All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Saturday, August 31, 2024

Theater Quiz for August 2024: Convention Theater and Unconventional Theater by Jonathan Mandell

How well were you following the theater in August? By theater this month, that includes political theater, as well as the past and future on stage, not just the present. Answer the quiz belo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 03:50PM
Friday, August 30, 2024

John Patrick Shanley and the Art of the 15-minute Play, at Chain Summer One Act Festival by Jonathan Mandell

  Following up on the recent Broadway revival of his Tony and Pulitzer-winning play “Doubt” and his new Off-Broadway hit “Brooklyn Laundry,” John Patrick Shanley has written another…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:50AM
Wednesday, August 28, 2024

Hurricane Season Review. Trippy and transgressive, to a fault. by Jonathan Mandell

It would be silly to dismiss “Hurricane Season” just because the production has no curtain call, and the cast is made to work during the entire intermission, performing a kind of robotic…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:44PM
Tuesday, August 27, 2024

48 Hours in Harlem: 6 Plays Inspired by Black Leaders’ Bold Speeches by Jonathan Mandell

“It used to be a time when the movement was spearheaded by young people….putting their lives on the line. Now, they just put their lives online.” It’s a line in “Good Trouble” by…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:09AM
Monday, August 26, 2024

Broadway theater artists Zoom for Harris by Jonathan Mandell

“Humanity is on the ballot, y’all. Please don’t be complacent, because otherwise we’re cooked,” Billy Porter said to an estimated 3,000 people who attended an hour-long Zoom call o…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:30PM

Broadway for Kamala. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

The most stageworthy news of the past week, let’s face it, were the speeches at the Democratic National Convention.  “…the miracles of democracy and community”: AOC at the DNC, vide…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:12AM
Thursday, August 22, 2024

“Let us choose joy” Oprah speaks to the DNC, video and transcript. by Jonathan Mandell

“ i am calling on all you independents and all you undecideds. ¥ou know this is true. You know I am telling you the truth. That values and character matter most of all. In leadership and …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 05:03AM
Wednesday, August 21, 2024

“I love that laugh!” Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, running for First Mensch: video, transcript of his DNC speech. by Jonathan Mandell

 Before Doug Emhoff explained the embarrassing moment that led to his first date with Kamala Harris, he began his speech at the 2024 Democratic National Convention by introducing his “big…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:16PM

“Hope is making a comeback” Michelle Obama and Barack Obama at the DNC, videos and transcripts by Jonathan Mandell

“For years, Donald Trump did everything in his power to try to make people fear us,” Michelle Obama said at Day 2 of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, talking about herself and he…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:47AM
Tuesday, August 20, 2024

“…the miracles of democracy and community”: AOC at the DNC, video and transcript by Jonathan Mandell

“Six years ago, I was taking omelette orders as a waitress in New York City. I didn’t have health insurance. My family was fighting off foreclosure and we were struggling with bills afte…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:11AM
Monday, August 19, 2024

Broadway Week. Convention Theater. Unconventional Theater. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

How close has legitimate theater come to capturing the political theater of Presidential campaigns and party conventions, especially the real-life implausible whiplash political dramas of th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:54PM
Saturday, August 17, 2024

The Story of Lot’s Wife. A queer, immersive defense of a salty character. by Jonathan Mandell

What we know about Lot’s wife from the Bible is that she looked back at the city of Sodom, although forbidden to do so, and became a pillar of salt. Lots more happens in Genesis 19 – a m…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:41PM
Thursday, August 15, 2024

Language City Review. Looking at NYC through its 700 languages by Jonathan Mandell

More than 7,000 languages currently exist in the world, of which an astonishing 700 are spoken in New York City — more than anyplace else on earth. “Language and music are portable homel…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:57PM
Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Star Power on Stage, from Denzel to Whoopi, Keanu to Kieran to Kit. Stageworthy News. by Jonathan Mandell

Here are some of the stars scheduled to appear on a New York stage in the 2024-2025 season, several for the first time in many years, or ever: Christian Borle, Kenneth Branagh, Bill Burr, M…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:31AM
Monday, August 12, 2024

Once Upon A Mattress Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Once Upon A Mattress” opened tonight for its third turn on Broadway, with Sutton Foster’s performance as Princess Winnifred the Woebegone the same goofy and intense workout that prove…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:49PM
Saturday, August 10, 2024

The Spamalot Diaries by Jonathan Mandell

“Mike was going on again about the perfidious people who keep theatrical diaries,” Eric Idle writes about Mike Nichols in his own theatrical diary, meticulously dated October 20, 2004 at…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:17PM
Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Poll: 5 Best Broadway Shows from a Movie? by Jonathan Mandell

Seven shows currently on Broadway were preceded by a movie with the same name: They are either direct adaptation of the movies (Aladdin, Back to the Future), or inspired by them (Harry Potte…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:18PM
Tuesday, August 6, 2024

Gov. Tim Walz’s first speech as vice presidential candidate video and transcript by Jonathan Mandell

“Some of us are old enough to remember when it was Republicans who were talking about freedom. It turns out now, what they meant is the government should be free to invade your doctor’s …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:25PM
Monday, August 5, 2024

Lin-Manuel Miranda announces: The Warriors. Movie stars bursting onto NY stages: Keanu Reeves, Adam Driver, Robert Downey Jr. Stageworthy News of the by Jonathan Mandell

What happened to the dog days of summer? Sure this weekend saw the 26th annual Broadway Barks starry pet adoption event with hosts Bernadette Peters and Sutton Foster. But that’s just one…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:50AM
Sunday, August 4, 2024

The Meeting: The Interpreter Review. The Trump Tower Meeting revisited. by Jonathan Mandell

In June 2016, at the height of the Presidential election, a Russian lawyer named Natalia Veselnitskaya met at Trump Tower with Donald Trump Jr. and six other people, reportedly telling the …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:49PM

Political Theater Quiz for July 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

There’s been lots of political drama off-stage over the past month. Oddly, much of it can be connected to what’s been happening in New York theater.  Answer these nine questions, plus a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:46PM
Friday, August 2, 2024

Broadway in Bryant Park 2024 Finale: Watch Outsiders, Six, Wicked, &Juliet, lots of hugs by Jonathan Mandell

“Six” Queen Didi Romero served as the host for the final Broadway in Bryant Park lunchtime concert of the year, which featured a lot of hugs — see first video below

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:22PM
Thursday, August 1, 2024

August 2024 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a selection of theater opening* in New York in August, including one show on Broadway: “Once Upon A Mattress,” starring Sutton Foster, which originated as an Encores! concert …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:25AM
Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Someone Spectacular Review. Grief, in a group. by Jonathan Mandell

“Loss is loss,” Thom says to the five other members of the weekly grief support group. “Twenty years ago, our dog died. It took me fifteen years to even entertain the thought of gettin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:28PM
Tuesday, July 30, 2024

Job Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

“Job” is the second 80-minute play this month that has powered onto Broadway after sold-out runs downtown. (The other is“Oh, Mary!” .) That this two-character play about a therapy se…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:30PM
Monday, July 29, 2024

Six Characters Review by Jonathan Mandell

Luigi Pirandello, the Nobel Prize-winning Italian playwright who wrote “Six Characters in Search of an Author,” was for a time a member of the National Fascist Party and a follower of Be…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:04PM

Lupita Nyong’o, Adam Lambert et al on Stage. Judi Dench on Page. Colman Domingo in Prison. Wicked on Video. The Presidential Race: Dramatic AND Thea by Jonathan Mandell

“I look at the world for what I hope it’s going to be, a wonderful world – especially with what’s happened this week,” That was James Monroe Iglehart at this weekend’s BroadwayCo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:31AM
Sunday, July 28, 2024

Sing Sing movie and the true story of the prison theater program RTA by Jonathan Mandell

In “Sing Sing,” a movie that has opened in New York cinemas to universal critical acclaim and goes nationwide next week, Colman Domingo portrays an inmate at Sing Sing named John “Divi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:26PM
Saturday, July 27, 2024

First Look at BroadwayCon 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are videos of the four shows that were presented at the “First Look” concert at the ninth annual BroadwayCon:   “Suffs,” “The Outsiders,”  “A Wonderful World: The Lo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:12PM
Friday, July 26, 2024

Broadway in Bryant Park: Watch Chicago, Mormon, Moulin Rouge, Great Gatsby, Notebook by Jonathan Mandell

Watch the current casts of three long-running musicals — Chicago (on Broadway since 1996), The Book of Mormon (2011), Moulin Rouge (2019) – perform favorites at the Broadway in Bryant Pa…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:48AM
Thursday, July 25, 2024

Watch Suffs at Broadway in Bryant Park by Jonathan Mandell

Watch the video of the two songs that cast members from “Suffs” sang at the Broadway in Bryant Park noontime concert. Both of which are inspired by some fascinating real-life history in …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:22PM

All that Chat

2024-2025 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 05, 2024: Home - Todd Haimes Theatre
Jul 30, 2024: Job - Hayes Theater
Sep 12, 2024: The Roommate - Booth Theatre
Nov 14, 2024: Tammy Faye - Palace Theatre
Nov 17, 2024: Elf - Marquis 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