All stories by Steven Suskin on BroadwayStars

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Aisle View: The Other Place and a Modern/Classic Bloodbath by Steven Suskin

The nether realm, as constructed in Jennifer Haley's eighty-minute drama The Nether at MCC, is a demon world of evil and imagination.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 08:44AM
Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Aisle View: Wildly Funny Sketch Plays by Steven Suskin

Arnie Burton, Rick Holmes, Kelly Hutchinson and Liv Rooth in David Ives' Lives of the Saints. Photo: James Leynse

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:00PM
Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Aisle View: Lin-Manuel Miranda's Alexander The Great by Steven Suskin

The show has been impeccably staged by Thomas Kail, Miranda's colleague from In the Heights, with choreography from that show's Andy Blankenbuehler. For theatergoers who admired but didn't …

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 09:46PM
Sunday, February 15, 2015

THE DVD SHELF: The Pleasures of “Boyhood” and Exciting Special Features on “Syncopation” by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at Richard Linklater's new classic, "Boyhood" as well as a long-vanished 1942 drama centering on jazz and swing, "Syncopation."

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, February 1, 2015

ON THE RECORD: A Surprising Trip on Sting’s Last Ship by Steven Suskin

This week we listen to the cast recording of Sting's short-lived Broadway musical The Last Ship.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, January 25, 2015

THE DVD SHELF: John Lithgow and Alfred Molina Find “Love Is Strange” and Revisiting Two Comedies by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at John Lithgow and Alfred Molina in "Love Is Strange," Preston Sturges' "The Palm Beach Story," and the Jackie Gleason/Carol Channing &…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, January 22, 2015

Aisle View: Into the Woods, Back on Stage by Steven Suskin

Yes, this is obviously going to be another one of those actors-play-the-instruments affairs, which have become dime-a-dozen since John Doyle did it in 2004 with Sondheim's Sweeney Todd. In t…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:59PM
Sunday, January 18, 2015

THE BOOK SHELF: The Colorful History of Ming Cho Lee and the Laugh-Out-Loud Life of Martin Short by Steven Suskin

This month's column discusses "Ming Cho Lee: A Life in Design" and Martin Short's "I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend."

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, January 11, 2015

ON THE RECORD: Going Home to Oklahoma With Kristin Chenoweth and Discovering a “New” Ivor Novello Op by Steven Suskin

This week's column follows Kristin Chenoweth as she goes home to Oklahoma for a concert and looks at a lost and unproduced Ivor Novello musical rescued after 60 years.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Saturday, January 10, 2015

Aisle View: Suicide Is Painless by Steven Suskin

Joey Slotnick, in the present production, does better as Semyonovich. Even so, the 2007 London production of Dying for It apparently got an enormous lift from the actor in the role, which d…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:25AM

Aisle View: Suicide Is Painless by Steven Suskin

Joey Slotnick, in the present production, does better as Semyonovich. Even so, the 2007 London production of <em>Dying for It</em> apparently got an enormous lift from the actor…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:25AM
Sunday, January 4, 2015

THE DVD SHELF: A Joyful “Pride,” Woody Allen’s Latest and Revisiting “Tootsie” by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at Matthew Warchus' new movie "Pride"; Woody Allen's "Magic in the Moonlight"; the new Blu-ray release of Dustin Hoffman's &…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, December 28, 2014

ON THE RECORD: Comparing Four Major Recordings of Into the Woods by Steven Suskin

This week's column looks at the various cast recordings of Into the Woods.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, December 21, 2014

ON THE RECORD: Can Peter Pan Fly Without Mary Martin? by Steven Suskin

This week's column discusses the soundtrack recording of the NBC television event, "Peter Pan Live!" featuring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Aisle View: The 2014 10 Best List by Steven Suskin

This was a relatively strong year; where the canker gnaws, as good old blimey slimey Captain Hook might say, is in the musical department.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 01:18PM
Sunday, December 14, 2014

THE BOOK SHELF: The History Behind On the Town and Oliver’s Journey to the Stage by Steven Suskin

This month's column visits a few academic works written about Bernstein's On the Town, Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" and Lionel Bart's Oliver!

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, December 7, 2014

THE DVD SHELF: Exploring the Dark Side of Film Noir With “Double Indemnity” and More by Steven Suskin

This month's column visits Frank Capra's "It Happened One Night" and a 10-movie collection of film noir.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, November 30, 2014

ON THE RECORD: From Fun Home to “Nice Fighting You,” a Theatre Lover’s Guide to Holiday Gifts by Steven Suskin

This week's column offers suggestions for holiday gifts from the 2013-14 theatre season.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Sunday, November 23, 2014

THE BOOK SHELF: Checking Out A Library of Musicals, Going “Behind the Scenes” With Judi Dench and Vi by Steven Suskin

In this week's column, we discuss the Library of America collection of 16 American Musicals; Judi Dench's picture scrapbook of her life "Behind the Scenes"; and the vocal…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Friday, November 21, 2014

Bedlam Overtakes Jane Austen, While F. Scott Fitzgerald Sings by Steven Suskin

New York theatergoers with an adventurous spirit -- or mainstream theatergoers unafraid to venture off off Broadway when recommendations warrant -- are being rewarded this month with special…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 02:57PM
Wednesday, November 19, 2014

A Not So Brisk-and-Bright Allegro by Steven Suskin

Why can't they just do Broadway musicals the way the authors wrote them in the first place? is a not infrequent cry along the Rialto. If a show was a hit, if a show is a classic, why do mode…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:29PM
Sunday, November 16, 2014

Hugh Jackman Back on Broadway by Steven Suskin

To tell you the plot of this mysterious ghost play -- anything more than that Man brings Woman to the cabin and they eat two bites of trout -- or to even discuss the dramatis personae, is to…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:46PM

ON THE RECORD: Inspiration from Mary Testa, Hits from Scott Alan and “Carols for a Cure” by Steven Suskin

This week's column discusses studio recordings from Broadway's Mary Testa and Michael Starobin, an anthology from songwriter Scott Alan and this year's edition of "Carols fo…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Tuesday, November 11, 2014

“That’s Entertainment!” Star-Studded The Band Wagon Brings “Sweet Music” to City Center by Steven Suskin

The Band Wagon, featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Osnes, opened at City Center. Playbill.com was there.

SOURCE: Playbill at 01:00PM
Monday, November 10, 2014

A Radiant Saturday Night and a Ghostly Chamber Musical by Steven Suskin

This is the master's earliest professionally-produced musical; that is, it is his earliest musical to receive a professional production, albeit 40-odd years later.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 09:02PM
Sunday, November 9, 2014

THE DVD SHELF: Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles, Mel Brooks and More on “The Merv Griffin Show” by Steven Suskin

This month's column looks at the long-running talk-show "The Merv Griffin Show," which was based in the heart of the theatre district throughout its formative years.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Thursday, November 6, 2014

Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis and Lauren Worsham Bring Glorious Show Boat to Lincoln Center by Steven Suskin

Show Boat &mdash; in a grand semi-staged version featuring a large cast and an even larger orchestra &mdash; is back in town at Avery Fisher Hall.

SOURCE: Playbill at 03:30PM
Thursday, October 30, 2014

From Broadway Swing to Movie Star: Jeremy Jordan Breaks Character at 54 Below by Steven Suskin

Tony nominee and "Smash" star Jeremy Jordan brings his solo show "Breaking Character" to 54 Below.

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00PM
Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Suzan-Lori Parks Returns From the Wars Triumphant by Steven Suskin

There is enough in the characters and the dialogue -- even in the costumes, with some actors drifting on wearing basketball sneakers -- to tell us that Father Comes Home is a play of ideas a…

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 11:09PM
Sunday, October 26, 2014

THE BOOK SHELF: Exploring Tennessee Williams’ Demons and a Brief Work on Bernstein by Steven Suskin

This month's column discusses John Lahr's new, comprehensive biography "Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh" and Allen Shawn's "Leonard Bernstein: An A…

SOURCE: Playbill at 12:00AM
Wednesday, October 22, 2014

In Search of The Fortress of Solitude by Steven Suskin

There is an interesting and potentially important musical contained within The Fortress of Solitude, the new piece from Michael Friedman, Itamar Moses and Daniel Aukin at the Public.

SOURCE: Huffington Post at 10:36PM

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
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