All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Saturday, May 16, 2020

Must-See Theater This Weekend May 16-17: Beckett’s Happy Days, All Arts Marathon (James Earl Jones’ King Lear. Antigone in Ferguson, etc.) by Jonathan Mandell

Among the avalanche of streaming options this weekend are a timely Beckett play and the rich theater offerings of an arts “marathon” —  both “opening” today — that count as must…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:57PM
Friday, May 15, 2020

Eight Theater Openings Today: The Return of Broadway’s The Encounter. Dominique Morisseau. Caridad Svich. And, ok, CATS. by Jonathan Mandell

Below are eight “theater openings”* today, including acclaimed plays from Broadway (Simon McBurney’s The Encounter), Off-Broadway (Dominique Morisseau’s Pipeline),  Off-Off Broadway…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:06PM
Thursday, May 14, 2020

Significant Other Live with Gideon Glick by Jonathan Mandell

Watch Joshua Harmon’s “Significant Other” live online with the original cast, the second in a series of new live-streamed productions of old plays produced by Broadway’s Best Shows W…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:02PM

Viral Monologues’ series “COVID AND INCARCERATION” hard truths, powerful telling by Jonathan Mandell

“We have a humanitarian crisis in prison that will blow up in our faces,” says André De Shields, speaking sonorously and looking grave in a clerical collar and a salt-and-pepper beard, …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 11:32AM

COVID and Incarceration Review: Viral Monologues Goes to Prison by Jonathan Mandell

‘We have a humanitarian crisis in prison that will blow up in our faces,” says André De Shields, speaking sonorously and looking grave in a clerical collar and a salt-and-pepper beard, …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:28AM
Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Watch Symphony Space Selected Stories LIVE by Jonathan Mandell

In the first ever virtual edition of Symphony Space’s long-running Selected Stories, four familiar actors are reading the following stories: Riding Solo by Simon Rich Performed by Maulik P…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:40PM

Watch MCC’s Frankie and Will Live, with Michael Urie and Ryan Spahn by Jonathan Mandell

Watch “Frankie and Will,” a new one-act play by Talene Monahan, launching MCC’s new LiveLab series. It stars Michael Urie as William Shakespeare and Ryan Spahn as his unpaid apprentice…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:34PM

Review: To Master the Art, Julia Child play makes an awkward transfer to online viewing by Jonathan Mandell

This play about cookbook author Julia Child is a recipe for how not to do online theater. To Master the Art falls flat, despite some great ingredients. This is not how I expected to react. F…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 02:36PM

To Master The Art Review: Julia Childs Again, This Time Online by Jonathan Mandell

This play about cookbook author Julia Child is a recipe for how not to do online theater. “To Master the Art” falls flat, despite some great ingredients. This is not how I expected to re…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:56PM
Tuesday, May 12, 2020

T is for Ten-time Tony-winning Tommy Tune by Jonathan Mandell

Look at Tommy Tune mid-flight with top hat and cane, and he’s the quintessential song-and-dance man of his generation; he’s billed himself as Broadway’s tallest tapper. But among what�…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:14PM

Broadway canceled through at least September 6: Broadway League by Jonathan Mandell

The Broadway League has announced that all of Broadway’s 41 theaters would remain shut down at least through Labor Day. This simply recognizes the reality of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:59AM
Monday, May 11, 2020

Latest Shugoll Research survey shows national audiences will be back. Eventually. by Jonathan Mandell

As the shut-down of theaters enters its third month, theater artists vow “we’ll be back” – that this is just intermission. But will audiences be back? A new three-part survey  by Sh…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 05:32PM

Outer Critics Circle 2020 Honorees (not nominees) by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the complete list of the  70th Annual Outer Critics Circle Awards Honorees. This year all the shows and artists listed  in each of the 27 categories are winners. Multiple honorees…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:23PM

New Videos of the Week: Jake Gyllenhaal, West Side Story’s Isaac Powell, Lin-Manuel Reincarnated. Two Months In: More Questions, Fewer Answers. by Jonathan Mandell

Stageworthy News of the Week. At the finale for the Broadway Does Mother’s Day virtual concert yesterday, the cast of Hamilton sang different lyrics to a King George number: We’ll be bac…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:07PM
Sunday, May 10, 2020

Watch “Broadway Does Mothers Day” by Jonathan Mandell

In the hour-long video below, the casts of more than a dozen Broadway shows, and their mothers…and their kids… along with their pets….made jokes, performed shtick, sang songs, and tol…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:08PM
Saturday, May 9, 2020

Watch Noel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, Live with Leslie Uggams, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Renee Elise Goldsberry by Jonathan Mandell

Watch the live Saturday matinee below of “Blithe Spirit,”  a comedy by Noel Coward about a clash of ghosts, starring Angel Desai, Montego Glover, Renee Elise Goldsberry,  William Jacks…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:02PM
Friday, May 8, 2020

What Theater To Stream This Weekend May 8-10: Kelli O’Hara in The King and I; Danielle Brooks in Much Ado; Leslie Uggams in Blithe Spirit by Jonathan Mandell

Below are a selection of the exciting starry theater that’s launching today through Sunday, as well as a big Broadway bash to celebrate Mothers Day. Shows I recommend that opened earlier t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:49AM
Thursday, May 7, 2020

Watch Mamet’s November LIVE with John Malkovich and Patti LuPone by Jonathan Mandell

  Below watch “November” a political comedy by David Mamet, live from 8 to 9:45 p.m. tonight May 7th, 2020 — one-time only. It will not stay online. The virtual production stars John …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:01PM

The Homebound Project Review: 10 Starry Monologues in The First Hour by Jonathan Mandell

The pandemic has produced two kinds of theatrical Netathons , which is my name for oversized online theatrical events by established artists in support of a charitable cause. The first are t…

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 09:48AM

The Homebound Project Review and Pics. 10 New Plays in The First Hour by Jonathan Mandell

The pandemic has produced two kinds of theatrical Netathons , which is my name for oversized online theatrical events by established artists in support of a charitable cause. The first are t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:12AM
Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Watch “Tiny Beautiful Things” by Jonathan Mandell

  Watch the live-streaming below of Nia Vardalo’s adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s best-selling book of advice,  with Teddy Canez, Hubert Point-Du-Jour, Nia Vardalos, and Natalie Woolam…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:02PM
Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Love, Loss and What I Wore Review: A Good Fit Online A Decade Later by Jonathan Mandell

“Put on your leggings,” Rosie O’Donnell tells Carol Kane, as mother to daughter, near the beginning of the play “Love, Loss and What I Wore.”; The daughter has a tantrum. “If you…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:17PM

Watch “Napping” New York City, Its Vibrant Street Life on Pause by Jonathan Mandell

“The city that never sleeps is at least napping,” says Sarah Henry on the Museum of the City of New York in “New York, Paused,”  a stunning and thought-provoking four-minute video, …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:39AM

Watch Hollywood Netflix Cast at Stars in the House: Darren Criss and Jeremy Pope Sing! by Jonathan Mandell

In the short videos below of highlights from the appearance at Stars in the House of cast members of the current Netflix series “Hollywood,” Darren Criss sings “Singing’ in the Rain�…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:26AM
Monday, May 4, 2020

Michael R. Jackson’s musical A Strange Loop wins 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jonathan Mandell

Just announced: Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama. When I saw it last June at Playwrights Horizons Off-Broadway, I wrote: A Strange Loop is a …

SOURCE: DC Theatre Scene at 07:32PM

Michael R. Jackson’s A Strange Loop wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama by Jonathan Mandell

Michael R. Jackson’s musical A Strange Loop won this year’s Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The two finalists were Will Arbery’s play Heroes of the Fourth Turning and Soft Power, the musica…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:31PM

A Shower of Theater and Theater Awards. #Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

“So, are you drunk yet? Are you high?” host Mario Cantone asked near the end of the 35th annual Lucille Lortel Award, which for the first time was presented online. “When this is over,…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:03AM

Drama League Award 2020 Nominations and Gratitude Awards video by Jonathan Mandell

Below are the nominations for the 86th annual Drama League Awards, which were announced during the once-only Gratitude Awards on April 30th*. Below the list of nominations is the complete vi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:17AM
Sunday, May 3, 2020

Watch winners of 2020 Lucille Lortel Awards, celebrating Off-Broadway by Jonathan Mandell

Winners of the 2020 Lucille Lortel Awards (chosen from this year’s nominees is being streamed online for the first time. Outstanding Play BLKS Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven” – …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:08PM

Review of “Felt Sad Posted Frog (and other streams of global quarantine)” by Jonathan Mandell

“Felt Sad, Posted Frog,” the title of this collection of six new works of online theater by playwrights from six different countries (on three continents), is what one of the characters …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:12PM
Saturday, May 2, 2020

April 2020 Online Theater Quiz by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you paying attention to the news and views — and awards — of theater in the month of April, when it all went online? Answer these dozen questions to find out.

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:20PM

All that Chat