All stories by Jonathan Baz on BroadwayStars

Friday, August 14, 2015

Prodigy – Review by Jonathan Baz

St James Theatre, London****Music and Lyrics by Pippa ClearyBook & Lyrics by Jake BrungerDirected by Kate GolledgeCallum Howells and Francesca McKeanThe National Youth Music Theatre's pr…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:54AM
Monday, August 10, 2015

Oliver – Review by Jonathan Baz

Watermill Theatre, Newbury****Music, lyrics and book by Lionel BartDirected by Luke SheppardThomas KerryIt is a rare treat to visit Newbury’s charmingly situated Watermill Theatre and …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:43PM
Saturday, August 8, 2015

Miss-Leading Ladies – Review by Jonathan Baz

St James Studio*****Co-written and directed by Sarah-Louise YoungRia Jones and Ceri DupreeBefore launching into a sassy opening routine of Irving Berlin's Sisters, Ria Jones and Ceri Dupree …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:26AM
Thursday, August 6, 2015

Grand Hotel – Review by Jonathan Baz

Southwark Playhouse, London****Book by Luther DavisMusic and lyrics by George Forrest and Robert WrightAdditional music and lyrics by Maury YestonDirected by Thom SoutherlandChristine Griman…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:44AM
Saturday, August 1, 2015

Tommy – Review by Jonathan Baz

Greenwich Theatre, London*****Music and lyrics by Pete TownsendBook by Pete Townsend and Des McAnuffAdditional music and lyrics by John Entwhistle and Keith MoonDirected by Michael StrassenA…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:32AM
Thursday, July 30, 2015

Of Thee I Sing – Review by Jonathan Baz

Royal Festival Hall, London***Music by George GershwinLyrics by Ira GershwinBook by George S. Kaufman and Morrie RyskindAll credit to Elliot Davis, Senbla and the genius of casting director …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:36PM
Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Anne Reid and Stefan Bednarczyk in Cabaret – Review by Jonathan Baz

The Pheasantry, London****Anne Reid and Stefan BednarczykCurrently in cabaret at London’s The Pheasantry, Anne Reid and Stefan Bednarczyk offer a songlist devoted to the Broadway/Holly…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:45PM
Sunday, July 26, 2015

SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD – St James Theatre by Jonathan Baz

St James Theatre, London****Music and lyrics by Jason Robert BrownDirected by Adam LensonCynthia ErivoThere is a great deal of debate over how to define a piece like Jason Robert Brown's ico…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:33AM

Fiddler At The Proms – I speak to Fiddler On The Roof’s lyricist Sheldon Harnick by Jonathan Baz

Programme cover from the first London productionAs the BBC Proms feature Fiddler On The Roof, here is my interview with lyricist Sheldon Harnick, discussing the show.JB:      …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:03AM
Friday, July 24, 2015

American Idiot – Review by Jonathan Baz

Arts Theatre, London****Book by Billie Joe Armstrong and Michael MayerLyrics by Billie Joe ArmstrongMusic by Green DayDirected and choreographed by Racky PlewsAmelia Lily and Aaron SidwellIt…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:39PM
Thursday, July 23, 2015

RICHARD II – Shakespeare’s Globe by Jonathan Baz

Shakespeare's Globe, London****Written by William ShakespeareDirected by Simon GodwinCharles SpencerSimon Godwin hones his focus in on the fallible nature of authority, in a smartly paced pr…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:55AM
Wednesday, July 22, 2015

MACK AND MABEL – Chichester Festival Theatre by Jonathan Baz

There is much about Jonathan Church’s Mack and Mabel at Chichester that displays the very best of modern British musical theatre talent. Amidst a tale of humour and tragedy, the production…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:38AM
Sunday, July 19, 2015

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland – Review by Jonathan Baz

Opera Holland Park, London****Music by Will ToddLibretto by Maggie GottliebDirected by Martin DuncanFflur Wyn and James ClevertonReturning for a third (and now almost sold out) season Opera …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:12PM
Friday, July 17, 2015

MABEL’S WILFUL WAY – Review by Jonathan Baz

As Mack and Mabel previews at Chichester Festival Theatre (to be reviewed here next week), I chanced upon a DVD of one of Mack Sennett’s famous two-reelers, Mabel’s Wilful Way, m…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:04AM
Sunday, July 12, 2015

A Spoonful Of Sherman – CD Review by Jonathan Baz

*****Just released on CD, A Spoonful of Sherman is a delightful recording that preserves one of the most sparkling revues of recent years. Staged at the St James Theatre in 2014, the show ca…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:58PM
Friday, July 10, 2015

VOLPONE – Stratford-upon-Avon by Jonathan Baz

Trevor Nunn’s production of Volpone at the RSC's Swan sagely contends that the sins of greed and avarice are timeless. With Ben Jonson’s 17th century comedy set squarely in a modern Veni…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 02:55AM
Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Orson’s Shadow – Review by Jonathan Baz

Southwark Playhouse, London***Written by Austin PendletonDirected by Alice HamiltonLouise Ford and John Hodgkinson35 years after his death, Kenneth Tynan still has the power to slice through…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:45PM

The House of Mirrors and Hearts – Review by Jonathan Baz

Arcola Theatre, London***By Eamonn O'Dwyer and Robert GilbertDirected by Ryan McBrydeGillian Kirkpatrick'Pain can blind us, twist us, change us – sometimes for better, sometimes for wo…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:58PM
Tuesday, July 7, 2015

East is East – Review by Jonathan Baz

Churchill Theatre, Bromley****Written by Ayub Khan DinDirected by Sam Yates Pauline McGlynn and Simon NagraA story about identity, packaged as a comedy but addressing some very real and…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:58PM
Saturday, July 4, 2015

AS IS – West End by Jonathan Baz

As one sits in the Trafalgar Studios waiting for Andrew Keates’ production of As Is to begin, there is an awareness of a gentle backdrop of conversation that eventually distils into indivi…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:12AM
Wednesday, July 1, 2015

KIT AND MCCONNEL – Crazy Coqs by Jonathan Baz

Crazy Coqs, London****Kit and McConnelThe cabaret duo Kit and McConnel have only been performing together for 3 years, so this show’s title The Game Is Old dues not suggest themselves.…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:04AM
Monday, June 29, 2015

All I Know Now – Wonderings And Reflections On Growing Up Gracefully – Book Review by Jonathan Baz

****Written by Carrie Hope FletcherGrowing up, she was the youngest sibling of two. But today Carrie Hope Fletcher is a virtual big sister to thousands of young girls across the world.A stag…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 04:59AM
Thursday, June 18, 2015

Two Jacks – Review by Jonathan Baz

***Written and directed by Bernard RoseJack HustonThere’s a stylish cast and concept to Two Jacks, out this month from Bernard Rose.Taking an idea from Tolstoy’s Russian fable Th…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 02:31PM
Sunday, June 14, 2015

Northern Ballet – Madam Butterfly with Perpetuum Mobile by Jonathan Baz

Churchill Theatre, Bromley****Choreography by David NixonVisiting Bromley for the first time and for two nights only, the Northern Ballet - Europe’s Best Dance Company as recognis…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:31PM
Friday, June 12, 2015

A Damsel In Distress – Review by Jonathan Baz

Festival Theatre, Chichester****Music and lyrics by George Gershwin and Ira GershwinBook by Jeremy Sams and Robert HudsonBased on the novel by P.G.Wodehouseand the play by P.G. Wodehouse and…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:16AM
Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Heartbreak Hotel – Review by Jonathan Baz

The Jetty, London***Play developed by Zoe Wellman and Sam Curtis-LindsayDirected by Sam Curtis-LindsayA scene from Heartbreak HotelHeartbreak Hotel is a new immersive experience in London…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:06AM

Eric Yves Garcia – Review by Jonathan Baz

Crazy Coqs, London****Eric GarciaIn recent years New York singer-pianist Eric Yves Garcia has made quite an impact. An award winning cabaret artiste, he is here for a week’s residency …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:22AM
Tuesday, June 9, 2015

TEDDY – Southwark Playhouse by Jonathan Baz

Teddy is a new piece of theatre from Tristan Bernays and Dougal Irvine that sets out to depict the Teddy Boy era of 1950’s London. It's all about rock and roll and austerity in post-war Br…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:15AM
Monday, June 8, 2015

DISCO – Victoria Pub, London by Jonathan Baz

If you like your reviews as short and sour as a tequila slammer, let me say just this: site-specific DISCO, that ran for three days from 2nd June, isn’t going to impress those who thrive o…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 03:09AM
Thursday, June 4, 2015

DUNCTON WOOD – Union Theatre by Jonathan Baz

Duncton Wood is an ambitious musical from Mark Carroll, adapting the best-selling novel famously set in the meadowed world of Oxfordshire’s moles. In the micro-budget world of the Union Th…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:39AM
Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Michael Armstrong – The Album – Review by Jonathan Baz

****In a music business that can too often be driven by corporates, manufactured clones or finely choreographed campaigns, it is easy to become disillusioned. But for those living in the hop…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:20PM

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 15, 2025: Purpose - Hayes Theater
Apr 01, 2025: Glengarry Glen Ross
Apr 10, 2025: Smash - Imperial Theatre
TBA: Titanic