All stories by Michael Riedel on BroadwayStars

Friday, March 16, 2012

Musical ‘Eternity’ by Michael Riedel

Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber have been in town to inspect their revivals of “Evita” and “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Lloyd Webber had to postpone his visit to “Evita” this week …

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Tuesday, March 13, 2012

They’re hot tickets by Michael Riedel

‘Evita” and “Newsies” are the clear front-runners in the spring’s box- office sweepstakes. “Evita” — which is being revived on Broadway for the first time since Hal Prince’…

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Friday, March 9, 2012

‘Spider-Man’ web-slinging its way to Europe by Michael Riedel

‘Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark” is going global. The producers of the $80million musical, thumbing their nose at director Julie Taymor’s attempts to scuttle future productions, are shi…

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Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Julie's out for e-venge by Michael Riedel

The most duplicitous character in the wildly popular television series “Smash” — full disclosure: My cameo is coming up soon! — is Ellis, composer Tom’s cute young personal assista…

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Thursday, March 1, 2012

In ’Sleep’ trouble by Michael Riedel

Composer Michael Garin was getting ready to decamp to Los Angeles to work on the new musical “Sleepless in Seattle” when his girlfriend looked up from her computer and said, “You’ve …

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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Rebirth of a director by Michael Riedel

Within one year, Mike Nichols saw two Broadway plays that changed his life. In December 1947, his last year of high school, he attended the second night of “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Wh…

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Thursday, February 23, 2012

An early spring for B’way by Michael Riedel

It’s February, but it feels like spring — and spring in theater land means activity. Some shows are in rehearsals, some in previews. Deals are being signed and the Tony Awards are starti…

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Public ‘plays’ it safe by Michael Riedel

The Public Theater just can’t shake its Broadway habit. Once an engine of risky, innovative work, the downtown nonprofit theater is now so enamored of the Great White Way that much of its …

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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Play finally to be Tennes-seen by Michael Riedel

Before he choked to death on a bottle cap at the Hotel Elysée in 1983, Tennessee Williams hoped to stage a comeback with a new play called “Masks Outrageous and Austere.” He’d written…

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Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Waltzing to get ‘Matilda’ by Michael Riedel

A hit musical to producers is like red meat to carnivores. When one comes along, they scrap and claw for a hunk and then tear into it with abandon. The show they’re salivating over right n…

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Williamson tales truly ri-Nicol-ous by Michael Riedel

I received a batch of e-mails in response to my column two weeks ago about Nicol Williamson, the brilliant but troubled Scottish actor who died in December. He was as famous for his off-stag…

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Friday, February 3, 2012

Dead ‘Park’ back to life by Michael Riedel

Jordan Roth, the 36-year-old head of Jujamcyn Theaters, was working the phones like an old pro yesterday in an effort to salvage “Clybourne Park,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning play that, a…

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Tuesday, January 31, 2012

The wrath of Rudin by Michael Riedel

In his heyday, David Merrick was the most powerful producer on Broadway. He had taste. He was prolific. He knocked out hits — “Look Back in Anger,” “Hello, Dolly!” “42nd Street.�…

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Thursday, January 26, 2012

Actor was sword of volatile by Michael Riedel

In London, Nicol Williamson is remembered for celebrated performances in “Hamlet,” “Waiting for Godot” and “Inadmissible Evidence.” But around Broadway, he’ll always be remembe…

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Tuesday, January 24, 2012

‘Sign’ of Prince’s pull by Michael Riedel

Hal Prince has long been one of the most influential figures on Broadway. He produced “West Side Story,” directed “The Phantom of the Opera” — which plays its 10,000th performance …

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cohl mines ‘Spidey’ saga by Michael Riedel

Buried in the deliciously nasty lawsuits between Julie Taymor and her former “Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark” colleagues is a tussle over a behind-the-scenes documentary about the making …

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Better late for ‘Never’ by Michael Riedel

When Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Love Never Dies” opened in London in March 2010, the West End Whingers, England’s most influential theater bloggers, dubbed it “Paint Never Dries.”The…

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Thursday, January 12, 2012

‘Rebecca’ needs more bucks by Michael Riedel

The key to “Rebecca” is cash. With their first preview only a couple of months away, the producers of the Broadway musical “Rebecca” are still scrambling to raise the money to build …

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Storm clouds for ‘Clear Day’ by Michael Riedel

Not to beat a dead horse — but “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” is headed for the glue factory. Last week, I reported that the producers of “Leap of Faith,” having picked up th…

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Thursday, January 5, 2012

‘Faith’ will be their salvation by Michael Riedel

Those who slogged through the $12 million revival of “On a Clear Day [You Can See How Bad It Is]” leave saying the same thing: Never have they seen a star — in this case, Harry Connick…

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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

A sage peek into theater’s future by Michael Riedel

Pop quiz 2012! Look into your crystal ball. What do you see?1. Hugh Jackman raised thousands for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS auctioning off his sweaty T-shirts. What will Ricky Martin …

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Legends we lost this year by Michael Riedel

The theater world lost some giants in 2011, not the least of whom was playwright and former Czech President Vaclav Havel. Let’s start with the most glamorous woman show business has ever k…

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Friday, December 16, 2011

Star trekking his way to B’way by Michael Riedel

Get out of the way, Hugh Jackman. You’re about to be upstaged by an actor — a great actor — who’s decided to bless Broadway with his own one-man show. This is a show so good it’s g…

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Thursday, December 15, 2011

Already Judgment ‘Day’ by Michael Riedel

The original 1965 production of “On a Clear Day You Can See Forever” lasted 280 performances. The producers of the 2011 revival are hoping — praying — they can squeak along for 238 �…

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Thursday, December 8, 2011

Sentimental ‘Once’ isn’t for all by Michael Riedel

Did the producers of “Once,” the delicate new musical at New York Theatre Workshop, get a little ahead of themselves? The show was generating such strong word of mouth in previews — a…

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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

A hit list of B’way misses by Michael Riedel

The scent of flop sweat is in the air. Harried, nervous, terrified producers are scurrying around Broadway desperately trying to figure out how to save several shows that are dangling above…

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Thursday, December 1, 2011

No trouble ‘reading’ reaction of King by Michael Riedel

Things are moving along for a new musical that could be a winner: “Natural Woman,” otherwise known as “The Carole King Project.” King, one of the great songwriters of the Brill Build…

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Show mines Cole for tribute by Michael Riedel

Jerome Robbins. Gower Champion. Bob Fosse. Michael Bennett. They are the four giants of Broadway choreography, and their styles endure in such shows as “Fiddler on the Roof” (Robbins), �…

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Thursday, November 17, 2011

Shows in ‘space’ race by Michael Riedel

Oh, what a fat and happy time it is to be a theater owner. Every day you go to work, there’s a line of supplicants — otherwise known as producers — outside your door, begging, hoping, …

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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

‘Honeymoon’ on B’way likely by Michael Riedel

On the fast track to Broadway: a musical version of the Nicolas Cage movie “Honeymoon in Vegas.” A backer’s audition was held last week and the “checkies,” as Max Bialystock called…

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Hell hath no fury like a Taymor lawsuit by Michael Riedel

Treachery is the worst sin in Dante’s “Inferno.”Those who betray friends are consigned to the ninth and deepest circle of hell, where they’re scattered in a frozen lake “as straw i…

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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