All stories by Alan Smason on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, August 2, 2023

‘The Rock & Roll Man’ on Broadway: Dancing in the Aisles at the New World Stages by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN OK, so they weren’t exactly dancing in the aisles at the New World Stages the night that I attended The Rock & Roll Man. Forget that I said that. What the audience was …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:56AM
Friday, July 7, 2023

Asner’s final film is breakthrough vehicle for Margot Josefsohn by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON Polish filmmaker Rafal Zielinski is finally seeing his independent film “Tiger Within” released in theaters today, Friday, July 7. The motion picture released through Mene…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:24PM
Saturday, July 1, 2023

‘Bad Cinderella’ On Broadway (With A Latina Cinderella, Her Crazy-Ass Stepmother, And Two Black Princes) by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN Little did Andrew Lloyd Webber know when he saddled his most recent musical with the ill-chosen name Bad Cinderella that he was handing theater critics here in New York a cud…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 11:15AM
Monday, June 26, 2023

‘Miss Rose’: Life Is a Cabaret for Tom by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Many fans of Tennessee Williams know of the feelings of anguish he experienced when dealing with his sister Rose Isabel Williams…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:56AM
Saturday, June 24, 2023

Crescent City Stage closes out its season with superb ‘Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Christopher Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike is a very funny work. That much has been clearly established in the …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:55AM
Wednesday, June 21, 2023

SLT’s ‘Music Man’ is proper vehicle to showcase Rachel Looney’s mellifluous voice by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Meredith Wilson composed what may have been the most iconic of American musicals with his The Music Man that took home five Tony…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:05PM
Tuesday, June 20, 2023

N.O. Shakespeare Festival’s ‘Twelfth Night’ is a lustrous delight by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) In a town famous for launching its most famous celebration on Twelfth Night, one might think the  connection to the self-named …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:26AM
Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Richard Thomas rises as Atticus in Sorkin adaptation of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) Aaron Sorkin and Bartlett Sher have made an impressive team. In fact, their partnership has resulted in the greatest box office …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:32AM
Monday, June 12, 2023

2023 Tony Award winners listed by Alan Smason

(NEW YORK) – The United Palace, the opulent and spectacular movie theater that was once home to minister Reverend Ike, served as the glamorous backdrop for Broadway’s night to honor its …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:43AM
Sunday, June 11, 2023

‘Doubt’: Superlative script, expert directing and compelling acting make for spellbinding Beck production by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO Doubt: A Parable, which is now on stage at Beck Center for the Arts, won the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play.  It ran for 525 performances in it…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:46PM
Friday, June 2, 2023

Broadway’s ‘Parade’: Wrapped in the Folds of Civic Pageantry by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN Alfred Uhry’s musical Parade, co-conceived by Hal Prince with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, is now playing to sell-out crowds and rave reviews, and back on Broadw…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:59PM
Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Brilliant production of ‘Curious Incident’ bows at Le Petit Theatre by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Author Mark Haddon created a best selling novel 20 years ago in Great Britain with “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nig…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:02PM
Saturday, May 20, 2023

NOLA Project repeats ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ at NOMA Sculpture Garden by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There is an adage well known to pharmacists and those familiar with shampoo. The directions “repeat when necessary” come to …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:14PM
Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Rivertown rises as it descends to the depths with ‘SpongeBob Musical’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Despite its having won a Tony Award for scenic design, The SpongeBob Musical appeared to be a lightweight entry on the season f…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:11AM
Monday, May 15, 2023

Intimate Hanna Theatre a perfect venue for swingin’ ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’ by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO The setting in which a musical production takes place, often affects the pleasure one gets from the experience.  A perfect case in point is Ain’t Misbehavin’ presently bein…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:36AM
Tuesday, May 2, 2023

Tony Nominations for 2023 listed by Alan Smason

(NEW YORK) – Tony Awards nominations were announced this morning by Lea Michele and 2022 Tony Award winner Myles Frost. The full list of nominations follows. A total of 38 shows were elig…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 05:44PM
Saturday, April 29, 2023

Lance Nichols revives the spirit of August Wilson in ‘How I Learned What I Learned’ by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Lance E. Nichols has played many roles in his stellar movie and TV career, but the opportunity to emulate playwright August Wils…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:46AM
Tuesday, April 25, 2023

‘What We Look Like’ is fun, but inconsistent; needs focus, cutting by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO It’s always exciting and challenging to see a “new” play script come alive in a staged production, especially by a creditable performance company.  What We Look Like, no…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:32AM
Thursday, April 20, 2023

M. D. Schaffer’s ‘Drapetomania: A Negro Carol’ is a wild ride through history by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) In 1851 in an article written for DeBow’s Review that was published in New Orleans, Dr. Samuel Cartwright, a physician, create…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 02:29PM
Saturday, April 15, 2023

Egland’s ‘Where the Suga Still Sweet’ a tale of woe, redemption by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) Brian Egland wears many hats in the theatrical world – stage and film actor, singer, songwriter, photographer and director amo…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 06:01PM
Wednesday, April 12, 2023

National tour of ‘Moulin Rouge’ thrills Saenger audience by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) If Jersey Boys and Mamma Mia! are examples of “jukebox musicals,” then the national tour of Moulin Rouge! might be more acc…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:15PM
Tuesday, March 28, 2023

JPAS gives audiences ‘Misery’ with final 2023 production by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) The final production for the Jefferson Performing Arts Society’s 2022-23 season is Misery, the play written by the late script…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:25PM
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

‘Pictures from Home’: From book to stage and into your heart by Alan Smason

By EDWARD RUBIN Pictures from Home currently running thru April 30 is the most delightful and thought-provoking play currently gracing the Broadway stages at this very moment. Featuring the …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 09:44AM
Monday, March 20, 2023

TWTC’s ‘Night of the Iguana’ is a beast role for Jake Wynne-Wilson by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) One could argue that T. Lawrence Shannon, the defrocked Episcopal priest who is the central character of The Night of the Iguana…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 12:48PM
Wednesday, March 15, 2023

Rivertown’s ‘Play That Goes Wrong’ Is Righteous Comedy by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) For the second time in less than six months, The Play That Goes Wrong, the hit West End and Broadway award-winning comedy is on …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 01:47AM
Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Le Petit’s ‘Cat’ revives original Williams ending by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) There’s something to be said when a major New Orleans staple like Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is able to been …

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:05AM
Friday, March 10, 2023

‘Six’ Tour Makes Its Royal Debut in Milwaukee by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL MILWAUKEE, WI – As England prepares for its royal coronation in May, Milwaukee audiences have gotten a glimpse of the upcoming festivities with the arrival of the Six nation…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 10:57AM
Tuesday, March 7, 2023

Existential ‘The River’ runs slowly, but is thought provoking by Alan Smason

By ROY BERKO In the late 1950’s through the 1980s The Theatre of the Absurd theatrical movement was the intellectual rage.  Based on the concept of Existentialism which asks, “what ha…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 08:42AM
Monday, March 6, 2023

NOLA Project takes ‘White’ to the museum by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out”) If artists of one cultural or racial extraction are being considered above others for inclusion at a museum or at gallery shows,…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 03:21PM
Saturday, March 4, 2023

A Touching and Funny Tale of Asian Immigrants in America by Alan Smason

By ANNE SIEGEL MILWAUKEE, WI – This Midwest state is currently swept up in a slate of new plays, all part of a project called World Premiere Wisconsin. The project, with multiple sources o…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 07:07AM
Thursday, March 2, 2023

National tour of ‘Fiddler’ scores high marks during its New Orleans run by Alan Smason

By ALAN SMASON, WYES-TV Theatre Critic (“Steppin’ Out“) When it comes to an old chestnut like “Fiddler on the Roof,” the biggest challenge may be in keeping the Joseph Stein book f…

SOURCE: Theatre Criticsm at 04:40PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre