Top Stories You Missed on BWW This Weekend - 7/23-7/24/2016

Hottest Articles on BroadwayWorld.com from this weekend Sunday, July 24, 2016 - Sunday, July 24, 2016.

Shakespeare and the Alchemy of Gender by Darryl Reilly

Dressed in black slacks, a white shirt and a black vest, Ms. Wolpe demonstrates a fluid physicality and a soothing vocal expressiveness. Wolpe quite adeptly offers rich characterizations of…

Strange Country

Strange Country Off Off Broadway, New Light Theater Project at Access Theater Reviewed by Eleanor J. Bader BOTTOM LINE: An emotionally riveting drama about family, love, dependence, sobrie…

Freedom Theatre remakes 'Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope' in Philly's image

If you don't see it now, Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, now in production at Freedom Theatre, is one of those shows you won't see staged professionally again soon.

'Blithe Spirit': Dated, but good energy by man and ghost

Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit is farce with an edge of darkness, a 1941 confection that suggested to wartime Londoners both the enduring bonds between the dead and the living and the tri…

'Ring of Fire' is a smiley-face disservice to Johnny Cash

Imagine that two decades from now, some Broadway producer penning a jukebox musical about the music of Nirvana used Kurt Cobain's songs to depict a happy family life in the Pacific Northwest.

A ballet superstar hits Hollywood with 'A Chorus Line' at the Bowl by Susan Reiter

About a week ago Robert Fairchild was packing his bags following three weeks as an American in Paris. New York City Ballet, where he is a principal dancer, was winding up a three-week season…

BIGBANG Returns to Seize the Stage in Macau by Atrayee Sengupta

With its 2016 “V.I.P Tour,” internationally renowned Korean artist group BIGBANG will make its return to the stage at Contai Arena, The Venetian, Macao on September 3 and 4.The band had …

James Lapine/Tom Kitt/Michael Korie Musical About LSD Plans Reading This Week by Robert Viagas

Marin Mazzie, Boyd Gaines and Jennifer Simard are featured.

Edward II by Arts Review

A perverse, sexy and provocative look at a leader who pays the ultimate price for making the personal political, Melbourne’s Malthouse Theatre presents a new adaption by Anthony Weigh o…

2016-2017 theatre season revealed by Lorraine Treanor

For details, tickets and reviews – Find Your Show Don’t miss a thing. Subscribe to our newsletter This overview is current as of July 24, 2016. Presenter / Title of Show / Open…

Review: ‘Blithe Spirit’ at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival in Center Valley, PA by Deb Miller

For his next novel To the Unseen, successful author and socialite Charles Condomine must gather material on the world of the occult, of which he is highly skeptical. So on a lark, “to make…

Upcoming Equity Auditions Sunday, Jul. 24 by Audition Roundup

Updated this week Check out upcoming Equity Auditions from Sunday, July 24, 2016 for both productions in your area and around the country including whatwhenwhere and how to audition

Review: ‘Ring of Fire” at People’s Light in Malvern, PA by Neal Newman

The man in black has come to Malvern. It’s a long way from The Grand Ole Opry, but People’s Light has imported a cast that seems to have grown up in that world, with musical instruments…

Theatre Review: ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ at the Kennedy Center by Jennifer Minich

In 1988, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera hit Broadway after a successful debut on the West End, scooping up the Tony Award for Best Musical, as well as the Tony Award for B…

How ‘Good’ Now? by Sandi Durell

    By Beatrice  Williams-Rude     “Good is better than that; it’s splendid.” I wrote that in Friends Journal, a national Quaker magazine after I saw C.P. Taylor�…

Fringe Review: ‘Love in Ruins’ at the Logan Fringe Arts Space by Heather Hill

Family can often provide us with some great stories; but with Love in Ruins, Paul Handy took his in-laws story and turned it into a wonderfully engaging play, performed under the direction o…

Live Out Loud Benefit by Barry

“The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelky” at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor benefits Live Out Loud. On Saturday, July 23 Bay Street Theater and Live Out Loud presented a special perf…

Review: ‘The Dixie Swim Club’ at Washington County Playhouse Dinner Theater and Children’s Theater by Johnna Leary

Written by Jessie Jones, Nicholas Hope and Jamie Wooten, better known to theater goers as the Jones Hope Wooten comedy team, The Dixie Swim Club at the Washington County Playhouse Dinner Th…

Editor’s Picks: Five Stories You Shouldn’t Miss, Factually Challenged Edition by Douglas McLennan

This week: How did our culture get to the point we don’t trust facts?… Are artists actually detrimental to neighborhoods?… Our notions of “greatness” need an ov…

‘West Side Story’ at The Little Theatre of Alexandria by Paul M. Bessel and Barbara Braswell

Poverty, street violence, guns, drugs, working-class whites blaming Hispanic immigrants for their financial woes, mistrust of the police—is this an article in last week’s newspaper? It c…

Russell Kane: 'What am I going to do when I'm not the next big thing?' by Brian Logan

He was the toast of Edinburgh, he's written a novel and he's had a play put on at the RSC. Yet, comedian Russell Kane is prone to rages and plagued by doubtTen years ago, before he'd even dr…

Are you serious about a career in musical theatre? This audition masterclass is for you by Erin James

The dreaded audition Ask any performing artist in the Australian musical theatre industry about the dreaded ‘A’ word, and 95% of them will shudder and tell you “it never ge…

Mark Nadler Full of Surprises at Pangea by Sandi Durell

    By Sandi Durell     For those of us who have attended Nadler cabaret for years, watching the evolution from chaotic to calm and knowing (he’s an entertainer’s ent…

Win an opportunity to audit the Advanced Audition Technique for Musical Theatre workshop with Queenie van de Zandt, worth $485 by AussieTheatre

AussieTheatre is giving away the opportunity to audit the Advanced Audition Technique for Musical Theatre workshop with Queenie van de Zandt in Melbourne, worth $485. Having studied audition…

Cervantes: El último Qujote (The Last Quixote)

Thu, September 8 thru Sun, October 2 @ GALA Hispanic Theatre, presented by GALA Hispanic Theatre

Fuse Film Review: Woody Allen’s “Café Society” — Cobwebbed by Gerald Peary

Conclusion: Woody Allen is, and long long has been, an aged fart.

A SCYTHE OF TIME - Talkin' Broadway's Review by Matthew Murray

Edgar Allan Poe's unique brand of macabre absurdism crackles on the page, but doesn't always translate perfectly to human voices and emotions.

Review: A Masterpiece Gets Massacred by Michael Block

By Michael Block Leonardo Di Vinci's Mona Lisa is one of the greatest works of art. There is no doubt about it. So what is the story between artist and subject? Is there a tale of love …

BWW TV: THE MARVELOUS WONDERETTES Transport Bryant Park Back in Time! by BroadwayWorld TV

In attendance was the cast of The Marvelous Wonderettes Diana DeGarmo, Christina Bianco, Jenna Leigh Green, Sally Schwab who performed a medley of hits from the 50s and 60s. Check out highli…

What makes Cuban ballet Cuban? by Carrie Seidman

Cuba has produced some of the world’s most dynamic and charismatic dancers. Many who left the island to pursue foreign careers -- whether through defection... Read more »

A 'gritty' performance indeed by Carrie Seidman

GRIT, part of Sarasota Contemporary Dance's summer performance series, is a dark, demanding and draining work...... Read more »

New York Theater Review: ‘The Merchant of Venice’ Starring Jonathan Pryce by Gordon Cox

Jonathan Pryce makes a strong case for Shylock’s infamous demand for a pound of flesh in Shakespeare’s Globe‘s gorgeously stylized production of “The Merchant of Veni…

What Did It Take to Make ‘Equity,’ a Film About Women on Wall Street? by Melena Ryzik

The budget for the financial thriller, which stars Anna Gunn of “Breaking Bad” and opens on July 29, was raised from 25 female investors.

Curtain's up on 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'

J.K. Rowling joins theater pros to bring the boy wizard back, live on stage, in London.        

Exclusive Podcast: 'Behind the Curtain' Chats with Legendary Orchestrator Larry Moore by Behind The Curtain

Orchestrator Larry Moore has been praised by the New York Daily News as 'one of the most ingenious practitioners in his profession,' and you'll find no argument in that statement once you he…

Review: The Merchant of Venice Globe production by Elyse Sommer

he Old Globe's Merchant of Venice-- our 3rd encounter with the Bard's schizophrenic play

Act Like a GRRRL, Capital Fringe (review) by Emily Crockett

Act Like a GRRRL isn’t quite like anything else you’ll see at the Capital Fringe festival. Its creators and performers are four girls between the ages of 12 and 16, who had two weeks to …

Review: Turf, King’s Head Theatre by Rebekah Ellerby

Festival 46 is a vivacious little festival of new writing at King’s Head Theatre. All the pieces are short – perfect theatre for hot summer days at Islington’s pub venue. They are …

This Week on Broadway for July 24, 2016: Privacy by James Marino

James Marino, Michael Portantiere, and Matt Tamanini discuss Oslo at Lincoln Center, Privacy at The Public Theater,   —————————…

Spotlight On...Markus McClain by Michael Block

Name: Markus McClainHometown: New Orleans, LAEducation: BFA in Musical Theatre from Indiana UniversitySelect Credits: Mark in The Secret Theatre's A Chorus Line, To Dance! The Musical at NYC…

Review: A Poe Double Feature by Michael Block

By Michael BlockEdgar Allan Poe is synonymous with mystery and thrill. But musical theater? How would Poe's tales live in a musical world? Find a pair of pieces that already live in a land o…

How Broadway star’s dogs helped her love again after divorce by Barbara Hoffman

When Chilina Kennedy, the star of Broadway’s “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” decided to adopt, she thought she was doing it for Molly. That was six years ago. Kennedy was living …

Jake Gyllenhaal Reopens Broadway Theater. Motown Bows and Bows Out. Week in New York Theater by New York Theater

This shirt (and song) from “Waitress” may sum up for many the week’s news outside New York theater. (See the Laura Benanti video below.) This week in New York theater saw o…

Competition: Win tickets to Strive festival at Southbank Centre by A Younger Theatre

Win tickets to Strive festival Strive | Southbank Centre | 6-7 August Proudly sponsored by Gumtree. Under 25? Come and unleash your creativity at Strive – our festival for young …

BWW Exclusive: Moving House- How a Tony-Winning Play Switches Theatres by Nicole Rosky

Broadway shows changing houses is not a totally uncommon thing, though it has happened just a handful of times over the past few years. In 2013, Mamma Mia packed up at the Winter Garden to c…

FLYING OVER SUNSET A New Musical by James Lapine, Tom Kitt, and Michael Korie ? Vineyard Arts Project by BroadwayWorld

According to vineyardartsproject.org, director and playwright James Lapine Into The Woods, composer Tom Kitt Next to Normaland lyricist Michael Korie Grey Gardensreturn with their latest mus…

Review: The Soul of Wittgenstein, King’s Head Theatre by Rebekah Ellerby

The Soul of Wittgenstein, by Ron Elisha, is a sensitive and clever two-hander set during the Second World War. A patient and his hospital attendant develop a deep relationship based on learn…

Offer: 2-4-1 Tickets to Tell Me Anything at Shoreditch Town Hall by A Younger Theatre

Tell Me Anything | Shoreditch Town Hall | 25-27 July 2016 When David was 15, he loved punk, house parties and poetry. But most of all, he loved Kate. They loved each other so much …

Connectivity/Complexity, Capital Fringe (review) by Christian Sullivan

I am not a dancer, really. Despite taking two years of dance in high school and scoring my own solo in 2014’s Fringe smash hit The Tournament, I would not consider myself an expert on the …

“Who Is It That Can Tell Me Who I Am?” by Enci

A society can’t claim perfection until it kills its critics. That is how it knows when to make the announcement. Ask Stalin. Ask Mao. Ask the Americans who assault people at …

The Battle Series: Leigh Silverman by HowlRound

By Corey Ruzicano. Corey Ruzicano interviews director Leigh Silverman as part of the Battle Series.

The 2016 Capital Fringe Audience Awards and New Community Awards Will be Announced Tonight, Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 8 pm by Joel Markowitz

The 2016 Capital Fringe Audience Awards and new Community Awards will be announced tonight, Sunday, July 24, 2016 at 8 pm on the Trinidad Stage at the Logan Fringe Arts Space. Check back at …

BWW to Stream Facebook Live Interviews from FUN HOME for Orlando Concert Tonight by Matt Tamanini

Tonight at 700pm, the current Broadway cast of the Tony-winning musical FUN HOME will perform a special concert version of the show at Orlando's Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts t…

Stage review: Kinetic unleashes a howling good 'Hound of the Baskervilles' by Sharon Eberson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

You don’t have to be the world’s greatest detective to deduce that Sherlock Holmes, in all his literary glory, constitutes a parody waiting to happen.

2016 Philadelphia FringeArts Preview: Exploring Food Culture with Applied Mechanics and The Renegade Company by Deb Miller

There are more than 175 shows in this year’s Philadelphia Fringe Festival, spanning eleven different genres and covering a wide array of subjects. Two experimental Fringe regulars, Applied…

Fuse Film Review: “Nuts!” — A Documentary Skeptical About Documentaries by Arts Fuse Editor

A meta-documentary shows us what viewers really want from the genre, and how problematic that can be.

MUMBURGER – The Archivist’s Gallery by Laura Kressly

Tiffany’s mum just died. Hugh’s wife just died. Together, this father and grown daughter that barely know each other anymore need to arrange a funeral. In the midst of their nonfunctiona…

STAGE TUBE: On This Day for 7/24/16- Kristin Chenoweth by Stage Tube

Happy Birthday Kristin Chenoweth On Broadway, Chenoweth has appeared in Steel Pier, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Epic Proportions, Funny Girl, Wicked, The Apple Tree, and Promises, Prom…

Top Ticket: Three shows to see July 24 to 30 by Carly Maga - Theatre Critic

Cirque du Soleil's Luzia, David Cross at Danforth Music Hall and Soulpepper's Father Comes Home From the Wars.

Meet the Cast of Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s ‘Spring Awakening’: Part 1: Erin Claeys by Guest Author

In Part 1 of a series of interviews with the cast of Metropolitan Youth Theatre’s Spring Awakening, meet Erin Claeys. Sam: Why did you want to appear in Spring Awakening at Metropo…

BWW Flashback: We've Got the Broadway Blues... SHUFFLE ALONG Takes Final Bow Tonight by BroadwayWorld

SHUFFLE ALONG will play its final Broadway performance today, July 24, 2016, the day six-time Tony-winning star Audra McDonald was already set to depart the production for a multi-month mate…

Hamlet

Wed, August 17 thru Sun, August 28 @ Olney Theatre Center, presented by Olney Theatre Center

Cervantes: El último Quijote (en español)

Thu, September 8 thru Sun, October 2 @ GALA Hispanic Theatre, presented by GALA Hispanic Theatre

Come From Away

Sat, September 3 thru Sun, October 9 @ Ford's Theatre, presented by Ford's Theatre -- The new musical ''Come From Away'' tells the heart-warming true story of how a small Canadian town cared…

Wolf Trap Opera & National Symphony Orchestra: La Bohème

Fri, August 5 @ Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts - Filene Center, presented by Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts - Filene Center

The Pirates of Penzance

Wed, July 27 thru Sun, August 21 @ Olney Theatre Center, presented by Olney Theatre Center

Jelly's Last Jam

Tue, August 2 thru Sun, September 11 @ Signature Theatre, presented by Signature Theatre -- Take your seat at the legendary Jungle Inn nightclub for the electrifying, award-winning musical t…

Pigs and Dogs review – a short, sharp response to African homophobes by Lyn Gardner

Royal Court, LondonCaryl Churchill’s angry but fluid 15-minute piece presents a multiplicity of voices, all talking about the attitudes that lead to Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality ActLess i…

Hall of Hams #104: William Gillette by Trav S.D.

Today is the birthday of playwright-actor-director-producer William Gillette (William Hooker Gillette, 1853-1937). I am proud to say that I am distantly related to this important man of the …

The Count Basie Orchestra at Birdland by Sandi Durell

    by Marilyn Lester   There was a time, when the Count was still alive, when Birdland was the home of the Basie Orchestra, so it’s only fitting that the band was booked fo…

Exclusive Podcast: Joel B. New Welcomes LES MIS' Devin Ilaw to 'Something New' by Something New

In Episode 415 of 'Something New' -- a musical theatre podcast that interviews diverse artists and premieres original songs -- award-winning songwriter Joel B. New sat down with Devin Ilaw. …

Stage preview: David Whalen and Andrew Paul return to Sherlock Holmes for the fun of it by Sharon Eberson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Actor David Whalen and director Andrew Paul are on the case of “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” a strictly LOL version of the Sherlock Holmes story.

Review: Review: Béatrice et Bénédict (Glyndebourne)

A rare outing for the comic opera from the pen of Berlioz by way of Shakespeare

Review: Now We Are Here, The Young Vic by Katie Walsh

In the wake of Brexit, we hear the rise of racism and exclusion to points that we simply cannot fathom. It seems commonplace now to hear of murmurs in the street of hating refugee scroungers…

Review: The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfall, Putney Arts Theatre by Tom Evans

A peculiar sort of show, The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pfaall concerns the story of (one) Hans Pfaall and his endeavour to reach the moon in a hot air balloon. This production is ch…

Quizzes: Test your theatre knowledge: The world of Harry Potter

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially opens this week. Take our quiz to find out how much you really know about JK Rowling and the boy wizard.

BWW's On This Day - July 24, 2016

Here are the Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End shows which opened on July 24 along with all of the upcoming show openings, closings and special events

Review: The Bodyguard, Dominion Theatre by Samuel Sims

I don’t know what I did to deserve almost being set on fire but to see The Bodyguard‘s fully charged, pyrotechnic laden opening number thrown at the audience with such glorious f…

Review: Jesus Christ Superstar, The Open Air Theatre by Camilla Gurtler

Celebrating its forty-fifth anniversary, Jesus Christ Superstar protests once again, as Timothy Sheader adds modern spice to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s rock phenomenon with not just heaven on…

Broadway Blues: Shuffle Along Plays Its Final Performance Today by Jazmine Harper-Davis

Today is bittersweet as we say farewell to one of our most beloved shows, the Broadway hit musical Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. Tod…

Marisa Berenson: ‘Being directed by Branagh is an amazing adventure’ by Kate Kellaway

As an actor for Kubrick and Visconti and a model feted by Yves Saint Laurent, she charmed the 70s. Now she’s making her Shakespearean debutAs a model in the early 70s, Marisa Berenson was …

Wot? No Fish!! review – a beautiful hour and a half of memory and speculation by Susannah Clapp

Battersea Arts Centre, LondonDanny Braverman conjures magic from a shoebox in his affectionate, unsparing portrait of a Jewish family in 20th-century east LondonIn Wot? No Fish!! at Batterse…

Watch It, Sailor! / The Vertical Hour review – trouble with the in-laws by Clare Brennan

Theatre by the Lake, KeswickBroad 60s comedy and sharp millennial political drama share a venue as the Cumbrian rep company ends an eraIt began life in 1952 as a “Blue Box” – a mobile …

Fracked! review – Alistair Beaton’s nimble eco-comedy hits home, up to a point by Susannah Clapp

Minerva, ChichesterAnne Reid stars as a reluctant activist, but the plum role goes to the fracking company’s ‘horribly recognisable’ PR manOutside the Minerva, a woman from the Chiches…

‘How to Quit Your Day Job’ to Debut at NYC’s Feinstein’s 54 Below on Saturday, July 30th at 11:30 PM by Star Johnson by Guest Author

How to Quit Your Day Job to Debut in New York City on July 3oth Jonathan Larson wrote a song a day. This may be a musical theatre urban myth, but it’s constantly on loop in my mind. In any…

The Rabble: Cain and Abel by Anne-Marie Peard

The Rabble don’t make easy theatre, but it’s an easy choice to see them. Always starting with a well-known text – Orlando, Frankenstein, The Story of O,  Room of Regret (…

Chun Yi: The Legend of Kung Fu | Dance review by Judith Mackrell

Coliseum, LondonWatching this kung fu spectacle, which claims to be China's longest-running show, you rapidly get used to the feel of your jaw going slack, to the sound of yourself yelping c…

Camp Rolling Hills by Serena

We had so much fun chatting with the stars of Camp Rolling Hills- Sophia Gennusa, Mitchell Sink and Beatrice Tulchin. You might recognize them from their recent roles in Matilda the Musical.…

From NYMF Rehearsal to School of Rock: A Day in the Life of a Broadway Kid by Hannah Vine

Rehearsing for his New York Musical Festival show during the day and performing in School of Rock at Night.

The Year of Leslie Kritzer—TV, Stage and Getting Nominated Against Herself by Iris Wiener

How did Leslie Kritzer develop so many memorable stage and screen characters in one year?

How “The Green Lady” Brought Lindsay Mendez and Her Husband Together by Whitney Spaner

Though they didn’t meet in a show, it was an out-of-town gig that led Lindsay Mendez to meeting her new husband Philip Wakefield. They talk about the two-part wedding and share photos from…

Interviews: Broadway Mainstay Danny Burstein Goes From Anatevka to Newark in Indignation

The Fiddler on the Roof star traces a line from his recent stage projects through his latest film premiere.

Shuffle Along Plays Final Broadway Performance Today by Robert Viagas

The historic Broadway musical traces the legacy of black artistry on Broadway.

Repertory Theatre receives historic $1 million donation by Judith Newmark St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Augustin family gives a million to Repertory Theatre of St. Louis

Mike Daisey's Donald Trump Monologue Gets NY Premiere Today by Robert Viagas

The monologist deals The Trump Card at Joe's Pub.

Playbill Vault's Today in Theatre History: July 24 by David Gewirtzman

Video Week in Review: Amber Riley Previews Dreamgirls, Skylar Astin Sings From First-Ever Ashman-Menken Musical, Jelly’s Last Jam in DC. by Mark Ezovski

Take a look back at a week of video fun.

Stage preview: Pittsburgh CLO's 'Aida' casts 'Hamilton' and 'Mormon' vets by Sharon Eberson / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Between them, Emmy Raver-Lampman and Mark Evans have acted in three of the top box-office and critical successes of the past decade, something to bond over as they prepare to play star-cross…

2Do this week, July 24-30: Cultural events around Pittsburgh by Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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