All stories by Ashley Lee on BroadwayStars

Sunday, June 12, 2022

Understudies and swings kept Broadway afloat. Here's how the Tonys thanked them by Ashley Lee

Host Ariana DeBose led a round of applause for the artists and arts workers "who played a vital role in keeping Broadway shows open these past few months."

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:22PM
Saturday, April 30, 2022

Fosse put on Broadway's most rigorous dance show. Can a new generation stage it safely? by Ashley Lee

Billed as 'Bob Fosse's Dancin',' the revival of the ambitious dance musical runs through May 29 at San Diego's Old Globe before heading to Broadway.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 10:00AM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

A Broadway run and 8 Tonys later, 'Hadestown' returns to where it first took off: L.A. by Ashley Lee

Anaïs Mitchell reflects on the "Hadestown" tour's Los Angeles opening and how the Tony-winning musical led to her new album.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:13PM
Monday, April 25, 2022

She sang of abuse in a Broadway smash. 15 years on, she reveals she's a survivor too by Ashley Lee

Lauren Pritchard talks with The Times about the original 'Spring Awakening,' the reunion special and why she's speaking out about her own abuse now.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM
Thursday, March 24, 2022

In-person theater is back. A lost generation of artists chose not to return with it by Ashley Lee

The pandemic's collective pause over the last two years had many reconsidering their commitment to the theater industry. Here are 10 of their stories.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:46PM
Wednesday, February 16, 2022

How the radical set of 'Slave Play' transforms L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum by Ashley Lee

Opening this week, the divisive show will be performed on a thrust stage — resulting in an immediate, exposed experience for both viewers and cast.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 01:25PM
Thursday, February 3, 2022

After Times investigation, a theater festival announces substantive culture changes by Ashley Lee

Williamstown Theatre Festival is abolishing its ambitious seven-show summer season, and says it will implement numerous safety measures.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:11PM
Saturday, November 13, 2021

How Pasadena Playhouse's 'Head Over Heels' defies pre-pandemic theater rules by Ashley Lee

The production is a musical experiment that, among other things, welcomes audiences into a makeshift nightclub.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:00PM
Monday, November 1, 2021

Artistic director resigns after Times investigation into theater festival's culture by Ashley Lee

Outgoing artistic director Mandy Greenfield will be replaced by interim artistic director Jenny Gersten, the festival announced Monday.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:27PM
Saturday, September 25, 2021

Inside the battle to change a prestigious theater festival's 'broken' culture by Ashley Lee

Alumni say the Williamstown Theatre Festival is "deeply broken." The festival says it welcomes change. But is it enough?

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:00AM
Friday, September 24, 2021

'Why am I making you money?': Karen Olivo wants something better than Broadway by Ashley Lee

The Tony nominee gets candid about her painful "Moulin Rouge!" role and her "isolating" exit from commercial theater.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:00AM
Wednesday, August 18, 2021

Pasadena Playhouse to reopen with reimagined Go-Go's musical 'Head Over Heels' by Ashley Lee

Exclusive news of Pasadena Playhouse's 2021-22 season, including a revamped production of the Go-Go's jukebox musical.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 03:01AM
Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Williamstown festival crew walks off the job. It's a cautionary tale for outdoor theater by Ashley Lee

As theaters nationwide stage COVID-19-safe outdoor shows this summer, one high-profile festival faces a crew revolt over working conditions.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 04:54PM
Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Commentary: 'The Music Man' is the wrong Broadway revival for this crucial moment by Ashley Lee

Even with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster on stage, 'The Music Man' still celebrates a scheming white man in a sanitized America.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:49PM
Saturday, June 12, 2021

How 'In the Heights' pulled off its most moving, ambitious musical number of all by Ashley Lee

Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jon M. Chu, Olga Merediz and others break down 'Pacienda y Fe,' the immigrant ballet sure to give viewers a 'big gasp moment.'

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:33AM
Thursday, June 10, 2021

Why 'In the Heights' made these 5 major changes to the story by Ashley Lee

Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes explain the reasons behind the musical's biggest tweaks from the stage to the screen.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:14PM
Thursday, June 3, 2021

With 'In the Heights,' Jon M. Chu disrupts the movie musical. Here's how he did it by Ashley Lee

Why Lin-Manuel Miranda says Chu was right to direct "In the Heights" and the circuitous journey the "Crazy Rich Asians" helmer took to the musical remix.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:30PM
Saturday, May 15, 2021

'I have to be thin to do this job': Inside the theater's long-standing fatphobia by Ashley Lee

A news article that pointed out actors' pandemic weight gain spurred a conversation about sizeism throughout the musical theater scene.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 06:37PM
Wednesday, April 28, 2021

'Great Gatsby' musical gets a green light with Florence Welch by Ashley Lee

An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, which recently entered public domain, is planned for Broadway with music from Florence Welch.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:08PM
Saturday, April 24, 2021

Scott Rudin is no longer producing 'To Kill a Mockingbird' tour by Ashley Lee

Following allegations of abusive behavior, Rudin won't be a producer on the national tour of Aaron Sorkin's Broadway hit.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 05:53AM
Monday, March 22, 2021

How the tragedy in 'The Father' taught me a surprisingly hopeful lesson about my own by Ashley Lee

It is a unique experience to watch "The Father" alongside your own father. I did so twice — onstage and onscreen.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:13PM
Friday, March 12, 2021

Taylor Iman Jones queued up 'Hamilton' and 'Devil Wears Prada.' Then, the pandemic by Ashley Lee

Yes, Broadway shut down. But so did national tours. In one pandemic year, this California actress lost out on the possibilities of both.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 07:45PM
Friday, February 5, 2021

Commentary: Lauren Gunderson's new play is about virologist Nathan Wolfe. Or is it? by Ashley Lee

Though the "virus hunter" is the only character onstage, "The Catastrophist" is actually a clever celebration of not just science but also the arts.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:29PM
Thursday, January 7, 2021

Theater is Hollywood's talent incubator. It's time Hollywood stepped up to save it. by Ashley Lee

In ways large and small, theater is behind some of the best movies and TV shows of 2020.

SOURCE: St. Louis Today at 03:18PM
Saturday, December 12, 2020

Commentary: 'The Prom' is an ode to musical theater. But Hollywood often shuts out stage actors by Ashley Lee

Netflix's star-studded spin on the Broadway musical underscores a major shortcoming of the landmark 2019 profit-sharing agreement between producers and actors.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:53PM

In Netflix's 'The Prom,' Andrew Rannells asks evangelicals to love thy gay neighbor by Ashley Lee

Rannells, Ryan Murphy and the creative team share how the movie's "white guy gospel song" came to life at the Northridge mall.

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 08:53PM
Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Ali Stroker wins a Tony Award and makes history with her wheelchair trip to the podium by Ashley Lee

The Tony Awards cain't say no to Ali Stroker, who made history Sunday by becoming the first actor in a wheelchair to win the biggest honor in theater. The actress took home the Tony for feat…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:05AM

Why 'The Prom’ wanted that same-sex kiss to be on the Tonys telecast by Ashley Lee

When the cast of “The Prom” performed at the Tony Awards, it drove home the show’s themes of acceptance and inclusion with a same-sex kiss. The musical, which entered the night with se…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:05AM

Tony winners: 'Hadestown' leads with seven awards so far, including best director by Ashley Lee

The Tony Awards are underway, and “Hadestown” has proved to be the show to beat. The musical entered the night with a leading 14 nominations and has won seven statues so far, taking home…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:05AM
Sunday, May 5, 2019

Amber Gray, Tony nominee, on her ‘Hadestown’ audition from hell by Ashley Lee

When Amber Gray was auditioning for “Hadestown,” Anais Mitchell’s folk-operatic reimagining of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, she nearly blew it. The actress, who was making her Broadw…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 09:48AM
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Tony Award nominations led by ‘Hadestown,’ ‘Ain’t Too Proud’ and ‘Tootsie’ by Ashley Lee

The Tony Award nominations Tuesday were dominated by new musicals and “Hadestown” led the way, the folk-operatic reimagining of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth collecting 14 nods. “Ain't…

SOURCE: Los Angeles Times at 12:55PM

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
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime