All stories by Barry Gordin on BroadwayStars

Thursday, January 11, 2024

Bryce Edwards by Barry Gordin

Bryce Edwards- At 23, The 20s and 30s Are His Bailiwick By: Alix Cohen January 9, 2024: Attending The Bryce Edwards Frivolity Hour feels like going back in time. The artist inhabits 1…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 05:12PM

Appropriate ***1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: Samuel L. Leiter [Note: some of what follows is adapted from my review of a 2014 production.]  January 10, 2024: Greeting the audience before the curtain rises on Branden Jacob-Jenk…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 08:10AM
Wednesday, January 10, 2024

Broadway Update by Barry Gordin

Roundabout and Purple Rain By: David Sheward January 10, 2024: Roundabout Theater Company has announced major productions for its 2024-25 Broadway and Off-Broadway seasons and the new na…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 09:43PM
Monday, January 8, 2024

Broadway Babe by Barry Gordin

Nostalgic finds from Broadway Babe include Leonard Bernstein, Anything Goes, Damn Yankees and Elaine Stritch. January 8, 2024: Broadway Babe, Randie Levine-Miller has some great nostalgic …

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:23AM
Sunday, January 7, 2024

Southampton Arts Center by Barry Gordin

Center Stage @ SAC will present THE GLASS MENAGERIE on Saturday & Sunday, January 27 & 28. January 7, 2024:  A staged reading of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie produced…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 07:17PM

The People vs. Lenny Bruce  by Barry Gordin

By: Alix Cohen January 6, 2024: Terrific. Timely.Attorney Martin Garbus has argued cases involving the First Amendment, Constitutional, criminal, copyright and intellectual property law.…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:56AM
Thursday, January 4, 2024

Broadway Update by Barry Gordin

Sunset Boulevard to Transfer; Smash Workshop; Best Play Contenders By: David Sheward January 4, 2024: The minimalist revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard which is about to…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 06:53PM

Paulanne Simmons Unscripted by Barry Gordin

The Journey of a Seder Plate or The Road to Broadway June 4, 2024: Many years ago my mother-in-law, Adele, gave me a seder plate she had purchased in Israel. My mother-in-law placed great …

SOURCE: theaterlife at 08:19AM
Sunday, December 31, 2023

Death, Let Me Do My Show ****1/2, Less Lonely ****1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: Isa Goldberg December 31, 2023: Today's comedy routines and standup are tragic affairs - self-involved and monotonous. They can be a real downer, especially if you enjoy your own lau…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 03:33PM
Thursday, December 28, 2023

The Night of the Iguana ** by Barry Gordin

By: David Sheward December 27, 2023: The revival of Tennessee Williams’ The Night of the Iguana from La Femme Productions at the Pershing Square Signature Center sounded so promising (N…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 08:24AM
Sunday, December 24, 2023

BroadwayHD by Barry Gordin

Give the gift that Buzzfeed, New York Magazine, Playbill and TheaterLife are raving about, BroadwayHD. December 23, 2023: Not finished with your Holiday shopping or do you want something ex…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 01:20PM
Saturday, December 23, 2023

The Gardens of Anuncia **, Manahatta ** by Barry Gordin

By: David Sheward December 23, 2023: Two Off-Broadway productions meld the past and the present with mixed results. Michael-John LaChiusa’s musical The Gardens of Anuncia at Lincoln Ce…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 03:01PM

Buena Vista Social Club ***** by Barry Gordin

By: Isa Goldberg Buena Vista Social Club @ The Atlantic December 23, 2023: Aged walls, stained with cigar smoke, sing the tale of Buena Vista Social Club. A tale about two sisters torn a…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 09:35AM
Friday, December 22, 2023

PhysFest NYC!  by Barry Gordin

A Festival of Physical Theater - January 5-14-23 By: Alix Cohen December 22, 2023: What IS Physical Theater? Its most obvious definition includes mime/pantomime, dance, circus/clowning,…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:02AM
Thursday, December 21, 2023

Broadway / Off-Broadway Update by Barry Gordin

Sign of the Times, Stranger Things, The Effect, Etc. By: David Sheward December 20. 2023: Yet another jukebox musical is headed our way. A Sign of the Times will feature music from 1960s…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 08:47AM
Tuesday, December 19, 2023

Broadway Babe by Barry Gordin

Nostalgic picks from Broadway Babe: Kismet, She Loves Me, Joan Rivers, and Frank Sinatra December 19, 2023: Broadway Babe, Randie Levine-Miller, has come up with some nostalgic treasures. …

SOURCE: theaterlife at 04:06PM

Ruth Stage’s Lone Star ** by Barry Gordin

Joe Rosario’s staging of James McLure’s dark comedy mines the pathos over the comedy. By: Patrick Christiano December 18, 2023:  James McLure’s dark comedy Lone Star, a tale about…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 01:21PM

How To Dance In Ohio **** by Barry Gordin

By: Isa Goldberg December 19, 2023: “We all like to socialize,” is a challenging premise to the new Broadway musical, How to Dance in Ohio. Challenging because many adults have yet to…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 09:46AM
Monday, December 18, 2023

Appropriate ***** by Barry Gordin

By: David Sheward December 18, 2023: Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate premiered at the Actors Theater of Louisville in 2013 and subsequently opened Off-Broadway at the Signature Thea…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 11:10PM

Buena Vista Social Club ***** by Barry Gordin

By: Samuel L. Leiter December 18, 2023: Two recently opened shows raise the question: how do you turn a popular documentary film into a successful stage musical? The creators of Broadway�…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:36PM

Buena Vista Social Club *** by Barry Gordin

By: Paulanne Simmons This is going to be a short review. The material does not need acute analysis. December 18, 2023: Buena Vista Social Club, developed and directed by Saheem Ali, has…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 01:54PM

Fools Mass – Unexpected Solace by Barry Gordin

By: Alix Cohen December 19, 2023: The Trickster and The Fool are alive within all of us. The Fool is an archetype that holds universal wisdom, crosses mutable boundaries, and speaks trut…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:22AM
Friday, December 15, 2023

Christine Ebersole @ 54 Below **** by Barry Gordin

Two-time Tony Winner, Christine Ebersole, shines at 54 Below with Billy Stritch. By:  Patrick Christiano December 15, 2023:  Performing together for 20 years, Christine Ebersole and Bill…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 02:12PM
Thursday, December 14, 2023

How To Dance In Ohio *** by Barry Gordin

By: Mark Rifkin December 15, 2023: “Will I be totally humiliated if I mess it up?” Remy (Desmond Luis Edwards) asks in the Broadway premiere of Rebekah Greer Melocik and Jacob Yandur…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 08:24PM

How To Dance In Ohio **1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: Samuel L. Leiter December 15, 2023: In 2015 Alexandra Shiva created a bittersweet but heartwarmingly inspiring documentary, How to Dance in Ohio, about a group of autistic persons, ra…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 03:12PM
Wednesday, December 13, 2023

How to Dance in Ohio ****, Buena Vista Social Club ****, I Can Get It for You Wholesale **** by Barry Gordin

By: David Sheward December 13, 2023: Two new musicals are inspired by real events and by documentaries which are readily available for viewing on the Max streaming services. This provides…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:20PM

Circus Vasquez by Barry Gordin

Circus Vasquez Can’t Get Enough of NY and NY Can’t Get Enough of Circus Vasquez, Now in Queens through January 7.    By: Ellis Nassour   December 14, 2023: On what has become …

SOURCE: theaterlife at 10:56AM
Monday, December 11, 2023

The Gardens of Anunica ***1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: Paulanne Simmons December 11, 2023: Graciela Daniele is an Argentina-born dancer, choreographer and director who has worked in theater, dance and opera throughout the United States. I…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 09:27AM
Sunday, December 10, 2023

The Gardens of Anuncia ***1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: Isa Goldberg December 10, 2023: Unusual, in the world of musical theater, The Gardens of Anuncia is a delightfully understated work, and a departure for the writer/composer Michael Jo…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 09:00AM
Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Brandon Victor Dixon @ 54 Below **** by Barry Gordin

“Dixon’s Soul of Broadway,” an intimate evening with the Dynamic Brandon Victor Dixon @ 54 Below. By: Patrick Christiano December 5, 2023: Making his solo debut at 54 Below with a …

SOURCE: theaterlife at 09:00AM

Here We Are ****, Hell’s Kitchen ***1/2 by Barry Gordin

By: David Sheward December 5, 2023: It should come as no surprise that Here We Are, the final effort by Stephen Sondheim, is unlike any other work from the late master of the American mus…

SOURCE: theaterlife at 08:24AM

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