If Lincoln Center's revival of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya feels both timely and timeless, we can thank playwright and actress Heidi Schreck for her smart adaptation of the 1898 classic. With no references to anything that would place the story in a particular time or place (money is referred to as dollars, people reference “calling” each other rather than “calling on” someone), the play becomes universal—and all the more poignant. In Schreck’s hands, the lengthy Russian names become Anglicized and more approachable for American audiences—Aleksandr is now Alexander and Yelena is Elena, for example. But Ivan is still affectionately called Vanya

Peter Morgan has written any number of excellent plays, movies and TV series about world leaders, from Richard Nixon to Idi Amin to Queen Elizabeth II. But Patriots, his latest piece directed by Rupert Goold and running through June 23 the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, does not carry the same weight as Frost/Nixon, The Last King of Scotland or The Audience (or The Queen, or The Crown for that matter). It’s not that the story doesn’t have grand ambitions, but Patriots does not quite reach its goals. The play follows Boris Berezovsky, a former mathematician whose love of numbers makes him a

We all knew the musical adaptations of The Great Gatsby would be coming as soon as F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 book entered the public domain, and the first of what will inevitably be many such productions is finally open at the Broadway Theater. And much like Jay Gatsby’s signature parties, the new musical is very flashy and bright and loud but there’s not an awful lot underneath. Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen’s score is full of bright pop songs that don’t really evoke the 1920s or the wild hedonism of pre-Depression New York. The songs are fine but not terribly memorable,

Sally Hemings is one of the great known-unknowns of American history. We know she existed. We know she bore children to Thomas Jefferson, the man who enslaved her. We know she was likely the half-sister of Jefferson’s late wife. We know she outlived him and, while she never officially got to experience freedom, she was “given her time” and allowed to essentially retire from the horrific work of plantation life. But if she ever was able to write down her own thoughts, that writing has not survived to the present day. If she told anyone the story of her life

The timing feels very right for a revival of John Kander, Fred Ebb and Joe Masteroff’s seminal musical Cabaret. It’s only been 10 years since the last Broadway revival of the show but seems incredibly necessary right now to get people talking about how easy it is to ignore danger until it’s too late. It also feels very timely to have a production of Cabaret directed by a woman, especially as the choices Sally Bowles makes throughout the show become increasingly controversial. Since Christopher Isherwood first created the character of Sally Bowles, she has been interpreted by men, from John Van