Dear Theater Fans, Last night Helen Shaw was in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, for the opening night performance of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s “As You Like It,” with the universally adored Jonathan Groff. The lights went down. The players were playing. And then the set … broke. The show eventually went on, and what a show: In her review today, Helen called it a “gorgeous and liberatory” production whose all-male cast (Groff plays Rosalind) “gentles the comedy’s cruelty” and “gives the whole thing an air of sweet camaraderie.” This performance concludes a week in England (mostly London) for Helen, who will be writing more about her experience there in the coming days. Here’s a peek: She saw shows both new (“The Standard of Living,” James Graham’s treatment of the life of John Maynard Keynes) and very, very old (Agatha Christie’s “The Mousetrap,” which has been running for nearly 75 years); as well as one of the finest works onstage at the moment, a revival of “Golden Boy,” starring Josh O’Connor, and directed by Sam Yates (who directed Andrew Scott’s “Vanya”). “It left me punch-drunk,” she told me. “A terrific marriage of actor and part that I hope very much will come to New York.” Not too long ago Michael Paulson was also in London, where he sat in on a rehearsal of the musical adaptation of the 1991 feminist road movie “Thelma & Louise.” It is now running through Oct. 24 at the Young Vic. The team behind it — including the musician Neko Case, the movie’s screenwriter, Callie Khouri, and the director Trip Cullman — reflected on the film’s legacy and the challenges of developing a stage work from a story whose plot hinges on a car chase. Back in New York, there’s plenty to see (and re-see). Helen recommends “Kramer/Fauci,” Daniel Fish’s “discombobulating, sometimes absurd” verbatim staging of a thrilling C-SPAN segment from 1993, which pitted the fiery Larry Kramer against the diplomatic Anthony Fauci. “It is piercingly relevant,” Helen wrote in her review, but also contains an “emotional mystery.” Recently, I asked Helen, Laura Collins-Hughes and Elisabeth Vincentelli to revisit some long-running productions, since new casts have cycled in. Helen was smitten (again) with “Little Shop of Horrors,” which currently features Ethan Slater and Betsy Wolfe; “Maybe Happy Ending,” Laura wrote, “feels as good as new. Which is to say, terrific”; and over at “Just in Time,” Elisabeth wrote that Jeremy Jordan’s performance as Bobby Darin “comes into its own in the second half, when he reveals the fractures behind his character’s sheen.” Christopher Jackson knows something about long-running shows. He played George Washington in “Hamilton” for about two years. Now the Tony-nominated actor is reprising the role a decade after leaving the Broadway production. He told Sarah Bahr that it’s been an “exhilarating” experience, and he feels fortunate to return to a role “that I could approach from 10 years of life and experience and see it from a completely different angle.” More theater news from Michael:
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