Who tells your story? For generations to come, Alexander Hamilton can be thankful that Lin-Manuel Miranda chose to tell his in the new musical Hamilton, inspired by Ron Chernow’s biography on the former Treasury Secretary, which Miranda picked up to read on vacation back in 2008.1 Miranda’s hip-hop charged show integrates modern sound and style […]
Christian or not, religious or not, chances are that you have probably heard the hymn Amazing Grace. A song of redemption, of rediscovery, of renewal, Amazing Grace is a poignant and powerful anthem, yet very few people know anything about the man who penned the hymn, John Newton, nor how he came to write such […]
Love, lust, power, and control – sounds like the central themes of a new season of the reality show Real Housewives; however those concepts actually unite in the Royal Shakespeare Company production of Wolf Hall, presented in two parts, at the Winter Garden. PBS recently aired a six part miniseries based upon the popular novel […]
The new musical An American in Paris is less a musical than a ballet with a few Gershwin numbers sprinkled about a dance-laden plot. “New” is also a bit of a misnomer – An American in Paris is based upon the 1951 musical film of the same name with Gene Kelly. Like most Gene Kelly […]
The Bard is back on Broadway – just don’t go looking for any of his plays. No, Shakespeare is actually playing leading man in the new musical Something Rotten! playing at the beautiful St. James Theatre. Something Rotten! is a meta-musical that is just a little too cute for its own good and, ultimately, it […]
There is one thing that struck me immediately about the new musical Fun Home: the audience, which was unique. The lesbian couple to my left had never been to a Broadway show before (a point that they stressed repeatedly while we chatted before curtain), and the older gentleman to my right was a seasoned theatre […]
There is something universally appealing about J.M. Barrie’s ode to enduring childhood, Peter Pan, and the imaginary world of Neverland located “second to the right, and straight on till morning.”* A beloved children’s classic, my appreciation for Peter Pan started at a young age – as demonstrated by this Halloween picture from 1989 (with my […]
Broadway. The term, encompassing both an urban location and the style of theater produced therein, is so familiar, so loaded with rich cultural history, that we almost can’t conceive of American theater without it. But while the term may conjure up images from decades of iconic performances, or discussions of an impressive financial, touristic, and […]
Last year, I gave a rave review to an off-Broadway play called Hand to God starring a (possibly) satanic puppet named Tyrone McHansley and Jason, the timid, church-going boy who brings Tyrone to life. Well, this shocking and outrageously funny play capitalized on its stellar reviews and is now one of the best shows on […]
We need to talk about a disturbing trend on Broadway that must be stopped. This trend impacts the public at large and, if not curbed soon, could have unsavory consequences for us all. The terrible scourge plaguing mankind? Mediocre (and even bad) plays selling out large Broadway theatres at astronomically high prices strictly because a […]
2014-15 are the years that math and science became incredibly cool in popular culture and a staple of popular entertainment. Two of the hottest Oscar contenders for Best Picture this year chronicle the lives of Stephen Hawking and Alan Turing. The cast of The Big Bang Theory is reaping considerable financial rewards for their television […]
2014 ended much the way it began for many Americans – watching Idina Menzel give a cringe-worthy performance of “Let It Go” to a large crowd.* My 2014 ended in a dark theatre – a movie theatre, actually. As I waited for Breakfast at Tiffany’s to start, I recounted my rather whirlwind year of theatrical […]
“The dog did nothing in the night-time. That was the curious incident.” -Sherlock Holmes in Silver Blaze The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon landed on my bookshelf back in 2003. As a junior in high school, Haddon’s fictional story of 15-year-old Christopher was unlike anything that I […]
For theatre fans, the holiday season means more in New York than jam-packed stores, high-kicking Rockettes, and the dreaded SantaCon. The new year brings with it the uplifting promise of hope – hope that the spring season will bring unique, creative, and unforgettable new productions to the Broadway stage. You see, there is a certain […]
After years of development and some very high-profile public try-outs (including a Prime Time showcase on the Tony Awards and a PBS special in February), Sting’s new musical The Last Ship has sailed onto the Great White Way. The wait was worth it. Sting’s lyrics are vivid and compelling and his melodies are rich and […]
Terrence McNally’s new theatrical endeavor It’s Only A Play has all of the components for a major Broadway hit: a well-known playwright, the re-uniting of bromantic colleagues Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick, a handful of well-known and respected actors to round out the ensemble, and the buzz of being the hottest ticket in town at […]
Kenneth Lonergan’s new play, This is Our Youth is a bit of a misnomer – my youth was not even remotely like the drug-fueled, neglectful, and privileged life of Warren Straub (portrayed by Michael Cera) and Dennis Ziegler (portrayed by Kieran Culkin). If Holden Caulfield had grown up on the Upper West Side in the […]
Recently, I had occasion to see the pre-Broadway production of Bill Condon’s new revival of Side Show the Musical at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. With the recent announcement that it will be officially transferring to the St. James this fall, I thought it might be a good time to share a few thoughts […]
I am still in awe that I sat so close and watched relished the astonishing Megan Hilty in Provincetown. My Entertainment World interviewed her this past Winter, but the joy of seeing this talented and enthralling actress and performer is much more captivating and, indeed, a Smash-hit. Many of you may remember Hilty from the […]
The American Repertory Theatre has introduced their next Boston-to-Broadway commercial hit, Finding Neverland. Following the life and work of J. M. Barrie, playwright and author of Peter Pan, the musical is an emotional voyage of soaring highs and valley lows; bring the whole family, but also bring the tissues. Despite the artistic success of the […]
It was the good, the bad, and the ugly this year at the Tony Awards (and its not entirely Clint Eastwood’s fault, although he certainly contributed). From the bizarre opening number (if you haven’t seen the 1953 movie Small Town Girl that Hugh Jackman’s hopping routine was inspired by – well, neither had 98% of […]
Scars. We’ve all got them and there is usually an interesting story to accompany each and every one. Society’s obsession with beauty has led many a woman to scramble for products and treatment to avoid the appearance of scars. Unfortunately, I am too active to avoid them and proudly bear several small scars on my […]
The stage has long been a place to explore identity, social mores, and self-acceptance. This season is no different. One show that has embraced these themes is Harvey Fierstein’s newest contribution to Broadway (he currently has three shows open), Casa Valentina. I have a soft spot in my heart for Harvey Fierstein’s shows, which generally […]
Lately, I have been attending a lot of alternative theatre events. What is an alternative theatre event? It is a phrase that I created to encompass all limited run talent showcases, play readings, and musical performances. These events are often overlooked but are brilliant platforms to exhibit talent in a nontraditional way. Such events typically […]
During our hiatus, Broadway shows were opening nearly every other day to get their openings in before the Tony Award nomination qualification deadline. Needless to say, it has been a busy few weeks and, thankfully, producers have saved some of the best shows this season for last. To kick things off, I am bringing you […]
Oh the drama. It is Tony Award season once again, and before they even finished announcing the nominations, my Twitter feed had blown up with celebratory and incendiary commentary. The SNUBS! The SHOCKERS! The SCANDAL! Media outlets overwhelmingly adopted the term “snub” as the word of the day. Everyone was amazed that so many A-list […]