All stories by Wendy Caster on BroadwayStars

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Finding Elizabeth Taylor by Wendy Caster

Elizabeth Taylor as Elizabeth TaylorThe one-woman show Finding Elizabeth Taylor started late today because of technical difficulties. At one point, the star and playwright, Elizabeth Taylor,…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:38PM

The Eyes of Babylon by Wendy Caster

By coincidence, I saw three plays about soldiers in Iraq this weekend (in order of viewing): Ajax in Iraq (not reviewed), Goliath, and The Eyes of Babylon. The Eyes of Babylon is the only on…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:45PM

Goliath: A Choreopoem by Wendy Caster

M. Scott FrankWhen I tell you the plot of the choreopoem Goliath, written by Takeo Rivera and directed by Alex Mallory, you may find it cliche: David, a smart and sensitive teenager, joins t…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:17PM
Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Elegant Songs from a Handsome Woman: Ana Gasteyer at Feinstein's by Wendy Caster

 A good cabaret act often includes a little bit of this and a little bit of that. Ballads. Anthems. Standards. Novelties. Anecdotes. Audience participation. Shtick. Piano player-perfo…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 12:47PM
Thursday, June 9, 2011

One Arm by Wendy Caster

Claybourne Elder, Todd Lawson (photo: Monique Carboni)The New Group & Tectonic Theater Project's ponderous production of Tennessee Williams' One Arm, adapted from his unproduced screenpl…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:00PM
Wednesday, June 8, 2011

You Make Me Feel So Young: Barbara Cook at Feinstein's by Wendy Caster

Photo: Mike MartinBarbara Cook. What do you think of when you hear that name? A pure soprano? Glitter and Be Gay? The queen of cabaret singers? The Music Man? Sondheim? An unparalleled inter…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:23PM
Sunday, June 5, 2011

Orpheus & Euridice by Wendy Caster

Ricky Ian Gordon's gorgeous chamber piece, Orpheus & Euridice, is being given an excellent production by The Orpheus Project and Collaborative Stages through June 12th. If luscious song …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:25PM
Saturday, June 4, 2011

Panel June 9 at 4:30: The Benefit of Bloggers by Wendy Caster

I'm very pleased to announce that June 9th I will be part of a panel on theatre blogging. I hope you can come! (It's free. More info below.)The panel is part of the Planet Connections Theatr…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:17PM
Friday, June 3, 2011

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Wendy Caster

If you wanted to explain the concept of "range," you could do worse than to compare Lynn Nottage's current comedy, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, to her recent devastating drama, Ruined. Few p…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 09:02PM

The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key to the Scriptures by Wendy Caster

Michael Cristofer and Linda Emond (photo: Joan Marcus)To those who point to previous generations of theatre as being better than this one, I have two words for you: Tony Kushner. (I have two…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:28PM
Sunday, May 29, 2011

Follies by Wendy Caster

In 2003, in the Signature (Arlington, VA) production, Eric Schaeffer demonstrated that he is capable of directing a sensitive, textured, multidimensional, heart-breaking Follies. Has he forg…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:22PM
Wednesday, May 25, 2011

It's Maye in May: Marilyn Maye at Feinstein's by Wendy Caster

I love Marilyn Maye.Really, what's not to love? Maye is an American Classic, a jazz-cabaret singer who started singing professionally in the Great Depression, an 83-year-old who swings with …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 11:12PM

The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman by Wendy Caster

In his director's note for The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman, David Zippel aptly refers to "the dazzling depth and breadth" of Coleman's work. Dazzling depth and breadth indee…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:00PM
Sunday, May 22, 2011

2010-2011 Patrick Lee Theater Blogger Award Winners by Wendy Caster

OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICALBloody Bloody Andrew Jackson OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY PLAYJerusalem OUTSTANDING BROADWAY MUSICAL REVIVALAnything Goes OUTSTANDING BROADWAY PLAY…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:14PM
Monday, May 16, 2011

Cabaret by Wendy Caster

Joy Yandell, Karson St. John (photo: Daren Scott)Spoilers Throughout. San Diego's excellent Cygnet theatre is presenting a problematic production of Kander and Ebb's classic musical Cab…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 06:18PM
Tuesday, May 10, 2011

ITBA AWARD NOMINATIONS 2011 by Wendy Caster

The Patrick Lee Internet Theater Bloggers Association award nominations have been announced. Here they are:OUTSTANDING NEW BROADWAY MUSICAL Bloody Bloody Andrew JacksonCatch Me…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:50PM
Sunday, May 8, 2011

Be a Good Little Widow by Wendy Caster

Jill Eikenberry, Wrenn Schmidt (photo: Ben Arons)There are no new stories. This fact challenges every playwright (and novelist and screenwriter). Take, for example, the following three scena…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:35PM
Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Lisa Howard: Songs of Innocence and Experience (CD Review) by Wendy Caster

There are wonderful moments in theatre when you suddenly realize that you are in the presence of someone special. The first time I heard Lisa Howard sing was one of those moments. It was an …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 08:06PM

Let Me Entertain You: Laura Benanti at Feinstein's at Loews Regency by Wendy Caster

Before I get to her voice, and what she sang, and all those necessary details about someone performing a solo cabaret show, I need to get one thing out of the way: Laura Benanti is a hoot. N…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 07:07PM

The School for Lies by Wendy Caster

Mamie Gummer and Jenn Gambatese. Photo credit: Joan Marcus.I have to begin this review with a caveat: At the performance of The School for Lies I attended, an electrical outage down the bloc…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:05PM
Sunday, May 1, 2011

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (CD Review) by Wendy Caster

According to the invaluable StageGrade, the Broadway musical Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown received an average grade of C- from a total of 31 critics. While it's clear that Women…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 04:56PM
Saturday, April 23, 2011

Show Showdown: Seance on a Wet Afternoon by Wendy Caster

In writing Seance on a Wet Afternoon, was Stephen Schwartz hoping to create his Sweeney Todd?

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 02:17PM
Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Show Showdown: Born Bad by Wendy Caster

Playwright debbie tucker green's elegant, pared-down Olivier Award-winning play Born Bad is a formidable achievement.

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:16PM

Show Showdown: Marie and Bruce by Wendy Caster

Marie and Bruce is a crass and juvenile--and unsuccessful--attempt at being shockingly funny.

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:56PM
Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Show Showdown: Arcadia by Wendy Caster

All I can say to David Leveaux, director of the current Broadway production of Arcadia, is shame on you.

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:16AM
Monday, April 11, 2011

Short Takes by Wendy Caster

Victoria Clark Master Class. This is the second master class I've seen given by Victoria Clark. I've also seen Barbara Cook give one. All three were wonderful and occasionally awe-inspiring …

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:09PM
Thursday, April 7, 2011

Benefactors by Wendy Caster

If Michael Fray had written nothing but the delightfully hysterical Noises Off, he would still rate a place in the heart of all theatre lovers. However, Frayn has written a great deal more t…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:25PM
Monday, March 28, 2011

Show Showdown: The Dream of the Burning Boy by Wendy Caster

Playwright Read presents compelling, fully realized characters, and their secrets are both surprising and believable.

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:29PM
Monday, March 21, 2011

Show Showdown: Room by Wendy Caster

Room presents an emotional portrait of a writer in desperate need of "the room to move, the room to breathe, the room to imagine; emotional room, creative room."

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:13PM
Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Show Showdown: An Evening of Story and Song (Shirley Jones at Feinstein's) by Wendy Caster

Shirley Jones's act at Feinstein's last night was a treat for her biggest fans, who laughed, cheered, stood, and even cried. For the rest of us, however, the news was not as good.

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 01:49PM
Sunday, March 13, 2011

The Changing Room by Wendy Caster

Photo: Daniel TernaTheChanging Room, by David Storey, is not big on plot. A bunch of Englishmen enter a locker room, kid around, change, and go out to play rugby--Act One.  The owner of…

SOURCE: Show Showdown at 10:09PM