In theater, the Curve can be a harsh mistress. Company, for example, is only as good as you think it won’t be: Go with high hopes and be disappointed, or go expecting disappointment and be pleasantly surprised. As for Spring Awakening, the raves are in—so you better go now before your expectations soar out of control. Meanwhile, Letters From Iwo Jima is gobbling up year-end awards, making it indisputably the best Clint Eastwood Iwo Jima film of the year; Vertical Hour latecomers find Julianne Moore is so not-bad that she’s good; and Sufjan Stevens squanders some of his critical goodwill with a five-EP offering of holiday odds and ends that’s part Christmas present, part coal.

Related:

• Articles by Adam Sternbergh
• Table of Contents: Dec 25, 2006 issue of New York | Subscribe!