
‘Stomp’
And the beat goes on (and on), with percussion unlimited (1:30).
Orpheum Theater, 126 Second Avenue, at Eighth Street, East Village,
800-982-2787, ticketmaster.com.
‘Then She Fell’
Go ask Alice (2:00). The Kingsland Ward at St. John’s, 195 Maujer
Street, near Humboldt Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-374-5196,
thenshefell.com.
‘Wicked’ Oz revisited (2:45). Gershwin Theater, 222 West 51st Street, 800-745-3000, ticketmaster.com.
Last Chance
‘A Child’s Christmas in Wales’
(closes on Sunday) The Irish Repertory Theater adapts the Dylan Thomas
prose poem into a play with plenty of hymns. On a cozy stage crammed
with presents and half a dozen Christmas trees, five actors, including
John Cullum, recite and sing. The tone is occasionally a little treacly,
but then again, so is Christmas. DR2 Theater, 103 East 15th Street,
212-727-2737, irishrep.org. (Soloski)
‘Dada Woof Papa Hot’
(closes on Sunday) There’s something off-puttingly insular about the
world of privilege depicted in Peter Parnell’s comedy-drama about the
new frontier of gay marriage and parenthood. But for the most part, the
play’s themes — how gay men’s approaches to sex can radically differ;
whether fractured relationships can ever be repaired; and how children
can alter the sexual and emotional dynamics between any couple — are
handled with nuance and insight by an impeccable cast (1:35). Mitzi E.
Newhouse Theater, 150 West 65th Street, 212-239-6200, lct.org.
(Isherwood)
Eloise Kropp, left, Mara Davi, Danny Gardner and John Bolton in “Dames at Sea.”Credit
Sara Krulwich/The New York Times
‘Dames at Sea’
(closes on Sunday) This revival of the 1966 spoof of backstage movie
musicals of the 1930s has a wee, winning cast that could fit in a
dinghy, and scads of energetic choreography by Randy Skinner, who also
directs. Still, Broadway has been on a nostalgia trip for so long that
this small-scaled show feels just a bit, well, at sea on Broadway
(2:05). Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, 212-239-6200,
damesatseabroadway.com. (Isherwood)
★ ‘The Golden Bride’
(closes on Sunday) This long-lost, newly reconstructed Yiddish operetta
is an immigrant fantasy that looks as fondly on Mother Russia as on
Uncle Sam. A farcical, tuneful 1923 romance that’s part old-fashioned
musical comedy, part straight-up opera, it’s deeply satisfying in a
handsome large-cast production by the National Yiddish Theater
Folksbiene (2:15). Museum of Jewish Heritage, 36 Battery Place, Lower
Manhattan, 866-811-4111, nytf.org. (Collins-Hughes)
‘The Great Divorce’
(closes on Sunday) A glimpse of heaven from the man who created Narnia.
This adaptation of C.S. Lewis’s 1945 work about the trickiness of
joy-filled eternity makes for fascinating, if dense, theology (1:20).
Pearl Theater, 555 West 42nd Street, Clinton, 212-563-9261,
fpatheatre.com. (Anita Gates)
★ ‘Hand to God’
(closes on Sunday) Robert Askins’s black comedy, about a mild Christian
boy whose hand puppet may (or may not) be possessed by the Devil, is as
outlandishly funny as it is seriously spooky. Steven Boyer gives a
bravura performance as the troubled teenager with the evil imp on his
arm, and Geneva Carr is moving as his addled, newly widowed mother. The
play, previously seen in two Off Broadway runs, grew even sharper, and
more disturbing, in its move uptown to Broadway (2:00). Booth Theater,
222 West 45th Street, 212-239-6200, handtogodbroadway.com. (Isherwood)
★ ‘Hir’
(closes on Sunday) A sensational — in all senses of the word — dark
comedy by the immensely gifted Taylor Mac, about an American family in
crisis. What’s new? Well, you have to see it to believe it. Kristine
Nielsen gives a bravura comic performance as the materfamilias of a clan
in the throes of transition, and the rest of the cast is equally fine.
Wild, woolly and unforgettable (1:50). Playwrights Horizons, 416 West
42nd Street, 212-279-4200, playwrightshorizons.org. (Isherwood)
★ ‘The Humans’
(closes on Sunday) A middle-class family seems to be spiraling toward a
state of perilous entropy in this blisteringly funny, bruisingly sad
and altogether wonderful play by Stephen Karam. A flawless cast and
equally fine direction by Joe Mantello enhance the power of Mr. Karam’s
subtle, affecting examination of the way we live now – which is to say,
painfully close to the edge (1:30). Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center
for Theater, 111 West 46th Street, 212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org.
(Isherwood)
‘The Illusionists: Live on Broadway’
(closes on Sunday) This elaborate magic show returns from its run last
year at the Marquis Theater with three new members on its roster of
seven tricksters. There are laser beams, digital video screens and more.
Think of it as a magic show on steroids (2:00). Neil Simon Theater, 250
West 52nd Street, 800-745-3000, theillusionistslive.com. (Isherwood)
‘Land of Fire’
(closes on Sunday) The story of an Israeli woman who seeks out her
Palestinian attacker in order to forgive him, this drama by Mario
Diament is an earnest yet didactic attempt to confront the intractable
hostility between Israelis and Palestinians and nudge hearts closer to
peace (1:50). Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, at Ninth
Street, 212-868-4444, theaterforthenewcity.net. (Collins-Hughes)
‘Mad Libs Live!’
(closes on Saturday) Despite a likable cast, there is less fun and
spontaneity here than the brand name might suggest. Based on the
fill-in-the-blank word game, this musical for children 7 and up asks
audience members to suggest nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs to
complete its anodyne songs. The sheer belly laughter of the game comes
from surprising juxtapositions. The show plays it too safe, relying on
the crowd to supply the silliness (1:00). New World Stages, 340 West
50th Street, 212-239-6200, madlibslive.com. (Collins-Hughes)
‘Once Upon a Mattress’
(closes on Sunday) The cult comic Jackie Hoffman is every inch — and
decibel — the ingénue she needs to be in Transport Group’s genial,
patchy revival of this 1959 musical about a galumphing storybook
princess. Directed by Jack Cummings III, the fairy tale feels long in
the telling, but is considerably brightened by Ms. Hoffman and the
commanding Lypsinka (John Epperson) as an evil queen (2:15). Abrons Arts
Center, 466 Grand Street, at Pitt Street, Lower East Side,
866-811-4111, abronsartscenter.org. (Brantley)
‘Radio City Christmas Spectacular’
(closes on Sunday) Although the Rockettes are a much more diverse group
than when this extravaganza began in 1933, the production still feels
frozen in time. You could easily imagine these lovely dancers serving
drinks to Don Draper on “Mad Men.” But they’re a hardworking bunch, and
even if the spectacular doesn’t have you at hello — or at “Ho, ho, ho” —
you’ll probably soon succumb to the glitter and gaiety (1:30). Radio
City Music Hall; 866-858-0007, radiocitychristmas.com. (Laurel Graeber)
★ ‘Steve’
(closes on Sunday) In this deliciously acted, very affecting comedy by
Mark Gerrard, about a group of gay friends surprised by middle age, no
event is so grave or so trivial that it cannot be annotated with a
musical comedy reference. Yet within the songs and the zingers, there’s a
surprisingly serious moral intelligence at work. Cynthia Nixon directs a
crackerjack ensemble (1:30). Pershing Square Signature Center, Romulus
Linney Courtyard Theater, 480 West 42nd Street, 212-279-4200,
thenewgroup.org. (Brantley)
‘Sylvia’
(closes on Sunday) Matthew Broderick plays an emotionally adrift
middle-aged man who finds solace – and something close to love – in the
company of a stray mutt he brings home from the park one day. Annaleigh
Ashford bounds around with ceaseless energy as the titular dog, and
Julie White gives fine support as the exasperated wife, but A.R.
Gurney’s comedy ultimately has all the heft of a teacup poodle (2:05).
Cort Theater, 138 West 48th Street, 212-239-6200, sylviabroadway.com.
(Isherwood)
‘Thérèse Raquin’
(closes on Sunday) Keira Knightley plays the title role of an
adulterous wife with dedicated intensity and joylessness in Helen
Edmundson’s adaptation of Émile Zola’s novel. Directed by Evan Cabnet,
the show is so relentlessly bleak that you realize from the get-go that
happiness in not in the cards, for either the doomed heroine or this
production’s audience (2:30). Studio 54, 254 West 54th Street,
212-719-1300, roundabouttheatre.org. (Brantley)
★ ‘39 Steps’
(closes on Sunday) This century’s most tireless and high-profile
example of the little show that could, adapted from Alfred Hitchcock’s
1935 movie and seen on Broadway in 2008, wraps up another antic struggle
with bad guys with bad accents. Directed by Maria Aitken, with a cast
of four playing too many roles to count, this paradigm of bare-bones
theater remains indomitably funny (1:40). Union Square Theater, 100 East
17th Street, Gramercy, 877-250-2929, 39stepsny.com. (Brantley)
‘Young Charles Dickens’
(closes on Sunday) Audiences won’t have to have read the Dickens canon
to enjoy this earnest and often evocative family musical, from New York
City Children’s Theater. An adaptation of Deborah Hopkinson’s book “A
Boy Called Dickens,” it seeks to illuminate how its subject became the
conscience of the Victorian age. With a book and lyrics by Barbara Zinn
Krieger and a score by Charlie Greenberg, it focuses on the wretched
experience that the 12-year-old Charles had working in a factory, and
how he helped save himself — and eventually others — with stories
(1:30). Theater 3, 311 West 43rd Street, Clinton, 646-250-1178,
nycchildrenstheater.org. (Graeber)