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Jack Knowles

Death of a Salesman

April 20, 2026

As you may have read, a lot of critics are saying that “attention must be paid” to the sixth Broadway revival of "Death of a Salesman," Arthur Miller’s 1949 “tragedy of the common man,” innovatively directed by Joe Mantello at the Winter Garden. Indeed, it is an attention‑getting, nearly three-hour mounting, led by sterling performances from Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf as Willy and Linda Loman, and Christopher Abbott and Ben Ahlers as their sons, Biff and Happy. My companion was so moved when it ended she could barely speak. I was impressed but with tearless results. [more]

Every Brilliant Thing

March 22, 2026

In persistently hopeful defiance of its heavy subject matter, the show strives for lightness. That's largely achieved thanks to Radcliffe's affability, which also swiftly inoculates the audience against his celebrity and lessens the chance for the type of slack-jawed fawning that might grind the proceedings to a halt. But Radcliffe isn't permitted to completely shed his fame, because, in lieu of a fully fledged character, "Every Brilliant Thing" desperately needs it as the engaging force to both form and conduct the "choir." That means, to some unknowable extent, Radcliffe must remain Radcliffe. [more]

Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

November 22, 2025

With its big, if economical, imagination, "Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)" also seemingly contains a metropolis of non-digital humanity, thanks, in particular, to Tony Gayle's robust and amusingly familiar sound design ("stand clear of the closing doors, please"). But Robin and Dougal are the only people ever actually present onstage, which is enough. As they repeatedly scale the twin mounds of literal baggage on Soutra Gilmour's circular treadmill of a set--rotating away from and towards each other--the metaphoric intent is obvious. Still, it's the promptly endearing Pitts and Tutty who must translate that visual meaning into a palpable bond, so that the audience cares deeply when it is eventually threatened by both past and future complications. [more]

Sunset Blvd.

November 7, 2024

Now, director Jamie Lloyd has taken the clunky—but entertaining—Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Sunset Blvd." (1993) and stripped it of all realistic scenery—and a few songs—hoping to get to the nitty-gritty of its Hollywood characters and period with enormous projections which suggest an expressionistic silent film. The results are decidedly mixed mostly due to a failure to settle on a tone plus some head-scratching additions that have nothing to do with the story. Lloyd, most recently represented by his dreary, stripped-down A Doll’s House and an equally spare production of Pinter’s Betrayal, has shepherded this production with a combination of brilliance and self-indulgence. [more]

Copyright Jack Quinn, 2001-2026