Off-Broadway Review

'Carousel' Too Cute in Concert by the NY Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic’s staged concert of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II’s “Carousel,” starring Nathan Gunn, Stephanie Blythe, and Kelli O’Hara, values music over drama.

'The Wild Bride' Tells an Unflinching Story With Courage and Heart

Kneehigh Theatre’s “The Wild Bride,” a self-described “feminist folk tale” at St. Ann’s Warehouse, is magical, high-spirited, and musically rich, a gale-force theatrical storm.

Loquacious 'Years of Sky' Smothers in Semantics

Barbara Blatner’s “Years of Sky,” at 59E59 Theaters, a study of the 30-year relationship of a mixed-race couple, is blighted by unconvincing characters saying implausible things.

‘The Madrid’ Evaporates Before Our Eyes

It’s hard to fathom how Manhattan Theatre Club allowed Liz Flahive’s undercooked comedy-drama “The Madrid,” starring Edie Falco, to get all the way to City Center’s downstairs stage.

Inventive 'The Dance and the Railroad' Makes for Memorable Theater

Signature’s elegant revival of David Henry Hwang’s 1981 “The Dance and the Railroad,” which mixes Chinese opera with building America’s transcontinental railroad, is memorable.

‘Katie Roche’ Has a Wild Heart

Teresa Deevy’s 1936 “Katie Roche” is less compelling than her “Temporal Powers” and “Wife to James Whelan,” but the Mint’s first-rate production makes the most it can out of it.

Engaging 'On the Head of a Pin' Needs a Blue Pencil

Although Frank Winters’ new play of dark deeds in Iraq, “On the Head of a Pin,” at 59E59 Theaters, is protracted and unwieldy, it does indicate a promising if undisciplined talent.

Melodrama Is ‘Really Really’ Unpersuasive

Paul Downs Colaizzo’s “Really Really,” from MCC Theater, is a glaringly manipulative “Did it happen or didn’t it?” melodrama about contemporary college students behaving badly.

'Donnybrook!,' What Have They Done to Ye?

Irish Rep’s revised, pared-down version of “Donnybrook!,” the 1961 Broadway musical adaptation of “The Quiet Man,” lurches by in fastforward despite Johnny Burke’s lilting score.

Uneven 'Much Ado About Nothing' Still Delights

Jonathan Cake’s Benedick emerges victorious in the amorous skirmishes of Theatre for a New Audience’s handsome but unbalanced rendering of Shakespeare‘s “Much Ado About Nothing.”