3 out of 5 stars

Ash K. Tata's version of "The Tragedy of Coriolanus" is the latest to draw a contemporary parallel to Shakespeare's story of a divisive, uncompromising autocrat tangling with the unruly politics of democracy in early Rome. This one incorporates social-media comments, surveillance video and government guns wielded against protesters. But the Bard's cipher of a titular character and his self-destructive choices are best understood with the parallels stripped away. The strong cast (led by McKinley Belcher III, Mickey Sumner, Roslyn Ruff and Jason O'Connell) is tremendously effective when just delivering the lines with nuance – and without the overreaching distractions. -- Adam Z. Horvath

Presented by Theatre for a New Audience at Polonsky Shakespeare Center, through
March 1, 2026; tfana.org. (Review date: Feb. 17, 2026)