All stories by Jonathan Baz on BroadwayStars

Friday, December 7, 2018

‘Delivers immense joy’: HOT GAY TIME MACHINE – Trafalgar Studios ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

You enter a dark basement in the heart of the West End. RuPaul is blaring, lights are flashing and there is dancing. Yet this is not a club. Instead, it’s Hot Gay Time Machine.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, December 5, 2018

‘The play’s dynamism is timeless’: TRUE WEST – WestEnd ★★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Squeezed into a lean and tightly filled two hours, Sam Shepard’s True West is an acerbic glimpse of domestic dysfunctionality that plays out in sweltering Southern California, a blasted ba…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 04:00AM
Wednesday, November 28, 2018

‘A heavenly symphony of instrument & voice’: ENNIO MORRICONE IN CONCERT – O2 ★★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Ennio Morricone played London for the last time this week, his farewell visit to the capital heralding the gifted composer’s imminent retirement.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Saturday, November 17, 2018

‘One of the most refreshing & riotous shows in London’: HADESTOWN – National Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Running at the National Theatre prior to a Broadway opening, Hadestown offers a uniquely folksy and enchanting take on the tragic tale of Orpheus and his love, Euridice.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Wednesday, November 14, 2018

‘Poignant, funny & perfectly played’: DON QUIXOTE – West End ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

In James Fenton’s adaptation of Cervantes’ 17th-century classic, the fabled antics of Knight Errant Don Quixote are given a contemporary understanding that still preserves the original�…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Saturday, November 10, 2018

‘Chillingly relevant’: ROMEO & JULIET – Barbican Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Romeo & Juliet, with Karen Fishwick and Bally Gill as the leads, arrives at the Barbican as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s London residency. Although written over four centur…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:00AM
Friday, November 2, 2018

‘Stubbs gives a stunning performance’: HONOUR – Park Theatre by Jonathan Baz

‘There’s no fool like an old fool’ is an adage that sums up much of Honour, now playing at the Park Theatre. The play introduces Henry Goodman and Imogen Stubbs as married couple Georg…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, November 1, 2018

‘Captivating performance’: SHOLOM ALEICHEM IN THE OLD COUNTRY – Lion & Union Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Sholom Aleichem In The Old Country is at once charming, funny, sad and yet it is ultimately tragic. Not because of any serious disaster that befalls the characters, but rather because it off…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Wednesday, October 31, 2018

‘Falls a little flat in pivotal places’: MACBETH – Barbican Theatre ★★★ by Jonathan Baz

This Macbeth should be an absolute blinder with such a strong and perfectly brooding lead… but unfortunately, the production falls a little flat in pivotal places.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Wednesday, October 24, 2018

‘Well-written, intriguing & thought-provoking play’: WELCOME…? – Bridewell Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Performed at the Bridewell Theatre in an enticing lunchtime slot, Welcome…? is a ground-breaking play that seeks to challenge the narrative around out-of-work pregnant female actors and is…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Tuesday, October 23, 2018

‘Large group numbers energised the space quite thrillingly’: GUYS & DOLLS LIVE IN CONCERT – Royal Albert Hall ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Gamblers, gangsters and nightclub singers mingle together in 1950s New York in Guys & Dolls, Frank Loesser, Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows’ ‘musical fable of Broadway’, which returne…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, October 21, 2018

‘An event of uplifting beauty & hope: THE DISTANCE YOU HAVE COME – Cockpit Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Scott Alan’s The Distance You Have Come – a song cycle drawn from Alan’s work to date – has been fashioned together in this two-hour gig and is an event of uplifting beauty and hope.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:00AM
Saturday, October 20, 2018

‘Unquestionably fine theatre’: COMPANY – West End ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

An evening at Marianne Elliott’s production of Company at the Gielgud Theatre is unquestionably fine theatre. Everybody rise.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Friday, October 19, 2018

‘Rightly lauded as a major piece of 21st-century theatre’: THE INHERITANCE – West End ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

The Inheritance at the Noel Coward Theatre has been rightly lauded as a major piece of 21st-century theatre and Lopez has a gift for crafting argument and dialogue with sensitivity and innat…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Monday, October 1, 2018

‘I think it’s more relevant than ever’: Jane Robins talks about tackling Brexit in new play People Like Us by Jonathan Baz

As Brexit remains headline news across the country, People Like Us, a new comedy from writers Julie Burchill and Jane Robins, examines how this polarisation of political opinion has cut a sw…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Friday, September 28, 2018

‘There are moments here to be savoured’: ANTONY & CLEOPATRA – National Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

At three and a half hours all in Antony and Cleopatra is a long haul, but with Fiennes and Okonedo making Shakespeare’s verse sing, there are moments here to be savoured.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM
Thursday, September 20, 2018

‘Packed full of humour & memorable numbers’: HEATHERS THE MUSICAL – West End ★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Following a sold-out run at The Other Palace earlier this year, there’s been a lot of hype surrounding Heathers the Musical, with a strong fandom out in force and social media buzzing with…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, September 17, 2018

‘A defiant & intelligent display of strong womanhood’: WASTED – Southwark Playhouse ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Any musical can only be as good as its underlying book and Wasted, based upon the lives of the four Brontë siblings (three girls and a boy) is written around a very strong core.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Sunday, September 9, 2018

‘An exhilarating if somewhat brutal comment on humanity’: SWEET CHARITY – Nottingham ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

As Bill Buckhurst’s production of Sweet Charity takes the show squarely back to its 1960s origins with Rebecca Trehearn in the lead, the show delivers an exhilarating if somewhat brutal co…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 09:00AM
Wednesday, September 5, 2018

‘Marlow & Moss clearly have great technical and creative potential ahead of them’: SIX THE MUSICAL – Arts Theatre by Jonathan Baz

Beheadings are brutal and barbaric, whether they occurred five months or five centuries ago. And yet, with heads jauntily skewed, grim grins (albeit momentarily) and hand-held mics tightly g…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 01:00PM
Wednesday, August 29, 2018

‘It’s been a thrilling experience’: Director Michael Blakemore on his return to Copenhagen by Jonathan Baz

At Chichester right now, director Michael Blakemore’s revival of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen has opened to rave reviews. Blakemore has a remarkable history with the piece, having directed…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Tuesday, August 28, 2018

‘The interpretation is riveting’: SWAN LAKE – London Coliseum ★★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

In short, Swan Lake is a marvellous evening’s dance and a production that should appeal to both connoisseurs and novices alike. Now that’s what I call ballet.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Sunday, August 5, 2018

‘One of the most refreshing examples of new writing in quite some time’: GRINDR THE OPERA – Above The Stag Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

In an ingenious conceit, Erik Ransom’s show embodies the Grindr app into a Mephistophelian being who wields a strange, yet credible power over all who engage with the software.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Wednesday, August 1, 2018

‘A festival of sensational song & dance’: SWEET CHARITY – Watermill Theatre, Newbury ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Yet again, the people of Newbury find themselves spoiled with this display of some of the finest talent in the land putting on a show that alongside being a rollercoaster of emotions, Sweet …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 12:00PM
Thursday, July 26, 2018

‘It’s not all dancing around fairy rings’: IOLANTHE – Touring ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

This wonderful production of Sasha Regan’s all-male Iolanthe is now in the final leg of its UK tour. As such, the cast – who, reviews have suggested, were excellent to begin with - have …

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 05:00AM
Tuesday, July 24, 2018

‘Melodies that touched all generations’: THE MUSIC OF JOHN WILLIAMS – Kenwood House ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

John Williams is a prolific composer whose work stretches across six decades. The remarkable breadth of his compositions ensured that throughout the two-hour gig there were melodies that tou…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 11:00AM
Thursday, July 19, 2018

‘One of the most stimulating new plays this year’: END OF THE PIER – Park Theatre ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Offering two hours of compelling and arguably unmissable theatre combining humour and cliche together with many unpalatable home truths, End of the Pier is one of the most stimulating new pl…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Wednesday, July 18, 2018

‘In Sarah Louise Hughes, the director has unearthed a gem’: THE RISE & FALL OF LITTLE VOICE – Cirencester ★★★ by Jonathan Baz

The strengths of The Rise & Fall of Little Voice will always flow from the young woman playing LV and in Sarah Louise Hughes, director Michael Strassen has unearthed a gem.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 10:00AM
Tuesday, July 17, 2018

‘As beguiling as it is macabre’: IT HAPPENED IN KEY WEST – Charing Cross Theatre ★★★ by Jonathan Baz

It Happened In Key West takes risks which more often than not, pay off. As beguiling as it is macabre, this morbid musical comedy needs to be seen to be believed.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 06:00AM
Monday, July 16, 2018

‘An intelligent look behind the scenes of the American Dream’: THE LEHMAN TRILOGY – National Theatre ★★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

The Lehman Trilogy is an intelligent look behind the scenes of the American Dream and the smoke and mirrors of the corporate world, brought to light by Mendes’ astute direction and a stell…

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 07:00AM
Friday, July 13, 2018

‘For a seaside festival of song & dance, there’s nothing finer in the country’: ME AND MY GIRL – Chichester ★★★★ by Jonathan Baz

Me and My Girl’s politics may be of the dark ages – but its ability to put grins on faces and set toes tapping is the mark of a modern show that knows how to please its audience.

SOURCE: mytheatremates.com at 08:00AM

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