All stories by Jan Simpson on BroadwayStars

Sunday, May 3, 2026

Stagecraft: James Clements playwright of “BEAUTY FREAK” by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. BEAUTY FREAK producti…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 11, 2026

Thrilling New Life for "Death of a Salesman" by Jan Simpson

One of the things we theater obsessives love to do is argue about which is the greatest American play. I'm a Tennessee Williams stan and so I always try to get A Streetcar Named Desire into …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 02:06PM[SHARE]

All the Drama: "Seascape", 1975 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 1975 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, "Seascape" by Edward Albee Seas…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Saturday, April 4, 2026

Giving a Head Pat to "Dog Day Afternoon" by Jan Simpson

Just about everyone"and here I mean most of the critics"seems to have something bad to say about Dog Day Afternoon, the new Stephen Adly Guirgis adaptation of the 1975 movie about a bank …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 12:02PM[SHARE]
Saturday, March 14, 2026

Chilly Thoughts on "Cold War Choir Practice" by Jan Simpson

Most of the reviews for Cold War Choir Practice devote most of their word count to laying out its multi-pronged plot which includes Soviet spies, former Black Panthers, Regan-era conserva…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:24AM[SHARE]

All the Drama: Playwright David Auburn on 'Proof,' 2001 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, "Proof" by David Auburn Proof W…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 28, 2026

Real Families Really Matter in "The Reservoir" and "You Got Older" by Jan Simpson

Ever since Sophocles put the fall of the House of Oedipus onstage, the theatrical canon has been chock-a-block with unhappy families. And that makes sense because they make for good drama. B…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:42AM[SHARE]
Saturday, February 14, 2026

All the Drama: "The Gin Game", 1978 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "The Gin Game"1978 Pulitzer winn…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, February 3, 2026

Stagecraft: Matthew Libby on "Data" by Jan Simpson

Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and o…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 05:55AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 17, 2026

The Infectious Qualities of "Bug" by Jan Simpson

Maybe it's the current dystopic state of the world but I had a hard time with Bug, the revival of Tracy Letts' 1996 play that opened this month at Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Fried…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 03:06PM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 10, 2026

All the Drama: "The Time of Your Life", 1940 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Photo credit: Library of Congress The Pulitzer Prize for Drama…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 3, 2026

10 Shows That Meant the Most to Me in 2025 by Jan Simpson

As usual, I'm late with a list of the shows I most enjoyed in 2025 but I'm going to share it anyway and since I am late, I'm also going to cut right to the chase. There were musicals I liked…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:02AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 1, 2026
Saturday, December 27, 2025

Wishing You All the Merriest Christmas... by Jan Simpson

 ...from me and some of our mutual friends:

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 01:18PM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 13, 2025

Challenging Power Plays in "The Burning Cauldon of Fiery Fire" and "Practice" by Jan Simpson

Getting others to see the world in a certain way and then convincing them to do almost anything to preserve that point of view requires a toolbox of skills that include charisma and a ferven…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 02:36PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 12, 2025

All the Drama: "Hamilton", 2016 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Hamilton"2016 Pulitzer winner "…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 09:00PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 11, 2025

Stagecraft: Scott Organ on "Diversion" by Jan Simpson

Photo by Edward T. Morris The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broad…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01PM[SHARE]
Thursday, November 27, 2025

Thankful Thoughts for This Thanksgiving by Jan Simpson

Happy Thanksgiving!  It's been a crazy month. An avalanche of shows have been opening both on and off Broadway. I've seen 20 of them over the past four weeks"some good, some just OK, a fe…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 02:31PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 8, 2025

"Kyoto" is a Call to Action on Climate Change by Jan Simpson

The only thing small about Kyoto, the latest import from Britain that opened this week at Lincoln Center's Mitzi E. Newhouse theater, is its one-word title. Everything else is outsized: the …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 02:48PM[SHARE]
Saturday, November 1, 2025

Going Solo: "The Least Problematic Woman in the World," "Other" and "Did You Eat? by Jan Simpson

One-person shows are popping up everywhere. And it makes sense that they should.  They're comparatively cheap to put on since by definitiion there's only one performer to pay and the cost…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 12:24PM[SHARE]
Friday, October 10, 2025

All the Drama: "Water by the Spoonful", 2012 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Water by the Spoonful"2012 Puli…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 09:00PM[SHARE]
Saturday, October 4, 2025

Wrestling with the Head Trips of "And Then We Were No More" and "This Much I Know" by Jan Simpson

Every once in a while I see a show that is filled with smart ideas, and that is interestingly directed and well-performed and yet still leaves me cold. Over the past week or so I saw two …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 02:06PM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 27, 2025

"Mexodus": a Hip Mix of Hip-Hop and History by Jan Simpson

Theater lovers have been celebrating the 10th anniversary of Hamilton this year, and well we should. Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical about the Founding Fathers made seeing musicals cool again, …

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:36AM[SHARE]
Saturday, September 13, 2025

The 4 Shows I Most Want to See in Fall 2025 by Jan Simpson

Once again I seem to be late to the party. Other bloggers, critics and influencers have been putting out lists of the things they most want to see in this new theater season since mid-August…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 01:12PM[SHARE]

All the Drama: "Street Scene", 1929 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Street Scene"1929 Pulitzer winn…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 30, 2025

A Labor Day Salute to the Back Office Folks by Jan Simpson

Well, here we are: it's Labor Day Weekend already.  And every year since I started writing here, I've marked this unofficial end of summer"and the real start of the fall theater season"wi…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 03:24PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Stagecraft: Bubba Weiler on "Well, I'll Let You Go" by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Bubba Weiler (playwri…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 07:55AM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 9, 2025

All the Drama: "Dinner With Friends", 2000 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jan Simpson

All The Drama is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of deep dives into the plays that have won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer Prize for Drama: "Dinner With Friends"2000 Pulitz…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 12:01AM[SHARE]
Friday, August 8, 2025

Stagecraft: Cary Gitter on "Gene & Gilda" by Jan Simpson

The Stagecraft podcast is hosted by Jan Simpson. It is a series of interviews with playwrights (and musical book writers) of shows opening on Broadway and off-Broadway. Gene & Gilda by C…

SOURCE: BroadwayRadio at 03:00PM[SHARE]
Saturday, August 2, 2025

A Highly Subjective List of the (So Far) Best Plays and Musicals of the 21st Century by Jan Simpson

The New York Times recently published a fancy interactive list of what it considers to be "The Best Movies of the 21st Century."  The editors say they assembled the list by asking more th…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 11:32AM[SHARE]
Monday, July 28, 2025

Why "Ginger Twinsies" Just Isn't for Me by Jan Simpson

It's often said that imitation is the highest form of flattery but sometimes it's just a knock-off of something more original. And I'm afraid the latter seems to be the case with Ginger Twin…

SOURCE: Broadway & Me at 10:02PM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off