Profile for 1 Minute Critic

I’m afraid my Tony predictions may have gone off the rails. Bad for me, good for you. 1 Minute Critic participated in Broadway Scorecard’s Beat the Critics content, where participants have a chance to win a $200 gift card from TodayTix. Pick the Tonys, beat a critic, win a prize — one winner will be drawn randomly from all entries that outscore at least one of our featured critics. (Full rules here.)



I have one of the best jobs in the world: seeing theater. I caught nearly every Broadway show of the season. I didn’t review them all, and I don’t believe in a “chief critic” position. 1 Minute Critic was founded on celebration rather than gatekeeping, and the more diverse voices, the better. Certain kinds of work resonate with me, personally, but the one constant I always keep in mind is “why?”



Why does a show resonate? What is it about a performance that makes my stomach all squeamish in a good way? What’s the point in investing millions of dollars to tell a story at a particular moment in time? 

But here's the hitch: I'm not a Tony voter—yet. Each May, the Broadway League hosts its Spring Road Conference, where producers schmooze over which productions will tour. Broadway is a for-profit business, and an 11 o'clock number only matters if it sells tickets in Cleveland.



After locking my votes for GALECA’s (the Society of LGBTQ+ Entertainment Critics) Dorian Theater Awards, I realized I had completely shut out one of the major contenders. And when I submitted my picks for Broadway Scorecard’s contest, I similarly followed my gut instinct. But as a theater patron, not as a producer. 



Now, I’m second-guessing my pick, but I hope I’m wrong. No discredit to any of the nominees, but The Lost Boys was the one new musical that made my blood pump. A score by The Rescues, a Broadway-caliber scenic design with all the bells and whistles you’d hope for given the ticket price, and Michael Arden’s direction, which creates a mesmerizing world filled with camp, heart, and suspense. 



But Schmigagoon!, based on the short-lived Apple TV series, is a confection, and easier to take out on the road. Will Tony voters cave in to their sweet tooth, or opt for a new musical with more meat on its bones? 



My heart says The Lost Boys. The Tony voters' sweet tooth may say otherwise. I'll be watching and dancing around my apartment either way.

1 Minute Critic is launching a 4-part series. Less about who will win and more about how theatergoers, voters, and media define certain categories. Beginning with Best Performance by a Featured Actor/Actress. Discuss!  Here's our take - it only takes a minute.

1 Minute Critic - 4 out of 5 stars

Rose Byrne and Kelli O’Hara make irresistible boozy besties in ‘Fallen Angels’

At an intermissionless 90 minutes, Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Noeël Coward's drawing room comedy takes a bottle of champagne for the play to really kick into gear, but once it does, there's no turning back. Read full review.

1 Minute Critic - 2 out of 5 stars
Ayo Edebiri, Don Cheadle, and a Broadway revival that doesn’t add up

Thomas Kail’s production plays out on Teresa L. Williams’ backyard set, trimmed with Amanda Zieve’s linear transitional lighting that feels a bit on the nose for familiar chalkboard problem-solving. But the bigger issue is Edebiri’s strained performance, which feels trapped in the actor’s throat, only to explode in a few moments of visible direction. And despite Jin Ha’s soft charisma, the pair’s chemistry feels dutiful to the script rather than an authentic connection. 

Proof’s original production became one of the longest-running Broadway plays of the 21st century. Maybe some memories are best left in the past.  Read our full review - it only takes a minute. 

1 Minute Critic - 3 out of 5 stars

Brody is charismatic and surprisingly funny, but the play never builds relationships worth caring about. Director David Cromer navigates the play with his typical precision, and Brody carries much of the weight with charisma and charm. But when an exasperated Jacki asks Nick, years into his sentence, why he never told anyone what really happened, he says, “Now, even the truth sounds like a lie.”

Such lines land, but the relationship doesn’t. Without it, The Fear of 13 feels as handcuffed as its hero. Read the full review - it only takes a minute ⏰

1 Minute Critic: ‘Titaníque’ arrives on Broadway bedazzled, afloat & kooky-krazy as ever
4 out of 5 stars

Titaníque arrives on Broadway bedazzled and kooky-krazy, but those who caught it Off-Broadway may wonder what the bigger stage actually adds. Marla Mindelle is as sharp as ever, and Deborah Cox belting "All By Myself" alone is worth the price of a Broadway ticket. Read our full review at https://1minutecritic.com/titanique-broadway-review/

With a dip and a fan clack, ‘Cats: The Jellicle Ball’ pounces back to Broadway

Cats was never subtle. When it opened on Broadway in 1982, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s feline junkyard musical (based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats) brought a new level of maximalism to the stage. But as the kitties say from the get-go in a wildly inventive reimagining, “This is a ball, darling!” 

Does this Cats make more sense than the original? Mostly. Still, this is a Cats worth clawing for tickets over, and proof positive that Broadway can still turn a lewk. Read our full review. 

A professional astrologer read Broadway's spring season. The cosmos, apparently, has notes. See what the stars say here. 

Have extra frequent flyer miles? Or maybe you're lucky enough to live in a city where one of these productions is running in April! 

This month's five regional round-up picks center on family: biological and chosen, those we surround ourselves with voluntarily, those we try our best to avoid until it’s no longer possible, and the ones we love even when it hurts.  Find out here what made the list.

1 Minute Critic - 4/5 stars

The man who wrote Matilda called Jewish people "barbarous murderers." John Lithgow plays him on Broadway and somehow makes it even more complicated. Is it a giant question worth asking? We think so. Full review here. 

‘The Wild Party’ gets a sharp new vision. The old problems remain.
2 out of 5 stars

A gin-soaked Jazz Age spectacular that’s more ingredients than recipe: Lili-Anne Brown’s production finds new meaning in its racial reimagining, but the story disappears under the weight of its own party. Read our full review here. 

1 Minute Critic- 5/5 stars

‘A Chorus Line’ turns 50, goes global & proves it was always bigger than Broadway

The wheel hasn’t been reinvented here, but it didn’t need to be. The production doesn’t reimagine A Chorus Line so much as expand it. What began as one late night in a New York exercise studio now belongs to the world. Full review here.

1 Minute Critic - 3 out of 5 stars
Daniel Radcliffe high-fives the entire Hudson Theatre, and that's kind of the problem

What brings you joy? And how interested are you in sitting in a theatre full of strangers shouting out playwright Duncan Macmillan's answers to celebrated stage and screen actor Daniel Radcliffe? Your response may serve as the temperature gauge on whether Every Brilliant Thing is your cup of comfort tea, or a sip more tepid. Full Review Here

1 Minute Critic - 3 out of 5 stars
‘About Time’ embraces aging wisely and warmly, then overstays its welcome

"New York City inflates who you are, then moves on.” It’s a powerful lyric—one of several gems to be discovered in About Time, the third installment in Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire’s Life, A Musical song cycle. If it’s occasionally long-winded or kissed with overexuberant panache, so be it. They’ve earned the stage time, as has the acting company, which collectively has 36 Broadway credits among them. Full Review Here
 

1 Minute Critic - 4 out of 5 stars

A writer in need of creative inspiration. A secluded cabin in the woods with no cell phone service. The thriller trope nearly writes itself in David Cale’s new solo play. 

At a brisk 75 minutes, Hayes remains captivating, even if Cale’s play meanders a bit in the brothers’ backstory, and plot points, such as a stolen set of apartment keys, feel lifted from an episode of Law & Order. But no matter. By the time the curtain closes, you won’t be sure who’s been writing the story all along. And that’s precisely the point. Full review here.

Aisha Jackson just took her final bow as Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, but if you think the multi-faceted performer is taking a break after her latest Broadway show, think again. Jackson is about to make her Carnegie Hall debut with The New York Pops: If I Ain’t Got You: The Best of R&B. The one-night-only concert will feature hits by music legends, including Marvin Gaye, Mariah Carey, and Prince (among others), as well as fellow powerhouse guest artist Avery Wilson.

1 Minute Critic caught up with Jackson as she prepares to step onto one of the world’s most iconic stages to talk about faith, representation, and the gift of music. Read the full interview here.

1 Minute Critic - 2 out 5 stars

‘High Spirits’: A musical ghost story that overstays its welcome
Even supernatural beings—much like actual houseguests—can overstay their welcome. Such is the case with the New York City Center Encores! revival of High Spirits. 

Hugh Martin and Timothy Gray’s score isn’t terribly memorable. Still, with its lush overture, entr’acte, and a few standout songs, audiences may wax nostalgic for a time when Broadway musicals didn’t skimp on their orchestras. Full review here.

The latest from 1 Minute Critic

“Not guilty.” 

It’s the only English line the character of Hunyak says in Chicago, the longest-running American musical in Broadway history. And what a commentary on modern-day America it is. 

The character of Hunyak is based on real-life Italian immigrant Sabella Nitti, accused and convicted of murdering her husband without a shred of evidence. While the musical’s creators used Nitti’s story to frame a warning about xenophobia (she’s the only character in “Cell Block Tango” who is, in fact, innocent), the real Nitti had Helen Cirese in her corner, an up-and-coming attorney who secured a retrial, gave the defendant a makeover, and overturned her conviction. Read More Here.

1 Minute Critic - 3 out of 5 stars
‘Ulysses’ compresses one day into a dense, demanding adaptation

At over 700 pages, James Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses is the Mt. Everest of 20th-century literature. Spanning 18 episodes, a breadth of writing styles, and enough hidden gems to stump Jeopardy! winner Brad Rutter, Joyce allegedly said that the novel would keep academics busy for centuries arguing about what he meant. And now theatergoers.

Still, for those who crave New York City’s downtown theater scene with experimental companies like Mabou Mines, The Wooster Group, and La Mama, ERS continues to push boundaries, asking audiences to lean in, furrow their brow, and come along for the ride, even if we’re not sure where it’s headed. Full Review Here

1 Minute Critic review: 2/5 stars

If you’ve ever wanted to sit within arm’s length of legendary actor Ian McKellen, now’s your chance. Sort of. McKellen appears in the world premiere of An Ark, a “one-of-a-kind theatrical encounter” viewed through mixed reality glasses. The catch? He’s not actually there. Just his photonic projection, hovering in your field of vision like a very expensive ghost.

What happens next is both eerily intimate and oddly disconnected. Simpson Stephen’s script, written in 2nd-person with an emphasis on “you,” attempts to lure the reader with a laundry list of life experiences, hoping that some will resonate as if the late psychic Sylvia Browne were in the room. Full Review Here.