All stories by Jonathan Mandell on BroadwayStars

Saturday, January 11, 2025

Prototype festival: Telekinetik by Jonathan Mandell

"Telekinetik" is about as unconventional an opera as opera can be, and therefore more or less typical of the Prototype festival, which launched its twelfth annual season Thursday with …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:37PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 10, 2025

Under the Radar: SpaceBridge. Russian Refugee Kids at La MaMa by Jonathan Mandell

SpaceBridge is a show starring Russian refugee children living in New York City shelters after fleeing Russia because of their families' opposition to the invasion of Ukraine.  It is a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:59AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 9, 2025

Under the Radar: Blind Runner. Responding to repression in Iran by Jonathan Mandell

"For years, I've learned that in reaction to all the hardships, I could do only one thing: run. Run instead of talk, run instead of cry, ru…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 01:20PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 8, 2025

Under the Radar: The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy (redux) by Jonathan Mandell

Joshua William Gelb, an award"winning pioneer in digital theater, has restaged his earliest Internet hit in what some might consider a logical next step " in person.  But if I fi…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:45PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Fringe Encore: My Mother's Funeral The Show by Jonathan Mandell

Abigail's mother has just died, but she can't afford to pay for her funeral, so to raise the needed funds she decides to write a play about the death of her mother and the difficulty of affo…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:59PM[SHARE]
Monday, January 6, 2025

A Wicked Year? Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

2025 begins as the Year of Wicked. Although the movie won only "best cinematic and box office achievement" at the Golden Globes last night, both it and the stage musical broke box office rec…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:51AM[SHARE]
Sunday, January 5, 2025

Under the Radar: Techne at BAM by Jonathan Mandell

"Techne," one of the shows that opened the 20th anniversary "Under the Radar" festival this weekend, reinforces its reputation for theater so experimental it makes you wonder what thea…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:51PM[SHARE]
Saturday, January 4, 2025

January 2025 New York Theater Openings by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a calendar of selected theater opening* this month in New York, including one Broadway show, Sanaz Toossi's Pulitzer Prize winning "English," which is transferring intact from an…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:37PM[SHARE]
Friday, January 3, 2025

Broadway Poll: Spring 2025 Show You Most Want To See by Jonathan Mandell

Choose the show that you are most looking forward to, among the 20 that (so far) have firm opening dates on Broadway between now and April 27, 2025, when the 2024-2025 season ends. They are …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:02AM[SHARE]
Thursday, January 2, 2025

January Theater Festivals 2025: from Dodos to Dictators, Gwyneth Paltrow to Yoko Ono by Jonathan Mandell

There are almost 100 shows produced by the seven annual theater festivals listed below, all of whom begin in January. Largely experimental, avant-garde, mixed-genre, and at much lower ticket…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:12PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, January 1, 2025

10 Questions About Theater in 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

The year 2025 begins with some short-term questions about theater " the fate of "Warriors," the effect of "Wicked"?" and more long-term ones " what new leadership will mean to Off-Broadway? …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 02:58PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 31, 2024

Ring IN The Old for 2025: Broadway Veterans from 90 to 100 by Jonathan Mandell

Let us celebrate the new year by honoring these twenty Broadway veterans " accomplished performers, playwrights, producers, directors, composers (at least one of them all those things tog…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:30AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 30, 2024

Year End Theater Quiz: A Look Back at 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

How much do you remember of this year in New York theater? Answer these 10 questions to find out. Loading…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:48PM[SHARE]

2024 in Stage Moments, Broadway Backstage Stories, Theater Books, and In Memoriam. #Stageworthy News by Jonathan Mandell

How DO you measure a year? Yes, in laughter and strife, and also in nightlife. (New Year's Eve in NYC Last Minute Guide to Greeting 2025) Theater lovers measure the year in shows, sure (see …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:24AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 29, 2024

Theater Books of 2024 to Read in 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is a list of theater books that were published in 2024, most of which I read and enjoyed (with caveats), several I hope to get to in the new year. Beneath that is a list of 10 scripts …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:07AM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 28, 2024

Memorable Moments on Stage in 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

When they hug in the rain in "The Notebook." When they fight in the rain in "The Outsiders." When the fourth sibling finally arrives in "The Hills of California." When the fourth sibling fin…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:46PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 27, 2024

10 Big Theater Stories of 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

The year began with Elton John getting an EGOT and ended with his giving Broadway a flop. It was that kind of year, offering theatergoers reasons to cheer and to jeer.  Here are …

SOURCE: New York Theater at 08:21PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 26, 2024

New Year's Eve in NYC Last Minute Guide: Greeting 2025 by Jonathan Mandell

My last-minute guide to New Year's Eve in New York City, when 2024 turns into 2025, features information on: Times Square.Dining Out,Theater: Plays as parties, Broadway show schedule, family…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:49PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 25, 2024

10 Movies in Cinemas Today, Reviewed. by Jonathan Mandell

On this traditional day of moviegoing, here is my quick take on ten new feature films, most of them only available in cinemas, including "A Complete Unknown," "The Fire Inside" and "The Room…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 12:11PM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 24, 2024

In Memoriam: Theater Community Members Who Died in 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

Below are some of the people from the theater community who died in 2024, listed alphabetically. Click on any photograph (and click the ⌽ button) to read the caption. (In a few of these…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:20AM[SHARE]
Monday, December 23, 2024

Broadway Wraps Up 2024: Gypsy, Eureka,All In. Happy Christmukkah. Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

The final three Broadway shows of 2024 opened last week " a play, a musical and…something else, for a total of 33 shows running on Broadway as we head into Christmukkah (both Christmas and…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:11AM[SHARE]
Sunday, December 22, 2024

All In: Comedy About Love. Reading Simon Rich's Stories by Jonathan Mandell

"All In: Comedy about Love," opening on Broadway tonight, is not based on Simon Rich's humorous stories; it is a selection of those stories, read aloud from hand-held binders by a rota…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:36PM[SHARE]

Broadway Schedule Christmas and Hanukkah Week 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

Below is the Broadway schedule between Monday December 23, 2024 and Sunday, December 29, 2024, with links to my reviews of the shows. Eight shows will be performed Christmas Eve (Tuesday), a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 09:37AM[SHARE]
Saturday, December 21, 2024

Top 10 Reads in 2024: Life and Trust. Wicked. Best and Worst of Broadway. by Jonathan Mandell

My guide to the underground immersive hit "Life and Trust" was the best-read post on my NewYorkTheater.me blog in 2024, followed by my comparison of Wicked the movie with the Broadway mus…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 06:06PM[SHARE]
Friday, December 20, 2024

Favorite New York Stage Performances of 2024 by Jonathan Mandell

Cole Escola and Nicole Scherzinger made spectacular Broadway debuts this year, justly acclaimed, but less attention-grabbing performances in less conspicuous productions also impressed, a…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 10:39PM[SHARE]
Thursday, December 19, 2024

Gypsy Broadway Review by Jonathan Mandell

The marquee says it all: "AudraGypsy." With less brass and more heart, Audra McDonald's distinctive portrayal of Madam Rose, the mother of all stage mothers, is the reason to see this six…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:55PM[SHARE]
Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Trump Impeached! by Jonathan Mandell

On this day in 2019, in news reported on front pages around the world the next day,  the House of Representatives  impeached Donald J Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congre…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:04AM[SHARE]
Tuesday, December 17, 2024

Theater Blog Roundup: Can Wicked show the way? by Jonathan Mandell

The landscape has changed for theater. The loss of the Connelly Theater, while under unusual circumstances (see Joey Sims' interview below with its departing director) feels emblematic of th…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 04:28PM[SHARE]
Monday, December 16, 2024

Eureka Day Broadway Review: A vaccine comedy and tragedy by Jonathan Mandell

"Eureka Day" begins as a stock satire of the painstakingly earnest progressives at a small private elementary school in Berkeley, California, leading to one of the most hilarious scenes of t…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 07:55PM[SHARE]

Broadway Past, Presents and Future. Watch Justice Jackson in Juliet! Stageworthy News of the Week by Jonathan Mandell

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson makes her one-night-only Broadway debut in "& Juliet" (see videos below) What's most intriguing about the end-of-year assessments, by both professional thea…

SOURCE: New York Theater at 11:02AM[SHARE]

All that Chat

2025-2026 BROADWAY SEASON
Jun 12, 2025: Call Me Izzy - Studio 54
Sep 16, 2025: Art - Music Box Theatre
Oct 08, 2025: Beetlejuice - Palace Theatre
Nov 13, 2025: Oedipus - Studio 54
Nov 16, 2025: Chess - Imperial Theatre
Mar 23, 2026: Giant - Music Box Theatre
Apr 06, 2026: Becky Shaw - Hayes Theater
Apr 16, 2026: Proof - Booth Theatre
Apr 26, 2026: Drama Desk Cut-Off