Charles Isherwood

1 week ago | wsj.com | Charles Isherwood

New YorkFor sheer fertility of imagination, there may be no dramatist writing today to match Caryl Churchill. Across a distinguished career spanning more than five decades, the British playwright has written about a vast array of subjects, from the evils of colonialism to the global financial system to the morality of human cloning. And with each work she seems, astonishingly, to find a fresh form, a newly minted theatrical vessel for her ideas.

1 week ago | wsj.com | Charles Isherwood

New YorkDespite the seeming spoiler of a title, John Proctor is not the malefactor in “John Proctor Is the Villain,” a clever and potently entertaining drama by Kimberly Belflower at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. That will probably be obvious to many theatergoers, who will recall the titular character is actually the central figure in Arthur Miller’s 1953 play “The Crucible.” Even if you have never seen the play staged, you may have read this canonical American classic in high school.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Charles Isherwood

New YorkSamuel Johnson once called a second marriage the triumph of hope over experience. The new Broadway musical “Smash” adapts that aspirational adage for show business. It’s based on a TV series of the same name that dribbled along for two seasons more than 10 years ago without becoming a solid hit, let alone a smash.

2 weeks ago | wsj.com | Charles Isherwood

Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga lead Cameron Mackintosh’s song-stuffed revue of the Broadway composer’s legendary career, stretching from ‘Gypsy’ to ‘Sweeney Todd’ to ‘Passion.’Before Stephen Sondheim’s death in 2021, tribute concerts recurred so regularly that it sometimes seemed his birthday came around at least twice a year.

3 weeks ago | wsj.com | Charles Isherwood

The actor stars in an adaptation of his own film about the McCarthy-era broadcaster Edward R. Murrow in director David Cromer’s slick production. Good night, good luck, and the nearest Starbucks is two blocks south on Broadway. Copyright ©2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.