All stories by David Buchanan on BroadwayStars

Saturday, May 7, 2022

‘Macbeth’ reviews: Sam Gold’s ‘overthought’ production led by Daniel Craig, Ruth Negga by David Buchanan

The final production of the historic 2021-2022 Broadway season reaches back to the early modern era for inspiration with a remounting of William Shakespeare’s “Macbeth.” Tony-winner Sa…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 11:00AM
Friday, May 6, 2022

‘POTUS’ reviews: New Broadway farce a ‘whizbang’ comedy with impressive cast by David Buchanan

In politics – and Broadway’s Tony Awards season – timing is everything. New play “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” knows that extrao…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 07:00PM

‘The Skin of Our Teeth’ reviews: Revival of Thornton Wilder play is ‘profound’ and ‘exuberant’ but ‘dated’ by David Buchanan

Eighty years after Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Skin of Our Teeth” debuted on Broadway, the sprawling work has returned to the New York stage in a lavish production at…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:00PM

2022 Tony predictions by show: ‘Company,’ ‘The Music Man,’ ‘The Lehman Trilogy’ will lead by David Buchanan

Two musical revivals will dominate the 2022 Tony Awards nominations, according to our official odds in 17 of the 25 categories. “Company” and “The Music Man” will each earn at least …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:30AM

2022 Tonys predictions: Complete odds for 75th annual Tony Awards nominations by David Buchanan

Broadway came roaring back from its long winter of coronavirus closures with 34 musicals, plays, and revivals opening in the 2021-2022 season. If that whopping number of eligible productions…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM
Wednesday, May 4, 2022

‘Mr. Saturday Night’ stage adaptation spotlights Billy Crystal’s ‘charm’ in a ‘diverting’ musical by David Buchanan

Time has finally caught up with Billy Crystal, at least in terms of his age and the age of his character in “Mr. Saturday Night.” The 1992 film found the young Crystal playing decades ol…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM
Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Pulitzer-winning musical ‘A Strange Loop’ bows on Broadway: An ‘amazing feat’ with a ‘remarkable’ Jaquel Spivey by David Buchanan

Every so often, a musical arrives on Broadway that fundamentally changes the art form. Just as rarely, a musical will take home the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, which has only happened 10 times…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 11:00AM
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

‘Hangmen’ reviews: ‘Whirlwind’ dark comedy from Martin McDonagh boasts killer performances by David Buchanan

Two years after its premature pandemic closure, Martin McDonagh’s play “Hangmen” has slipped the proverbial noose and returned to Broadway in a plot twist you might think McDonagh wrot…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM

‘Funny Girl’ reviews: Critics went ‘mild’ not wild over the musical’s long-awaited return to Broadway by David Buchanan

For all those people who have been dying to hear the music that makes me you dance once again on a Broadway stage, “Funny Girl” has finally returned after a 58-year absence. Beanie Felds…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM
Tuesday, April 26, 2022

‘for colored girls’ reviews celebrate ‘riveting’ Broadway revival and ‘resplendent’ Kenita R. Miller by David Buchanan

Forty-six years after the original production of Ntozake Shange’s legendary choreopoem “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf,” a sterling revival has…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:00PM
Wednesday, April 20, 2022

‘How I Learned to Drive’: First Broadway production showcases a ‘crushing’ Mary-Louise Parker by David Buchanan

Twenty five years after the Off-Broadway debut of Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “How I Learned to Drive,” the contemporary American classic has at long last made its bow on…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:00PM

‘The Minutes’ reviews: ‘Astonishing’ Tracy Letts play features shocking satire and starry ensemble by David Buchanan

In a Broadway season teeming with exciting plays, musicals, and revivals, a dramatization of a small city council meeting may sound dull. Perhaps in the hands of a lesser playwright than Pul…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 11:00AM
Monday, April 18, 2022

‘American Buffalo’ reviews: ‘Beautifully’ acted revival overshadowed by David Mamet controversy by David Buchanan

Over two years after its slated pre-pandemic bow, the fourth production of David Mamet’s “American Buffalo” has arrived on Broadway. The nearly 50-year-old play takes place in a junk s…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 12:00PM
Tuesday, April 12, 2022

‘Birthday Candles’ reviews: Under-baked play features an ‘exceptionally moving’ Debra Messing by David Buchanan

Almost a decade after her Broadway debut, Emmy-winner Debra Messing has returned to the New York stage in new play “Birthday Candles,” which taps into her gifts of comedy and sentimental…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM
Wednesday, April 6, 2022

‘Take Me Out’ reviews: ‘Provocative’ revival poised to hit home run at Tony Awards by David Buchanan

The ensemble of Second Stage Theatre’s revival of “Take Me Out” has waited over two years for the first pitch of this baseball drama on Broadway, but after the lengthy pandemic delay t…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM
Tuesday, April 5, 2022

‘Paradise Square’ reviews: ‘Overwrought’ new historical musical stars an ‘amazing’ Joaquina Kalukango by David Buchanan

Broadway’s mad dash to the Tony Award nominations began on April 3 with the opening of original musical “Paradise Square,” the first of 17 new productions set to bow this month. Set du…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM
Tuesday, March 29, 2022

‘Plaza Suite’ returns to Broadway with an ‘exuberant’ Sarah Jessica Parker in an otherwise ‘overlong’ production by David Buchanan

Twenty-five years after her last appearance on Broadway, Sarah Jessica Parker has returned to the stage in the first revival of Neil Simon’s “Plaza Suite.” For her long-awaited bow, Pa…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 06:00PM
Monday, March 21, 2022

2022 Tony Awards slugfest: 20 productions vie for places in Play races [WATCH] by David Buchanan

“It’s been a great season for Black playwrights,” Sam Eckmann says as he introduces Gold Derby’s first slugfest of the 2022 Tony Awards season. A whopping 20 new plays and play reviv…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM
Monday, February 14, 2022

‘The Music Man’ reviews: Critics find trouble in Hugh Jackman’s River City in ‘cautious’ revival by David Buchanan

It has been eight years since Hugh Jackman notoriously hopped his way into Radio City Music Hall to host the 68th Tony Awards and even longer since he won a Tony himself. But at long last, J…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:30AM
Thursday, February 3, 2022

‘MJ The Musical’ reviews: Myles Frost ‘mesmerizing’ as Michael Jackson, but musical is ‘surface-skimming’ by David Buchanan

Two weeks after the closing of her play “Clyde’s,” Lynn Nottage has opened a new jukebox musical about a star who needs no introduction. Penned by the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, �…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM
Friday, January 28, 2022

‘Skeleton Crew’ reviews: ‘Commanding’ Phylicia Rashad leads this ‘moving’ Dominique Morisseau play by David Buchanan

Ten days after her first Broadway show ended an acclaimed run, playwright Dominique Morisseau has just opened another. The Tony-nominee penned the libretto for musical “Ain’t Too Proud: …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:00AM
Monday, January 17, 2022

‘Flying Over Sunset’ closes on Broadway: Will Tony voters remember this ‘delectable’ but ‘bewildering’ new musical? by David Buchanan

Cary Grant back on Broadway? For five weeks this winter, the debonaire actor treaded the boards again in spirit in the form of Tony Yazbeck, who portrayed the Golden Age movie star in the mu…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:00PM
Saturday, December 11, 2021

‘Company’ returns to Broadway reimagined in a ‘sublime’ production that honors the late Stephen Sondheim’s ‘indelible’ score by David Buchanan

Over fifty years after its debut on Broadway in 1970, Stephen Sondheim’s genre-redefining musical “Company” has returned in a reimagined production by Tony Award-winning director Maria…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 03:00PM
Friday, December 10, 2021

‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ reviews: Stage musical ‘predictable’ and ‘pandering,’ but Rob McClure is ‘vivacious’ by David Buchanan

Almost thirty years after Robin Williams played “Mrs. Doubtfire” on the big screen, a musical adaptation has bowed on Broadway. The farcical plot follows divorced father Daniel, who dre…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 08:00AM
Wednesday, November 24, 2021

‘Clyde’s’ reviews: Uzo Aduba hailed for return to Broadway in ‘delightful’ new play by Lynn Nottage by David Buchanan

It has been almost five years since playwright Lynn Nottage made her Broadway debut with “Sweat” and almost 10 since Uzo Aduba last appeared on a Broadway stage. They both return, triump…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:15AM
Friday, November 19, 2021

‘Trouble in Mind’ reviews: Alice Childress’ ‘exemplary,’ ‘eye-opening’ play an early Tony Awards Best Revival contender by David Buchanan

Many plays and musicals have had to wait a long year and a half to open on Broadway, with premieres delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic. But none are more overdue than Alice Childres…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 09:30AM
Thursday, November 18, 2021

‘Diana, The Musical’ reviews: ‘Cold and crass’ new show fails to live up to its beloved subject by David Buchanan

Diana, Princess of Wales has been portrayed in no shortage of high profile works of fiction this past year, from her introduction on the fourth season of Netflix’s “The Crown” to Pablo…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:45AM
Thursday, October 28, 2021

‘Caroline, or Change’ reviews: ‘Thrilling’ revival showcases Sharon D Clarke’s ‘titanic’ performance by David Buchanan

Seventeen years after its Broadway debut, musical “Caroline, or Change” has returned in what critics describe as an “electrifying” production. The show is set in 1960s Louisiana and …

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM
Monday, October 18, 2021

‘Dana H.’: ‘Harrowing’ play about abduction showcases ‘astonishing’ Deirdre O’Connell by David Buchanan

Last week, “Is This a Room” opened on Broadway to rave reviews as one half of a repertory production that also features Tony-nominee Lucas Hnath’s “Dana H.” This companion piece, o…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 10:00AM
Friday, October 15, 2021

‘The Lehman Trilogy’ arrives on Broadway ‘gorgeous and intoxicating,’ a ‘captivating’ but dense financial epic by David Buchanan

“The Lehman Trilogy” has had a protracted journey to Broadway. Not quite as long as the nearly two centuries of history that the play chronicles, of course, but what began in London in 2…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 01:00PM
Thursday, October 14, 2021

‘Girl From the North Country’ reopens on Broadway: ‘Ravishing’ Bob Dylan musical eligible for 2022 Tony Awards by David Buchanan

Back in March 2020, the Bob Dylan songbook musical “Girl From the North Country” opened on Broadway on March 5, just one week before theaters shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. N…

SOURCE: Gold Derby at 05:00PM

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