This Week on Stage: Liev Schreiber shines in 'A View From the Bridge'
After a slow start to the year, in terms of new theater offerings, the boards welcomed several new productions in the past week. First, and probably foremost, was the revival of Arthur Miller’s play A View From the Bridge (at left), a dark drama starring Scarlett Johansson and Liev Schreiber as niece and uncle, that EW’s Thom Geier awarded a B+. Geier mostly lauded Schreiber, saying the show “pivots on Schreiber, as it must, and he’s more than up to the task,” while remarking that Johansson “struggles a bit on what to do with her hands, but otherwise acquits herself well in her Broadway debut.”
The reviewers here at EW also offered their takes on several other new shows in NYC and elsewhere, including Ages of the Moon (B-), Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family (B-), The Orphans’ Home Cycle, Part 3 — The Story of a Family (A), As You Like It (B-), and Time Stands Still (A-). All those reviews—and tons more!—can be found in the EW.com Stage hub, which includes up-to-date news and reviews; or consult this handy guide below, which includes links to all of our stage reviews of current shows. (Note: The reviews are typically of the show’s original casts.)
BROADWAY
The Addams Family — Musical; opens 4/8/2010
All About Me — Musical Revue starring Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein; opens 3/18/10
American Idiot — Musical; opens 4/20/2010
A Behanding in Spokane — Comedy starring Christopher Walken; opens 3/4/10
Billy Elliot — Musical; opened 11/13/08; EW grade: B+
La Cage Aux Folles — Musical Revival starring Kelsey Grammer; opens 4/18/10
Chicago — Musical Revival; opened 11/14/1996; EW grade: A+
Collected Stories — Drama Revival starring Linda Lavin; opens 4/28/10
Come Fly Away — Musical created, choreographed, and directed by Twyla Tharp; opens 3/25/10
ENRON — Drama starring Norbert Leo Butz; opens 4/27/10
Fela! — Musical; opened 11/23/2009; EW grade: B+
Fences — Drama Revival starring Denzel Washington; opens 4/26/10 – 7/11/10
God of Carnage — Comedy starring Jimmy Smits and Christine Lahti; opened 3/22/2009; EW grade: A–
Hair — Musical Revival; opened 3/31/2009; EW grade: A–
In the Heights — Musical; opened 2/14/2009; EW grade: A–
Jersey Boys — Musical; opened 11/7/2005; EW grade: A
Lend Me a Tenor — Comedy Revival starring Anthony LaPaglia, Tony Shalhoub, and Justin Bartha; opens 4/4/10
The Lion King — Musical; opened 11/13/1997; EW grade: A+
Lips Together, Teeth Apart — Drama Revival starring Megan Mullally and Patton Oswalt; opens 4/29/10 – 6/20/10
A Little Night Music — Musical Revival starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury; opened 12/13/09; EW grade: B+
Looped — Drama starring Valerie Harper as Tallulah Bankhead; opens 3/14/10
Love Never Dies — Musical sequel to Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber; opens 11/11/10
Mamma Mia! — Musical; opened 10/18/2001; EW grade: B+
Mary Poppins — Musical; opened 11/16/2009; EW grade: A–
Memphis — Musical; opened 10/19/2009; EW grade: C+
Million Dollar Quartet — Musical; opens 4/11/10
The Miracle Worker — Drama Revival starring Abigail Breslin; opens 3/3/10
Next Fall — Drama; opens 3/11/10
Next to Normal — Musical; opened 4/19/2009; EW grade: A
The Phantom of the Opera — Musical; opened 1/26/1988
Present Laughter — Comedy Revival starring Victor Garber; opened 1/21/2010; EW grade: B–
Promises, Promises — Musical Revival starring Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth; opens 4/25/10
Race — Drama starring James Spader and Kerry Washington; opened 12/6/2009; EW grade: C
Rock of Ages — Musical; opened 4/7/2009; EW grade: C+
Sondheim on Sondheim — Musical Revue; opens 4/22/10 – 6/13/10
South Pacific — Musical Revival; opened 4/3/2008; EW grade: A
Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark — Musical starring Alan Cumming and Evan Rachel Wood; opens 2010
Time Stands Still — Drama starring Laura Linney; opened 1/28/2010 – 3/21/10; EW grade: A–
A View From the Bridge— Drama Revival starring Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson; opened 1/24/2010 – 4/4/2010; EW grade: B+
West Side Story — Musical Revival; opened 3/19/2009; EW grade: B
Wicked — Musical; opened 10/30/03; EW grade: B
OFF BROADWAY
Ages of the Moon— Drama starring Stephen Rea; opened 1/27/10 – 3/21/10; EW grade: B–
Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps — Comedy; reopens 3/25/10; EW grade: B+
As You Like It — Comedy; opened 1/26/10 – 3/13/10; EW grade: B–
Avenue Q — Musical; reopened 10/21/2009; EW grade: A
Blue Man Group — Special Performance; opened 11/11/1991
Circle Mirror Transformation — Drama; opened 12/15/09 – 1/29/10; EW grade: A
The Fantasticks — Musical Revival; opened 6/16/2008; EW grade: B+
Love, Loss, and What I Wore — Drama; opened 10/1/2009; EW grade: B+
The Orphans’ Home Cycle, Part I — Drama; opened 11/20/2009 – 5/8/10; EW grade: A–
The Orphan’s Home Cycle, Part II —Drama; opened 12/17/09 – 5/8/10; EW grade: B+
The Orphan’s Home Cycle, Part III — Drama; opens 1/26/10 – 5/8/10; EW grade: A
Our Town — Drama Revival; opened 2/26/2009 – 3/14/10; EW grade: A–
Stomp — Special Performance; opened 2/27/1994
ELSEWHERE
The 101 Dalmatians Musical (National tour) — Musical; EW grade: B–
August: Osage County (National tour with Estelle Parsons) — Drama; EW grade: A
Brief Encounter (Minneapolis) — Drama With Music; 2/11/10 – 4/2/10; EW grade: A
Dreamgirls (National tour with Syesha Mercado) — Musical; EW grade: B+
Kà (Las Vegas) — Special Performance; opened November 2004; EW grade: A–
LOVE (Las Vegas) — Musical Revue; opened 8/24/2006; EW grade: A–
Love Never Dies (London) — Musical from Andrew Lloyd Webber; opens 3/9/10
Mary Poppins (Los Angeles) — Musical; 11/13/2009 – 2/7/2010; EW grade: B
Mystere (Las Vegas) — Special Performance; opened 5/25/1993; EW grade: A
The Pee-wee Herman Show (Los Angeles) — Comedy; opened 1/20/10; EW grade: B
O (Las Vegas) — Special Performance; opened October 1998; EW grade: A–
Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Big Happy Family (National tour) — Drama with Music; opened 1/6/10; EW grade: B-
Zumanity (Las Vegas) — Special Performance; opened September 2003; EW grade: C
More Stage coverage from EW.com:
Photo credit: Joan Marcus