The new play "The Audience," based on Queen Elizabeth II's private weekly meetings with Britain's prime ministers, opened on Broadway Sunday night. NY1's Roma Torre filed the following review.

Get ready for a ton of royal superlatives, because the queen has arrived. And of course, I'm referring to Helen Mirren - technically, Dame Helen Mirren - but no matter the title, she's in a class all to herself. This is the performance that won her an Olivier Award for playing Queen Elizabeth II, and no doubt will win her at least a Tony nomination here.  

Paired once again with writer Peter Morgan, who penned "The Queen," in which Mirren won the Oscar for Best Actress, she's certainly familiar with the role. But here, under the excellent direction of Stephen Daldry, she's taken the part to many new levels.

Morgan’s play centers on Queen Elizabeth's private weekly meetings with Britain's prime ministers over the years. In her 63-year reign, she's gone through 12 of them so far, starting with the most famous of them all, Sir Winston Churchill. And thanks to designer Bob Crowley’s stately opulent rendering of a Buckingham Palace drawing room, we're instantly made to feel like eavesdroppers on these ultra-high-level briefings.  

Jumping back and forth in time, we're privy to imagined accounts of Elizabeth's sessions with eight PMs. And I dare say, American audiences are likely to be on foreign ground making sense of the many political references. The producers wisely added a Playbill insert providing detailed tidbits about the leaders.  

But it shouldn't matter all that much because the main focus is Elizabeth's coming of age as both a woman and a queen. And as written and portrayed, it's all quite beautifully explored. Having experienced so much history firsthand, we see how Elizabeth gains wisdom and insight over the many years, maintaining a fine sense of humor throughout. And just watch how magically she transforms herself from young to old and back again.

The actors are all terrific, mixing Brits from the original company with Americans. But despite their fine contributions, the spotlight is firmly fixed on Dame Helen, holding court with such a regal dominance, it practically feels like a solo performance.