Sarah Snook Becomes 26 People: The Picture of Dorian Gray on Broadway Is a Tour de Force
It’s not every day you walk into a theater and see a single performer command the stage for over two hours—effortlessly shape-shifting into 26 different characters. But that’s exactly what Sarah Snook does in The Picture of Dorian Gray, now playing at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway. And she doesn’t just perform it—she becomes it.
Best actress
With nothing but herself, a few costume cues, and a brilliant integration of live video projection, Snook breathes new life into Oscar Wilde’s haunting tale. Directed by Kip Williams, this adaptation isn’t just a play—it’s an act of theatrical alchemy. Every voice, every glance, every emotion, every twisted turn of this dark fable about beauty, ego, and decay is funneled through Snook alone. And yet, the audience never feels the absence of anyone else. You forget you’re watching one person. That’s how good she is.
The story remains Wilde’s: Dorian Gray, a man whose portrait ages while he stays eternally young, slipping deeper into moral corruption. But in this version, it’s not just a portrait that reveals our obsession with surface and perfection—it’s the actress herself. Her face projected large on screens, her expressions morphing in real time, become a mirror of our own contradictions.
What makes this performance extraordinary isn’t just the technical ambition (though that’s worth applauding), but the emotional core. Snook doesn’t just perform characters—she exposes them. From the charming yet manipulative Lord Henry to the naive and tragic Sibyl Vane, each figure reveals a different piece of the human puzzle: the hunger for eternal youth, the vanity of appearances, the fear of being forgotten, the quiet decay of the soul.
For over two hours, she holds us spellbound—no intermission, no breaks, no backup. Just pure, raw, intimate performance. It’s a masterclass not only in acting but in stamina, storytelling, and transformation.
The Picture of Dorian Gray on Broadway isn’t just a one-woman show. It’s a one-woman phenomenon. A daring, dizzying journey into identity, obsession, and the masks we wear. And Sarah Snook? She wears them all—brilliantly.
Sarah Snook Becomes 26 People: The Picture of Dorian Gray on Broadway Is a Tour de Force
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