All stories by Barbara Hoffman on BroadwayStars

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Anne Hathaway’s mom kept her from becoming a ‘little monster’ by Barbara Hoffman

When she accepted the Golden Globe for “Les Misérables,” Anne Hathaway thanked her mother. The star was 8 when she saw Kate McCauley Hathaway play Fantine in the musical’s national to…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:57PM
Tuesday, July 16, 2019

‘Waitress’ to end four-year Broadway run by Barbara Hoffman

There go the pies. The Sara Bareilles musical “Waitress” will end its Broadway run on Jan. 5, the Hollywood Reporter announced, after nearly four years and countless turns by many guest …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:21PM
Thursday, July 11, 2019

Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’ gets a wild, animated makeover by Barbara Hoffman

Having been “bored s - - tless” the first time he saw “The Magic Flute,” Barrie Kosky hoped never to suffer through it again. Granted, he was only 11 at the time but, thanks to…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:03PM
Thursday, June 27, 2019

How gumballs, Luke Wilson and a phone ad morphed into a quirky play by Barbara Hoffman

Rare is the play whose title tells you exactly what to expect. “The Ferryman”? There’s not even a ferry. “To Kill a Mockingbird”? No bird. But “Dropping Gumballs on Luke Wilson�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:16PM
Thursday, June 20, 2019

How Pavarotti helped this Chinese opera singer find his groove by Barbara Hoffman

Hao Jiang Tian saw his first opera in 1983. It was the day he arrived from China with four words of English (hello, OK, bye, yes) and $35 in his pocket. An aspiring singer, he spent $8 of it…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:10PM

Audra McDonald on stage nudity, sex: ‘It scared me to death!’ by Barbara Hoffman

Given her six Tony Awards, two Grammys, an Emmy and a National Medal of Arts, Audra McDonald has nothing left to prove. Yet there she is in “Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune,” h…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:36PM

Helen Hunt on ‘Mad About You’ reboot: ‘I think it’s on’ by Barbara Hoffman

Long before “Mad About You,” Helen Hunt was mad about a musical. She was 8 years old when her father, the late director and acting coach Gordon Hunt, took her to “Godspell” off-Broad…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:36PM
Monday, June 17, 2019

Debra Messing is returning to Broadway to light ‘Birthday Candles’ by Barbara Hoffman

Theatergoers can watch Debra Messing age before their eyes next spring. In Noah Haidle’s new play, “Birthday Candles,” the star of “Will & Grace” — both past and rebooted —…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:21PM
Friday, June 14, 2019

Ed Harris is replacing Jeff Daniels in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ by Barbara Hoffman

Broadway’s next Atticus Finch has blue eyes. Ed Harris, a four-time Oscar nominee and star of TV’s “Westworld,” will take over from Jeff Daniels in Broadway’s “To Kill a Mockingb…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:14PM
Thursday, June 13, 2019

The kooky way ‘Beetlejuice’ star Sophia Anne Caruso got to Broadway by Barbara Hoffman

She got expelled from school after punching another kid — and wound up moving to New York.

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:42PM
Wednesday, June 5, 2019

‘Lion King’ still feels the love on Broadway 9,000 shows later by Barbara Hoffman

Disney’s new “Lion King” won’t roar into movie theaters until July 19 — but the Broadway musical’s still feeling the love: Wednesday it plays its 9,000th performance at the Minsk…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:54PM
Thursday, May 30, 2019

‘Ain’t Too Proud’ star Derrick Baskin made up résumé to get auditions by Barbara Hoffman

Fake it till you make it. And Derrick Baskin ain’t too proud to admit he did just that: submitting a résumé of nonexistent theater credits two decades before landing the lead in “Ain�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:57PM

‘Tootsie’ star Santino Fontana’s style muse was Bernadette Peters by Barbara Hoffman

Santino Fontana is no stranger to competition. He’s been up for plenty of awards, including a Tony this year for his starring role in “Tootsie.” But he didn’t expect his wife, actres…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:12PM
Thursday, May 16, 2019

Ian Fleming’s niece dishes on his nutty spy days and creating James Bond by Barbara Hoffman

The name is Fleming. Lucy Fleming — and as Ian Fleming’s niece, she’s had a front-row view of the creation and continuation of Bond, James Bond, the most fantastic fictitious spy ever.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:18PM

‘Burn This’ actor Brandon Uranowitz: ‘I am not a porn star!’ by Barbara Hoffman

When you want to be an actor and your last name’s Uranowitz, well — you might want to change it. Brandon Uranowitz’s father thought so. Just before he left for college, his dad suggest…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:18PM
Thursday, May 9, 2019

Broadway’s bloody ‘Gary’ is par for the corpse for this designer by Barbara Hoffman

Never mind where the bodies are buried: Let’s talk about the mountain of corpses onstage these days at the Booth Theatre. As soon as that blood-red curtain parts and theatergoers get a gan…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:53PM
Friday, May 3, 2019

Dance legend Mark Morris’ perfect weekend: Pot and Mariska Hargitay by Barbara Hoffman

“I wanted a real life as a dancer, so of course I came to New York,” says Mark Morris, who at 19 left Seattle for this city in 1976, and — except for the six months a year he’s on to…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:51PM
Thursday, May 2, 2019

Waiting, starving, praying: How I survived 91-day Rwandan genocide by Barbara Hoffman

Soon after the killing started, Immaculée Ilibagiza’s parents and brothers begged her to save herself. The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda had begun, and a friend of her father�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:21PM
Wednesday, May 1, 2019

‘Miracle in Rwanda’ gives voice to survivors of 1994 genocide by Barbara Hoffman

Soon after the killing started, Immaculée Ilibagiza’s parents and brothers begged her to save herself. The 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda had begun, and a friend of her father�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:11PM
Friday, April 19, 2019

‘Hadestown’ star Patrick Page has a newfound passion: mani-pedis by Barbara Hoffman

He was the green meanie of Broadway’s “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” and the Green Goblin of “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.” Now Patrick Page has gone to hell — …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:31PM
Friday, April 5, 2019

Corbin Bleu is dancing on the ceiling for ‘Kiss Me, Kate’ by Barbara Hoffman

“I don’t dance!” Corbin Bleu sang in “High School Musical 2,” even as he hoofed it up. A dozen years later, Bleu’s still dancing — this time in Broadway’s “Kiss Me, Kate,�…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:48PM
Thursday, March 14, 2019

Broadway’s ‘Legally Blonde’ dog, Chico, dies at 14 by Barbara Hoffman

Chico the Chihuahua, the perky, 7-pound star of Broadway’s 2007 “Legally Blonde — The Musical,” said his final bowwow on Monday. As Bruiser, Chico spent more than a decade in touring…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:16PM
Thursday, March 7, 2019

This play has the most delicious props off-Broadway by Barbara Hoffman

At last: a play that lets the actors have their cake and eat it, too. Off-Broadway’s “The Cake” is set in a North Carolina pastry shop where the baker balks at baking for a lesbian wed…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:13PM

How Rosemary Harris went from Spider-Man’s aunt to ‘My Fair Lady’ by Barbara Hoffman

Rosemary Harris played Peter Parker’s Aunt May and now she’s Henry Higgins’ mother — eight times a week — in Broadway’s “My Fair Lady.” Harris is 91. Even she can’t believe…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:20PM
Monday, March 4, 2019

Injured Andrea Martin drops out of Broadway’s ‘Gary’ by Barbara Hoffman

Andrea Martin, who safely flew through the air in Broadway’s “Pippin” revival six years ago, broke four ribs rehearsing her new Broadway show. That said, Nathan Lane will have a new co…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:37PM
Thursday, February 14, 2019

Westminster’s King makes Broadway debut in ‘Pretty Woman’ by Barbara Hoffman

Obviously, it wasn’t enough to take Westminster’s “Best in Show” award: This top dog walked off with a Broadway show the next day. On Wednesday night, fewer than 24 hours after being…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:19PM
Thursday, January 24, 2019

‘Mockingbird’ star refused to be part of the Broadway backdrop by Barbara Hoffman

LaTanya Richardson Jackson makes Calpurnia a force to be reckoned with in Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird."

SOURCE: The New York Post at 04:23PM
Friday, January 18, 2019

From noodles to antipasto, Joey McIntyre eats NYC alive by Barbara Hoffman

Some 20 years ago, when he was a New Kid on the Block living in Tribeca, Joey McIntyre considered Riverside Drive “no man’s land.” But last summer, after 15 years in Los Angeles, the 4…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 05:36PM
Tuesday, January 15, 2019

The new Maria from Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ shows off her pipes by Barbara Hoffman

“West Side Story” director Steven Spielberg finally found his Maria — on the very far west side of Manhattan. Make that New Jersey. Rachel Zegler, a 17-year-old high-school student fro…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:42PM
Sunday, January 13, 2019

Carole King makes surprise cameo at ‘Beautiful’ birthday by Barbara Hoffman

Yep Carole came — and conquered. It was a “Beautiful“ Broadway moment: Who better to perform the title song of her life story than Carole King herself? That’s what happened Saturday …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:06PM
Thursday, January 10, 2019

How a box of forgotten letters became a Holocaust jazz opera by Barbara Hoffman

After their widowed father died in 1995, jazz pianist Ted Rosenthal and his sister packed up the family home in Great Neck, LI. They didn’t know what that box of letters, all written in Ge…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:47PM

All that Chat

2023-2024 BROADWAY SEASON
May 30, 2023: Grey House - Lyceum Theatre
Jun 26, 2023: Just For Us - Hudson Theatre
Jul 24, 2023: The Cottage - Hayes Theater
Nov 16, 2023: Spamalot - St. James Theatre
Dec 18, 2023: Appropriate - Hayes Theater
Mar 07, 2024: Doubt - Todd Haimes Theatre
Apr 14, 2024: Lempicka - Longacre Theatre
Apr 17, 2024: The Wiz - Marquis Theatre
Apr 18, 2024: Suffs - Music Box Theatre
Apr 25, 2024: Mother Play - Hayes Theater
Jun 10, 2024: The Drama Desk Awards