Samuel L. Leiter, Author at TheaterScene.net

Articles by Samuel L. Leiter

About Samuel L. Leiter (2 Articles)

Samuel L. Leiter, PhD., Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Theatre, CUNY, is the author/editor of 31 books, ranging from Japanese theatre to Broadway. His most recent book is Brooklyn Takes the Stage: Nineteenth-Century Theater in the City of Churches (2024). A voting member of the Drama Desk, he also reviews for Theater Pizzazz and Theater Life.

Chess

November 23, 2025

Strong’s book belies his name, its overlong (two hours, 40 minute) narrative, with all its scheming realpolitik, being more formulaic than authentic. Its points about the individual vs. the state, personal ambition vs. national loyalty, truth vs. propaganda, the pressures of celebrity, and so on, are clear, but Chess is too addicted to larger-than-life histrionics to make us more than cerebrally grateful or deeply invested in the choices the characters must face. [more]

Little Bear Ridge Road

November 16, 2025

However, like its characters in their narrow world, the play itself—which premiered last year at Chicago’s dynamic Steppenwolf Theatre—seems small and isolated on a Broadway stage, even at the relatively intimate Booth. Despite a typically sterling performance by Laurie Metcalf, whose presence in a part that fits her like a glove is the principal reason to make a visit worthwhile, Hunter’s dramatic tropes seem too familiar to generate the kind of breakthrough excitement warranted by the price of a Broadway ticket. [more]