By definition, the legal term prima facie means the first impression, accepted as correct until proven otherwise. The theatrical term Prima Facie refers to an exciting one-woman play starrin…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 12:59PMDespite its seemingly unsophisticated vibe, Shucked is an extremely polished, well-crafted musical. After all, the show is directed by Jack O’Brien (Hairspray, Full Monty, Porgy and Bess, …
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 08:41AMI am a native New Yorker, and I honestly love NYC. Although I know the city has its many flaws, I will defend it against all comers. Yet I cringed at the rosy ‘melting-pot’ version of th…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 05:31PMThere’s a fine line between satire and silliness, and “The Thanksgiving Play” crosses that line too often. Playwright Larisa Fasthorse takes shots at well-meaning, naive white people t…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 07:46PMSometimes performers are so good at their roles that they become forever identified with that part. For many, Sean Hayes will always be Jack on television’s “Will and Grace,” kooky, eg…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 02:43PMThe last time I saw “Sweeney Todd,” it was as a barebones production of 10 performers, including Patty Lupone and Michael Cerveris. Each performer even played an instrument, and the show…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 06:44AMI had such high hopes for the revival of Lerner and Loewe’s Camelot at Lincoln Center Theater this season. The music was a known quantity- glorious, lush and romantic. The title song had b…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 06:59AMSome of my favorite theater moments have come when something unexpectedly went wrong onstage. Alan Bates caught a picture falling off the wall and ad libbed about poor housekeeping. Faith Pr…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 10:08AMphoto by Matthew Murphy The real stars of the show “Life of Pi” are puppets: a hyena, a zebra, an orangutan and a 450 pound Royal Bengal tiger. Although animated by skilled puppeteers wh…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 09:21AMphoto by Julieta Cervantes Most musicals feature two or three impressive dance numbers, numbers that leave the audience breathless. However, often those dances are incidental to the story. T…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 12:34PMphoto by Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman The good news about “Bad Cinderella,” the new musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by David Zippel is that it’s not all that …
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 09:07AMphoto by Joan Marcus Most shows on Broadway begin with an announcement reminding the audience to turn off phones and recording devices. The revival of the musical “Parade” begins with a …
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 05:35PMJessica Chastain is undeniably one of the finest actresses performing in the movies today. When it was announced that she would return to Broadway after an 11 year gap, it was considered an …
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 05:24PMphoto by Joan Marcus Historically, the Jewish people have been wanderers, always in search of a homeland. They moved from place to place seeking somewhere to put down roots. Never totally we…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 12:03PMPhotos by Julieta Cervantes Today most celebrities are on social media, so everything they do is shared with the public. It was quite different years ago when celebrities like Neil Diamond p…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 03:48PMPhoto Credit Monique Carboni I love comedians who are skilled at wordplay. Some relate stories; others deliver one liners, generally without the gratuitous use of foul language. They make yo…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 08:48AMPhoto by Russ Rowland The theme that runs through Anthony Rapp’s one man show at the New World Stages is loss. Known for originating the role of Mark the videographer in “Rent,” Rapp w…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 03:01PMphoto by Jeremy Daniel Andy Warhol is as famous for his iconic look as for his silkscreen paintings such as Campbell’s Soup Cans and Marilyn Diptych and his experimental films. Before seei…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 03:25PMphoto by Joan Marcus It’s hard to imagine a show by Stephen Sondheim that wasn’t an immediate hit; yet “Merrily We Roll Along,” first produced in 1981, left the critics and audiences…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 03:24PMSometimes one performer in a small cast stands out among the rest. That’s one of the problems with the revival of “Between Riverside and Crazy,” the 2015 Pulitzer-Prize winning play by…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 05:19PMThose who adore Audra McDonald for her magnificent singing voice often forget what a fine actress she is. The six-time Tony Award winner once again puts her talents on display in Adrienne Ke…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 04:42PMphoto by Matthew Murphy How would you define an old-fashioned musical? Maybe a show with non-stop singing and dancing, storylines that we accept even when implausible, a love story or two an…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 03:26PMphoto by Joan Marcus The day before I attended “Ain’t No Mo’,” a new comedy by Jordan E. Cooper, the show posted a closing notice for December 18. It is a unique satirical show that …
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 02:15PMphoto by Julieta Cervantes Alfie is a quiet, ordinary man who is a ticket-taker on a bus during the day, but by evening he is the director of the players at St Imelda’s Church. The power o…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 03:23PMAt the end of Shakespeare’s classic play, “Romeo and Juliet,” Juliet awakens to realize that Romeo is dead. Heartbroken, she commits suicide. What if she didn’t kill herself? What if…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 04:58PM“Kimberly Akimbo” opens with Kimberly approaching her 16th birthday; and nearing the end of her life expectancy. She is a special teenage girl who suffers from a rare condition that caus…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 04:18PMphoto by Emilio Madrid Cancer, type two diabetes, death. Hardly the fodder for comedy – Yet In the hands of Mike Birbiglia, this serious subject matter becomes hysterical in his latest one…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 08:08PMPhoto-by-Matthew-Murphy A show about rock music should be loud. So loud that you feel the music going through you! When the cast of “Almost Famous: The Musical ” took the stage and perfo…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 04:30PMphoto-by-Julieta-Cervantes The true star of the revival of “August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson” isn’t Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Brooks or John David Washington. Although the three ac…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 01:32PMphoto by Marc J. Franklin “Keep your eyes on the cards,” instructs the young man on stage as he shifts three playing cards around on a makeshift stand. It’s not so easy as we get lulle…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 04:47PMThe word revival suggests a renewal or improvement of something. So each time there’s a Broadway revival, the director tries to change something to encourage ticket sales. The recent hit �…
SOURCE: stagebuddy.com at 01:46PM