All stories by Johnny Oleksinski on BroadwayStars

Monday, October 7, 2019

‘Slave Play’ review: Broadway’s most thoughtful mess by Johnny Oleksinski

For a show that inspired a Change.org petition to have it canceled when it played downtown, the “Slave Play” that opened Sunday on Broadway delivers less a theatrical punch in the gut th…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:04AM
Thursday, September 5, 2019

A sexy Tom Hiddleston leads Broadway’s ‘Betrayal’ by Johnny Oleksinski

This a pretty low-key move for Loki. Tom Hiddleston, who plays the pale Marvel villain on-screen, is making his Broadway debut in an intimate, no-fuss revival of Harold Pinter’s “Betraya…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:00PM
Monday, September 2, 2019

Central Park ‘Hercules’ is a heartfelt wake-up call for Disney by Johnny Oleksinski

Disney’s still got heart. That’s easy to forget, because the studio that once taught kids to wish upon a star and to go fly a kite has turned into Cyberdyne Systems: an evil behemoth hel…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:18AM
Thursday, August 29, 2019

Jelani Alladin was born to play ‘Hercules’ in Central Park by Johnny Oleksinski

When Jelani Alladin sings “Go the Distance” in the Central Park staging of Disney musical “Hercules,” the ballad isn’t only about a Greek god searching for purpose. “I feel like …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:33PM
Monday, August 12, 2019

Princess Diana musical will play Broadway in 2020 by Johnny Oleksinski

A new musical about the life of Princess Diana will open on Broadway next spring. Called simply “Diana,” the show follows Lady Diana Spencer to royal superstardom, family struggle and he…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:03PM
Thursday, August 8, 2019

Review: ‘Bat Out of Hell: The Musical’ pummels the senses by Johnny Oleksinski

A radioactive “Romeo and Juliet,” set in a dystopian city whose teens are stuck in their current age forever.

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:54PM
Thursday, July 25, 2019

‘Moulin Rouge!’ review: NYC’s hottest nightclub is on Broadway by Johnny Oleksinski

Who needs ecstasy when we’ve got this glitter bomb?

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:18PM
Monday, July 22, 2019

Jonathan Groff to lead ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ off-Broadway revival by Johnny Oleksinski

And it goes uptown! “Little Shop of Horrors,” the proudly weird sci-fi musical comedy with music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by Howard Ashman, is getting its first proper off-Broa…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 03:18PM
Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Paul McCartney wrote an ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ musical — and we’ve heard it by Johnny Oleksinski

Sir Paul McCartney could be leaving Abbey Road for Broadway. Over the past year, the Beatle has been writing a new musical, a stage version of the 1946 Frank Capra classic film “It’s A W…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:12PM

How to dance it up with Gwendoline Christie in London by Johnny Oleksinski

With a new Prime Minister on the horizon, Brexit looming and a recent Women’s World Cup loss to the United States, world-weary Londoners need an escape from the headlines. Good thing for t…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:12PM
Sunday, June 9, 2019

Tony Awards 2019: Best and worst moments, full winners list by Johnny Oleksinski

It’s the 73rd Annual Sloooowny Awards! Sunday night’s trophy ceremony for a Broadway season suffering from a lack of must-see shows and real star power suffered from, well, a lack of mus…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:20PM
Friday, June 7, 2019

David Mamet’s Harvey Weinstein play is a sick joke by Johnny Oleksinski

LONDON — David Mamet has done it again! By which I mean that the out-of-his-mind playwright has appalled, offended and perplexed a packed house of hundreds of people — this time with his…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:13PM
Tuesday, April 30, 2019

The 2019 Tony nominations are packed with burns and snubs by Johnny Oleksinski

And here I thought “Mean Girls” opened last season! The 2019 Tony Award nominations were announced Tuesday morning, and instead of its usual Celebration of Theater mood, we were treated …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:48AM
Thursday, April 25, 2019

‘Beetlejuice’ review: Musical is a coke-snorting, F-bombing disaster by Johnny Oleksinski

If we say his name three times, will he go away? I’m not talking about the title character of “Beetlejuice,” which opened Thursday night, but Eddie Perfect. Fresh off his heinous music…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:01PM
Wednesday, April 24, 2019

‘Ink’ review: Broadway’s latest is a scrappy, seductive tabloid tale by Johnny Oleksinski

“Sexy” is not a word you’d use to describe the founding of most newspapers. More accurate descriptors might include: “formal,” “dusty” and “self-important.” The Sun, howeve…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:00PM
Tuesday, April 23, 2019

‘Tootsie’ review: New musical is no drag; it’s funnier than the film by Johnny Oleksinski

Meet Dorothy Michaels: Renowned stage actress and chanteuse. A brutally honest feminist who’s built like a Hummer, she lives in New York, and — oh, right — she’s really a he. Dorothy…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:04PM
Wednesday, April 17, 2019

‘Hadestown’ review: Broadway douses the fires of hell with folk music by Johnny Oleksinski

For a show about hell, “Hadestown” doesn’t have much heat. Yes, composer Anaïs Mitchell’s musical retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, which opened Wednesday on Broadway, sou…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:00PM
Tuesday, April 16, 2019

‘Coriolanus’ review: Turning Shakespeare into a political thriller by Johnny Oleksinski

Stage productions are filmed for the cinema all the time — The Met: Live in HD, National Theatre Live and the recent West End musical “Everybody’s Talking About Jamie,” among countle…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:52AM
Sunday, April 7, 2019

‘Oklahoma!’ review: Anti-gun revival of classic shot to hell by Johnny Oleksinski

The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye, and so is my blood pressure, thanks to the revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” In director Daniel Fish’s pretentious producti…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 09:00PM
Wednesday, April 3, 2019

‘Shazam!’ review: Zachary Levi is a superhero who actually has fun by Johnny Oleksinski

Even before watching “Shazam!,” the new DC superhero movie starring Zachary Levi, you already know it won’t take itself too seriously. Why? There’s an exclamation point in the title.…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:24PM
Tuesday, March 26, 2019

‘Dumbo’ review: Tim Burton makes Disney’s elephant fly again by Johnny Oleksinski

Disney kicks off another crop of live-action remakes of cartoon classics with “Dumbo.” Thankfully before slapping us with realistic singing lions and an indigo Will Smith later this year…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 12:00PM
Saturday, March 16, 2019

Why good horror flicks aren’t set in New York City anymore by Johnny Oleksinski

A slasher is on the loose, whipping out a razor blade and slicing helpless bystanders without motive or provocation. Flames shoot out of manholes on one of the city’s busiest streets just …

SOURCE: The New York Post at 02:16PM
Friday, March 15, 2019

Can Broadway chill with all the high school shows? by Johnny Oleksinski

Imagine that you’re at the Times Square TKTS booth looking for a Broadway show to see. You glance up at the board and notice four conspicuous titles: “The Office: The Musical,” “Cubi…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:51PM
Sunday, February 24, 2019

How Bradley Cooper went from Oscar golden boy to biggest loser by Johnny Oleksinski

Five months ago, it would have been a practical move to redub the Oscars the Bradleys. “A Star Is Born,” Bradley Cooper’s freshman directorial effort, scored smashing reviews out of th…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:15PM
Monday, January 28, 2019

Zac Efron kills it as Ted Bundy in ‘Extremely Wicked’ biopic by Johnny Oleksinski

PARK CITY, Utah — When Zac Efron sang “Breaking Free” in 2006’s “High School Musical,” little did we know he meant out of police custody. But 13 years later the actor has gone fr…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 10:08AM
Friday, January 11, 2019

Kevin Hart and Bryan Cranston’s fun bromance saves ‘The Upside’ by Johnny Oleksinski

“The Upside” has a downside: We’ve seen it a million times before. Onstage and on-screen, crotchety rich people are changed forever by fun-but-flawed poor people. It’s become a g…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 07:21AM
Friday, December 21, 2018

This British holiday tradition kicks America’s Yuletide ass by Johnny Oleksinski

American holiday activities are worse than coal in a stocking. Each year, we schlep to super malls and force crying children to pose with creeper Santas. We trudge to local productions of �…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 01:54PM
Thursday, December 20, 2018

‘Network’ and other Broadway shows that ruined great movies by Johnny Oleksinski

Broadway fans love to whine about movie adaptations overtaking their beloved theaters. But can’t movie buffs also complain about their favorite films getting ruined by the stage? I will �…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 08:05AM
Thursday, November 1, 2018

Orson Welles’ final film has been in the works for almost 50 years by Johnny Oleksinski

Director Orson Welles’ latest movie hits theaters Friday — 33 years after he died. “The Other Side of the Wind,” the famed filmmaker’s final picture, has been in post-production fo…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:00PM
Friday, October 19, 2018

How Michael Cera and Lucas Hedges became wise-cracking BFFs by Johnny Oleksinski

Lucas Hedges and Michael Cera play allies in Broadway’s “The Waverly Gallery,” but offstage, they’re practically a vaudeville act. And while they’ve both been around — Hedges was…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 11:06AM
Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Finally, horror movies are starting to suck less by Johnny Oleksinski

What a haul-o-ween! The latest “Halloween” sequel, starring a returning Jamie Lee Curtis, is set to break a franchise box-office record, taking in a projected $50 million this weekend. (…

SOURCE: The New York Post at 06:09PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 11, 2024: Oh, Mary! - Lyceum Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Dec 12, 2024: Cult of Love - Hayes Theater
Dec 19, 2024: Gypsy - Majestic Theatre
Mar 17, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic
TBA: Ragtime